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Bes in
Baby-

but in the pair of outstretched arms and hands he holds

sceptres off,,, knives,, etc., and in those

which hang by his side he holds and; he has on his head in addition eight knives and the figure "myriads of years." He stands on an oval in which are a lion, two serpents, a jackal, crocodile, scorpion, hippopotamus and tortoise. This scene is repeated very accurately on a Gnostic lapis-lazuli plaque in the British Museum, No. 12, on the back of which is an address to IAW ZABAWO = is with whom this polytheistic deity was identified. Figures of the god Bes are common on gems and seals other than Egyptian, and on a small Babylonian cylinder in the possession of Sir Charles Nicholson he is represented in the form in which he ordinarily occurs On a red carnelian

49

lonian art. cylinder in the British Museum (Reg. No. 633) he is en

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graved, full face, wearing plumes, and holding a lotus flower in each hand; on each side of him is a male bearded figure, with upraised hands and arms, supporting a winged disk. This seal was inscribed for Arsaces, and belongs to the Persian period.

Sechet, also written, was the wife of Ptaḥ, and was, in this capacity, the mother of Nefer-Atmu and I-cm-hetep; she was the second person of the triad of Memphis. She represented the violent heat of the sun and its destroying power, and in this capacity destroyed the souls of the wicked in the underworld. In bronze and faïence figures she has the head of a lion, upon which she wears the disk and uræus, and she holds in her right hand and in her left; she is sometimes scated, when her hands are laid upon her knees.

8

Bast represents the heat of the sun in its softened form as the producer of vegetation. She has often the head of a lion, but, properly speaking, the head of a cat is her distinguishing characteristic; in her right hand she holds a

of Bubas

sistrum, on her left arm she carries a basket, and in her left hand she holds an ægis. She was chiefly worshipped at The Lady Bubastis, Pa-Bast, where a magnificent temple was built in tis. her honour. Bronze figures of this goddess are tolerably numerous, and she is reprcsented, both sitting and standing, wearing the disk and uræus on her head. In faïence, standing figures hold a sceptre (B.M. No. 236), or (B.M. No. 233), or an ægis (B.M. No. 11,297); when seated she often holds a sistrum, B.M. No. 272; a fine large example of the goddess seated is B.M. No. 277. Such figures are sometimes inscribed with the prayer, "may she grant all life and power, all health, and joy of heart," o

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, or, "I am Bast, the lady

of life,"

Menḥit

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8 44-represented the

power of light or heat, or both; in faïence

Bast.

she is represented as an upright woman,
walking, having a lion's head, upon which she wears a disk

and uræus ; in her right hand is †,
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and in her left

the name given to a district to the

universal

Mut the "mother," was the wife of Åmen, and the The second member of the Theban triad; she is called the "lady mother. of Asher," south of the great temple of Amen-Rā at Karnak, where her temple was situated. She symbolized Nature, the mother of all things. In bronze and faïence figures she is represented as a woman, seated or standing, wearing a head-dress in the form of a vulture, surmounted by the crowns of Upper and

Lower Egypt; she holds fi
in her right hand, and in her left.

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Net J.

of Saïs.

or Neith, the "Weaver" or "Shooter," was a The Lady counterpart of the goddess Mut, and was also identified with

B. M.

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Hathor; she wears the crown of Lower Egypt &

on her

head, and she is often represented armed with bow and arrows. In bronze and faïence figures of this goddess are tolerably common.

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The goddess of Right.

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Maat, the "daughter of Rã and mistress of the

gods," symbolized Law, and she is always represented with maat, emblematic of Law, upon her head; in papyri two Maat are shown together, each wearing, but sometimes this feather alone takes the place of the head. In figures of bronze, lapis-lazuli, and faïence she is represented sitting down.

or

Het-Hert, the

Hathor, in Egyptian. "house of Horus," is identified with Nut, the sky, or place in which she brought forth and suckled Horus; she was the wife of Atmu, a form of Rā. She is represented as a woman

cow-headed, with horns and a disk between them, and shares with Isis and Mut many of their attributes.1 She is often represented as a cow coming forth from the mountain of the west. The worship of Hathor is exceedingly ancient, and she was supposed to be the goddess of beauty, love, and joy, and the benefactress of the world. The forms in which she is depicted on the monuments are as numerous as the aspects from which she could be regarded. Full length figures of this goddess in bronze and faïence are comparatively few,3 but plaques and pendants of faïence upon which her head is inscribed or painted are common.

For a fine example in bronze of Hathor, cow-headed, wearing horns, disk, uræus and plumes, see B.M. No. 22,925. The British Museum also possesses two interesting bronze hollowwork portions of menȧts in which Hathor is represented in

The god.

dess of

fine art.

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1 A list of the gods with whom she is identified is given in Lanzone, Dizionario, p. 863, 864.

2 On a pendant, B. M. No. 302, she is represented at full length, in relief. 3 For a fine example, see B.M. No. 22,925.

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profile. No. 20,760 shows the goddess wearing an uræus on her forehead, and four uræi on her head; she has the usual head-dress of women falling over her shoulders. Beneath is a Hathor-headed sistrum, with pendent uræi, resting on Beneath in an oval is the cow of Hathor, wearing,

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