Ipet

Opet and Ipi are redirects to this article. For the legal scholar see Otto Opet . For other meanings of Ipi, see IPI .

Ipet in hieroglyphics
Old empire	Jpy / Ipi Jpj The hippopotamus goddess
From the 21st dynasty	Jpt / Ipet Jpt The hippopotamus goddess

Ipet (also Opet ; Old Kingdom Ipi / Jpy , "The Hippopotamus Goddess " ) was entrusted as one of the goddesses of birth with the role of mother, nurse and food giver. In addition, she was revered in the Old and New Kingdom as the "mother of the deceased". In the Greco-Roman times she is known as the "mother of the flame".

Cult and representations

Floor plan of the temple of Amun-Re in Karnak

In Thebes in particular , Ipet enjoyed the cult of the “mother of Osiris ” and as “the king's nourishing”. In addition, Ipet is known as "the mistress of magical protection". However, it remains unclear whether she was also the patron goddess of Thebes.

In the temple of Amun-Re , the Egyptians venerated Ipet as equating to Hathor in a separate sanctuary, which in Theban mythology is said to represent the birthplace of Osiris. At the same time connections to Isis are proven in Thebes .

Iconographically , it is often symbolized with the body of a pregnant hippopotamus and a hippopotamus head, human hands , crocodile backs and lion paws , entwined with flowers and plants.

In the New Kingdom she merges with other nativity deities under the title "Ipet-weret" ("great harem") to Ta-weret ("the great one"); graces "Thoeris". Her assigned constellation in the northern sky shows her with a crocodile on her back. As a collective term for the hippopotamus-shaped goddesses, "Ipet-weret" combines the functions of the earlier individual goddesses, for example with Ipet as "nurse / mother", Hedjet as "the white one" and Reret as " sow ".

literature

• Hans Bonnet : Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History (formerly Real Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History). Nikol, Hamburg 2005, ISBN 3-937872-08-6 .
• Christian Hermann: Egyptian amulets from Palestine / Israel - with a view of their reception through the Old Testament. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1994, ISBN 3-525-53773-5 .
• Christian Leitz u. a .: Lexicon of the Egyptian gods and names of gods . Vol. 1: 3 - y (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. 110), Peeters, Leuven 2002, ISBN 90-429-1146-8 .
• Stephen Quirke: Ancient Egyptian religion, translated by Ingrid Rein. Reclam, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-15-010419-X .
• Alexandra von Lieven : Of Stars and Pigs - Religious Astronomy in Ancient Egypt. on Archeology online , October 12, 2007.
• Richard H. Wilkinson : The world of the gods in ancient Egypt - belief, power, mythology - translated by Thomas Bertram. (Original title: The complete gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt. ). Theiss, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-8062-1819-6 .

Web links

• Archeology online: Figure of the goddess Ipet

Remarks

1. ↑ Writing at the time of the Old and Middle Kingdom; see. in addition Christian Leitz u. a .: Lexicon of the Egyptian gods and names of gods. Vol. 1: 3 - y (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. 110). Peeters, Leuven 2002, p. 218.
2. ↑ Writing from the 21st Dynasty; see. in addition Christian Leitz u. a .: Lexicon of the Egyptian gods and names of gods. Vol. 1: 3 - y (= Orientalia Lovaniensia analecta. 110). Peeters, Leuven 2002, p. 218.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Mention in the pyramid texts PT 381 and PT 382.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Cf. Christian Hermann: Egyptian amulets from Palestine / Israel - with a view of their reception by the Old Testament. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1994, p. 493.
3. ↑ See Hans Bonnet: Lexicon of Egyptian Religious History (formerly Reallexikon der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte). Nikol, Hamburg 2005, col. 494-499. and Hans Bonnet: Reallexikon der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte (later Lexikon der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte). de Gruyter, Berlin 1952, pp. 530-535.