Ancient Egyptian Goddesses of Necropolises - TPM 33

In celebration of Women's History Month, this episode is about four lesser-known goddesses of the ancient Egyptian afterlife whose primary roles were to protect, nourish, and occasionally punish those within the city of the dead. While famous deities often dominate pop culture, these four goddesses offer a unique window into how the Egyptians viewed the natural world and the social roles of mortal women.

Discover the stories and archaeological footprints of Imentet who was the personification of the West; Khefethernebes and Meretseger who were both from the Theban Necropolis; and Hapetnebes from the Abydan Necropolis.

From the royal tombs to the graffiti of tomb builders, this episode traces how the divine feminine provided a sense of security for both the physical body and the soul on its journey through the Duat.

Offline Sources Cited:

El Menyawy, Habiba. 2021. The Goddess Xft-Hr Nb.s. Journal of Association of Arab Universities for Tourism and Hospitality 0(0):1–33.

Iwaszczuk, Jadwiga. 2017. Sacred Landscape of Thebes during the Reign of Hatshepsut. Royal Construction Projects. Topography of the West Bank, Vol. 1. Institut des Cultures Méditerranéennes et Orientales de l’Académie Polonaise des Sciences (IKŚiO PAN), Warsaw.

Jacquet-Gordon, Helen K. 1967. The Illusory Year 36 of Osorkon I. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 53:63–68.

Nagy, Z. 2017. A Study of Scribal Practice in the Late Ramesside Letters: Characteristics of Scribal Mechanisms Deployed in Hieratic to Determine Negative Aorists, 'Not yet' Forms, Second Tenses, Terminatives and Stative Formations PhD thesis, University of Liverpool.

Rummel, Ute, et al. 2020. Landscape, Tombs, and Sanctuaries: In Ritual Landscape and Performance, edited by Christina Geisen, 13:pp. 89–120. Proceedings of the International Conference on Ritual Landscape and Performance, Yale University, September 23-24, 2016 No. Yale Egyptology.

Töpfer, Susanne, Paolo Del Vesco, and Federico Poole (editors). 2022. Deir El-Medina through the Kaleidoscope: Proceedings of the International Workshop, Turin 8th-10th October 2018. Formazione e Ricerca No. Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, Modena.

Zago, Silvia. 2022. The Otherworld (with)in This World: Imhet as a (Super)Natural Conduit between Dimensions in Egyptian Sources. Journal of Near Eastern Studies 81(2):283–304.

Transcripts

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