Wadjet, known as Uto or Buto to the Greeks, was a local goddess from the city of Dep in ancient Egypt. Later, this city became what the Egyptians called Per-Wadjet (the “House of Wadjet”) and the Greeks called Buto (now Desouk). It is also linked to the capital of the 6th nome of Lower Egypt.
Wadjet, Protector of Egypt
Wadjet was closely associated with the Eye of Ra. She was considered the godmother and protector of the Lower Egypt. When the Lower Egypt was unified with the Upper Egypt, she became the protector and patroness of all Egypt. The image of Wadjet with the sun disk is called the uraeus, and it was the emblem on the crown of the rulers of Lower Egypt. She was also the protector of kings and women in childbirth.
Wadjet and the Other Divinities
Wadjet is described as the nurse of the child god Horus. With the help of his mother Isis, they protected Horus of his uncle Seth finding refuge in the marshes of the Nile delta. Much later, Wadjet was associated with Isis as well as many other deities.
Representations and functions
She was depicted as a serpent-headed woman, or as a snake – usually an Egyptian cobra, a venomous snake common to the region. Sometimes she was depicted as a woman with two snake heads, and at other times a snake with a woman's head. His oracle was in the famous temple of Per-Wadjet, dedicated to his worship, and which gave his name to the city.
Wadjet is sometimes depicted as an animal-headed being or in the form of other animals such as a lion, mongoose, or ichneumon. Notably, the depiction of the mongoose serves as an antithesis to that of the cobra as it is a natural predator. The ichneumon, meanwhile, probably symbolizes her role as seer for Horus.
From the 4th Dynasty, Wadjet was claimed as the patron goddess and protector of all Lower Egypt and was associated with Nekhbet, depicted as a white vulture, who held Egypt together. After unification, the image of Nekhbet joined that of Wadjet on the crown, later shown as part of the uraeus.
In Art and Architecture
In the relief presented on the wall of the funerary temple ofHatshepsut à Deir el Bahari , we see two images of Wadjet: one of her as Uraeus wearing a ankh, and another where she precedes a Horus falcon carrying the pschent, representing the pharaoh whom she protects.
The Etymology of Wadjet
The name Wadjet is derived from the term for the symbol of his domain, Lower Egypt, the papyrus. Its hieroglyphs differ from those of the Green Crown or Deshret of Lower Egypt only in the determinative, which in the case of the crown was an image of the Green Crown and, in the case of the goddess, a standing cobra. The Egyptian word wꜣḏ means blue and green. It is also the name for the well-known “Eye of the Moon”.
His story in pictures
Bibliography
- Hart, George (2005). “The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses”.
- Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). “The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt”.
- Pinch, Geraldine (2002). “Handbook of Egyptian Mythology”.
- Budge, E. A. Wallis (1904). “The Gods of the Egyptians: Or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology”.
- Teeter, Emily (2011). “Religion and Ritual in Ancient Egypt”.
- Quirke, Stephen (2001). “The Cult of Ra: Sun Worship in Ancient Egypt”.
Other deities than Wadjet