Editing Satis (goddess)

{{short description|Ancient Egyptian goddess}}
{{Redirect|Stt||STT (disambiguation){{!}}STT}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| name = Satis
| image = Satis.svg
| caption =  This image contains some artistic liberties, such as the color of the dress so that Wikipedia readers can tell it apart from the rest of the Egyptian Deities.
| hiero = <hiero>S29-F29-X1:X1-B1</hiero><ref name=aeo/>{{sfnp|Vygus|2015|p=1774}}{{efn|name=hiero|Variant representations of Satis include <small><hiero>F29:X1*X1</hiero></small>,{{sfnp|Vygus|2015|p=469}} <small><hiero>F29-M17-M17-X1</hiero></small>,{{sfnp|Vygus|2015|p=467}} <small><hiero>S22:X1*X1</hiero></small>,{{sfnp|Vygus|2015|p=1724}} <small><hiero>S29-V13-M17-S22:X1</hiero></small>,{{sfnp|Vygus|2015|p=1900}} and <small><hiero>S29-V13:X1-F29-X1-A43</hiero></small>.{{sfnp|Vygus|2015|p=1903}}}}
| cult_center = Abu ([[Elephantine]])
| symbol = [[Hedjet]] crown; [[antelope]]; [[ankh]]; [[Bow (weapon)|bow]]; [[arrow]]; flowing [[river]]; [[Sirius]]
| parents = [[Ra]]
| consort = [[Montu]], [[Khnum]], or [[Ra]]
| offspring = [[Anuket]]
}}
'''Satet,''' '''Satit''' or '''Satjet, Satjit''' in Ancient Egyptian ({{langx|egy|Sṯt}} or ''{{lang|egy|Sṯı͗t}}'',{{sfnp|Vygus|2015|pp=467, 469, 1724, 1774, 1900, & 1903}} {{abbr|lit|literally}}.{{nbsp}}"Pourer" or "Shooter"), [[Greek language|Greek]]: '''Satis''', also known by [[#Names|numerous related names]], was an [[Upper Egypt]]ian [[ancient Egyptian deities|goddess]] who, along with [[Khnum]] and [[Anuket]], formed part of the [[Elephantine]] Triad. A protective deity of Egypt's southern border with [[Nubia]], she came to [[personification|personify]] the former [[flooding of the Nile|annual flooding]] of the [[Nile]] and to serve as a [[war goddess|war]], [[hunting]], and [[fertility goddess]].

She was sometimes conflated with [[Isis]] and [[Sopdet]], goddess of the bright star [[Sirius]],{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} which the Egyptians connected with the onset of the Nile flooding. Under the ''[[interpretatio graeca]]'', she was conflated with [[Hera]]{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} and [[Juno (mythology)|Juno]].

{{anchor|Name|Etymology}}

==Names==
The exact pronunciation of [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]] is often uncertain since vowels were not recorded until a very late period. In transcription, the goddess's name also appears as '''Setis''', '''Sati''', '''Setet''', '''Satet''', '''Satit''', and '''Sathit'''.<ref name=aeo>{{citation |last=Hill |first=J |date=2016 |title=Ancient Egypt Online |url=http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/ |contribution-url=http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/satet.html |contribution=Satet }}.</ref> Derived from ''{{lang|egy|sṯ}}'', meaning "eject", "shoot", "pour", or "throw", her name can be variously translated as "She who Shoots" or "She who Pours" depending on which of her roles is being emphasized.<ref name=aeo/>

Her name was originally written with the [[hieroglyph]] for a linen garment's shoulder knot ([[Gardiner's sign list|S29]]); this was later replaced by [[Anuket]]'s animal hide pierced by an arrow ([[Gardiner's sign list|F29]]).{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} She was also known by epithets, such as "Mistress of Elephantine"{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} and "She Who Runs Like an Arrow", thought to refer to the flowing river current.

==History==
A goddess of the [[Upper Egypt]]ians,{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=164}} her cult is first attested on jars beneath the [[Pyramid of Djoser|Step Pyramid]] of [[Saqqara]] ([[Dynasty III]]).{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} She appears in the [[Pyramid Texts]] ([[Dynasty VI]]) purifying a deceased pharaoh's body with four jars of water from [[Elephantine]].{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}}

Her principal center of worship was at Abu ([[Elephantine]]),{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} an island in [[Aswan]] on the southern edge of Egypt. [[Temple of Satet|Her temple there]] occupied an early [[predynastic]] site shown by [[Ronald Wells|Wells]] to be aligned with the star [[Sirius]].{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=166}} Other centers include Swenet ([[Aswan]] proper) and Setet ([[Sehel Island]] nearby). She was particularly associated with the upper reaches of the Nile,{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=164}} which the Egyptians sometimes considered to have its source near Aswan.{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} She is invoked in Aramaic as ''Sati'' on a divorce document in the [[Elephantine papyri]].

==Myths==
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
As a war goddess, Satis protected Egypt's southern [[Nubia]]n frontier by killing the enemies of the pharaoh with her sharp arrows.

As a fertility goddess, she was thought to grant the wishes of those who sought love. 

She seems to have originally been paired with the [[Thebes, Egypt|Theban]] god [[Montu]] but later replaced [[Heket]] as the consort of [[Khnum]],{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} guardian of the [[source of the Nile]]. By Khnum, her child was [[Anuket]], goddess of the [[Nile]]. After Khnum was conflated with [[Ra]], she sometimes became an [[Eye of Ra]] in place of [[Hathor]].{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}}<ref>Pinch, Geraldine (2004) ''Egyptian Mythology: A Guide to the Gods, Goddesses, and Traditions of Ancient Egypt''. Oxford University Press.  pp. 186–187</ref>

Together [[Khnum]], [[Anuket]], and Satis formed the Elephantine Triad.{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=194}}

==Representation==
Satis was usually pictured as a woman in a [[sheath dress]] wearing the [[hedjet]], the conical [[crown]] of [[Upper Egypt]], with [[antelope]] horns.{{sfnp|Wilkinson|2003|p=165}} She is sometimes depicted with [[Bow (weapon)|bow]] and [[arrow]]s; holding an [[ankh]] or [[Was-sceptre|scepter]]; or offering jars of [[Ritual purification|purifying]] water.

She also appears in the form of an [[antelope]].

Her symbols were the arrow and the running river.

==See also==
* [[Egyptian pantheon]]
* [[Elephantine]], [[Aswan]], & [[Sehel Island]]

==Notes==
{{Noteslist}}

==References==

===Citations===
{{reflist|30em}}

===Bibliography===
* {{citation |last=Vygus |first=Mark |date=2015 |title=Middle Egyptian Dictionary |url=http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/documents/VygusDictionaryApril2015.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160324043727/http://www.pyramidtextsonline.com/documents/VygusDictionaryApril2015.pdf |archive-date=2016-03-24 |url-status=live }}.
* {{citation |last=Wilkinson |first=Richard H. |author-link=Richard H. Wilkinson |title=The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt |publisher=Thames & Hudson |location=London |year=2003 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/completegodsgodd00wilk_0/page/164 164–6] |isbn=0-500-05120-8 |contribution=Satis |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/completegodsgodd00wilk_0/page/164 }}.

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last=Valbelle |first=Dominique |title=Satis et Anoukis |language=fr |year=1981 |publisher=Verlag Philipp von Zabern |isbn=3-8053-0414-5 }}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Satis}}

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer|collapsed}}{{Kushite religion footer}}{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Satis (Goddess)}}
[[Category:Egyptian goddesses]]
[[Category:Hunting goddesses]]
[[Category:Elephantine]]
[[Category:Fertility goddesses]]
[[Category:Nubian goddesses]]
[[Category:Sea and river goddesses]]
[[Category:War goddesses]]
[[Category:Personifications of rivers]]