Hequet Goddess of the Primeval slime
She who hastens the birth
Classification: Goddess
Culture: Kemetic/Egyptian
Associated: Birth, Rebirth
Heqet is a frog goddess who helped women to give birth and
the dead to be reborn. The knife wielding frog shown on ivory wants or probably
hack at in her role as defender of women and children.
The beginning of her cult dates to the early dynastic period
at least. Her name was part of the names of some high-born Second Dynasty
individuals buried at Helwan and was mentioned on a stela of Wepemnofret and in
the Pyramid Texts. Early frog statuettes are often thought to be depictions of
her.
Hackett mistress of joy was among the followers of the Inundation
God Hapi when he brought the new life of Egypt each year.
Egyptians believed that frogs were spontaneously generated
from the mud left by the receding Nile flood. Heqet it came to be worshipped as
the goddess of the primeval slime who gave birth to the sun God.
She was regarded as a female counterpart to the creator God
canoe and the two are linked in a middle Kingdom Royal birth myth.
The sun God RA sends a group of deities to assist a woman
name Ruddaddet giving birth to three children who were destined to be Kings . 4
goddesses Isis, Nephthys, Meskhenet, and Hequet disguise themselves as dancing
girls while canoe pretends to be their servant.
At the House of Ruddadet her distraught husband asked him
for help because his wife's labor is so painful and difficult.
The deities locked themselves in the room with Ruddadet and Hequet
hastens the birth of the Royal triplets.
Isis names the children, Meskhennet predicts their fate Khnum make,
some strong and healthy.
The beauties create three crowns for the triplets and hide
them in a sack of Burley before returning to their divine realm.
The story implies that the children were sired by RA and
they grow to be the sun worshipping Kings of the 5th dynasty.
In new Kingdom Royal birth myths Hequet gives life to the
body and Ka of the Royal infant shaped
on the Potter's wheel of Khnum. And temples of the first Millennium BCE known
assisting goddess is giving birth to divine children.
At Abydos Haquet was revered for helping Isis bring Horus
into the world and for assisting the murdered God Osiris to be reborn. All
Egyptians hoped that after they died Hequet would act as a divine midwife to
their rebirth.
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