Hatmehit

Hatmehit in hieroglyphs

Hatmehit, or Hatmehyt (reconstructed to have been pronounced *Hāwit-Maḥūyat in Egyptian) in the ancient Egyptian religion was a fish-goddess in the area around the delta city of Per-banebdjedet (called Mendes in ancient Greek). In ancient Egyptian art Hatmehit was depicted either as a fish, or a woman with a fish emblem or crown on her head. She was a goddess of life and protection.

Hatmehyt, fish symbol on nome standard as the 16th nome of Lower Egypt on the head of woman

Name

Her name translates as Foremost of Fish or Chief of Fish. She may have some connection to Hathor, one of the oldest deities of Egypt who also went by the name Mehet-Weret, meaning great flood. This may possibly be due to being seen as a remnant of the primal waters of creation from which all things arose. Other goddesses associated with the primal waters of creation are Mut and Naunet.

Hatmehit statuette in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art

The god Banebdjedet was considered Hatmehit's consort.

Sources

• Richard Wilkinson: The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London, Thames and Hudson, 2003. ISBN 978-0-500-05120-7, p. 228–229

External links

• Media related to Hatmehit at Wikimedia Commons
• Iconography of Hatmehit (PDF-article)