Editing Menhit

{{Short description|Nubian war goddess}}
{{Distinguish|Mehit}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Nubian
| image = menhit.svg
| hiero = <hiero>mn:n-H-i-i-t-I12</hiero>
| god_of = Nubian lioness goddess of war and the Sun
| offspring = [[Heka (god)|Heka]]
| consort = [[Khnum]]
}}
{{Kushite religion}}
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
'''Menhit''' {{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|ɛ|n|ˌ|h|ɪ|t}} (also known as '''Menhyt''', and '''Menchit''') was originally a [[Nubia]]n lion goddess of war in the [[Kingdom of Kush]], who was regarded as a [[Tutelary deity|tutelary]] and [[Solar deity|sun goddess]].<ref name="Wilkinson 179" /> Her name means either "she who sacrifices" or "she who massacres."<ref>Farid, Mona; Fekri, Magdi Mohamed; Abd-elaal, Magdi Ismail (Hesham Ezz-eldin). "[https://www.researchgate.net/publication/338839333_Archeological_Study_of_Wild_Animals_in_the_New_Kingdom Archeological Study of Wild Animals in the New Kingdom]". University of Sadat. ''ResearchGate''. Retrieved 2023-09-07</ref>  

== History ==
Believed to have origins as a Nubian goddess, Menhit is always depicted as a lioness with solar disk and a [[uraeus]] symbol.<ref name="Wilkinson 179" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Budge |first=E. A. Wallis |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=G5ZgDwAAQBAJ |title=The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead: Prayers, Incantations, and Other Texts from the Book of the Dead |date=2018-08-28 |publisher=Crestline Books |isbn=978-0-7603-6443-7 |language=en}}</ref> Coffin texts associate her with being a tutelary and solar deity.<ref name="Wilkinson 179" /> Some sources identify her as the subject of the "Distant Goddess" myth. In one legend, the [[Eye of Ra]] flees from Egypt. Her counterpart, [[Ra]], sends another god to track her down in Nubia, where she transforms into a lioness. When she is returned to Ra, she either becomes or gives birth to Menhit.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Mark |first=Joshua J. |date=2016-04-14 |title=Egyptian Gods - The Complete List |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/885/egyptian-gods---the-complete-list/ |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=WorldHistory.org}}</ref>

She also was believed to advance ahead of the Egyptian armies and cut down their enemies with fiery arrows, similar to other war deities.<ref name="hansbonnet"/> She was less known to the people as a crown goddess<ref>{{Cite book |last=Felde |first=Rolf |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=thZFDwAAQBAJ |title=Gottheiten, Pharaonen und Beamte im alten Ägypten |date=2017-12-29 |publisher=BoD – Books on Demand |isbn=978-3-7460-4935-9 |pages=34 |language=de}}</ref> and was one of the goddesses who represented the protective [[uraeus]] on royal crowns.<ref name="Wilkinson 179">{{Cite book |last=Wilkinson |first=Richard H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ozgBOQAACAAJ |title=The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt |date=2017 |publisher=Thames & Hudson |isbn=978-0-500-28424-7 |pages=179 |language=en}}</ref>

== Cults ==
In the 3rd [[Nome (Egypt)|Nome]] of [[Upper Egypt]], particularly at [[Esna]], Menhit was said to be the wife of [[Khnum]] and the mother of [[Heka (god)|Heka]]. She was also known to be the mother of [[Shu (Egyptian god)|Shu]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Budge |first=E. A. Wallis |url=http://archive.org/details/Budge.AnEgyptianHieroglyphicDictionary.vol.1 |title=An Egyptian Hieroglyphic Dictionary with an Index of English Words, King List and Geological List Vol. 1 |publisher=John Murray |year=1920 |location=London |pages=303–304}}</ref> She was also worshipped in [[Lower Egypt]], where she was linked with the goddesses [[Wadjet]] and [[Neith]].<ref name="Wilkinson 179" /> She became identified with another lioness goddess, [[Sekhmet]].<ref name="hansbonnet">Hans Bonnet: ''Menhit'', in: ''Lexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte'' (English: Lexicon of Egyptian History of Religion) p.451f</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Literature==
* Rolf Felde: ''Ägyptische Gottheiten.'' Wiesbaden 1995
* Hans Bonnet: ''Lexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte'', Hamburg 2000; {{ISBN|3-937872-08-6}}

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer|collapsed}}{{Kushite religion footer}}{{Egyptian-myth-stub}}

[[Category:Egyptian goddesses]]
[[Category:Lion goddesses]]
[[Category:Lunar goddesses]]
[[Category:Nubian goddesses]]
[[Category:Solar goddesses]]
[[Category:Tutelary goddesses]]
[[Category:War goddesses]]