Goddess Werethekau


Goddess Werethekau name
Goddess Werethekau from Luxor temple
Goddess Werethekau was a cobra or lioness Goddess, shielder of the pharaoh. Her  name  agency  Great  of  Magic which as an name ofttimes follows the names of leading goddesses such as goddess Hathor, goddess Isis, goddess Mut, goddess Pakhet or Sakhmet.  In  the Pyramid Texts, the style Great of Magic is besides given to the Crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt.

As an clear deity, Werethekau occurs  in  reliefs  and  inscriptions of the New Kingdom. On the Eighth Pylon of the Temple of Amun at Karnak, Werethekau  with  the head of a lioness accompanies  the king Thutmose III (18th Dynasty) in  the advance  of the spiritual boat  conducted  the  priests shoulder joints. The most enjoyable histrionics  of the  lioness  goddess  are  on  the interior northern  wall  of  the  Great Hypostyle Hall at Karnak where she gives the pharaoh Sety I (19th Dynasty) with  the  symbol  of  the  jubilee  fete.  On  the small  Golden  shrine  described  in  the tomb of King Tutankhamun (18th Dynasty) the name of the king, and that of his queen Ankhesenamun, is often united to Werethekau, sometimes named Mistress of the Palace. In the shrine itself was an amulet  showing  Werethekau  as  a cobra-goddess,  with  a human  head  and arms, breastfeeding Tutankhamun. Her familiarity to royalty is particularly tried on the inscription on the pair statue of the king Horemheb (18th Dynasty) and his queen Mutnodjmet, nowadays in Turin Museum.  The  inscription  describes how during Horemhebs coronation ceremonial  in  the Temple of Karnak, Werethekau  addresses  the  new  pharaoh  and constitutes  herself  as  the  Uraeus  on  his brow.  In  the  Graeco-Roman Era Werethekau takes part in the mourning rituals  depicted  on  the  walls  of the Osiris chapel on the roof of the Temple of Philae.

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