Fresh Batch #61: What Does Taweret (Toeris) Signify?

How Knowing Astrological Symbolism can be Useful for Historians

A deity unique to Egypt is Taweret. According to Wiki, in Ancient Egyptian religion, Taweret (also spelled Taurt, Tuat, Tuart, Ta-weret, Tawaret, Twert and Taueret, and in Greek, Θουέρις – Thouéris, Thoeris, Taouris and Toeris) is the protective ancient Egyptian goddess of childbirth and fertility. The name Taweret (Tȝ-wrt) means she who is great or simply great one, a common pacificatory address to dangerous deities. The deity is typically depicted as a bipedal female hippopotamus with feline attributes, pendulous female human breasts, the limbs and paws of a lion, and the back and tail of a Nile crocodile. She commonly bears the epithets Lady of Heaven, Mistress of the Horizon, She Who Removes Water, Mistress of Pure Water, and Lady of the Birth House.

Taweret

This is Virgin Mary (Virgo Marina; Virgin of the Sea) symbolism. The animals associated with this archetype dwell in water. Also according Wiki, various myths demonstrate her role in facilitating the afterlives of the deceased as the nurturing and purifying Mistress of Pure Water. However, Taweret and her fellow hippopotamus goddesses of fertility should not be confused with Ammit, another composite hippopotamus goddess who gained prominence in the New Kingdom. Ammit was responsible for devouring the unjust before passing into the afterlife. Unlike Ammit, the other hippopotamus goddesses were responsible for nourishment and aid, not destruction.

Taweret and Bes figures on a chair from the treasures of Yuya and Tuya.

In the Ptolemaic and Roman periods (c. 332 BCE – 390 CE), Taweret maintained a central role in daily Egyptian life. In either the latter half of the Late Period (c. 664–332 BCE) or the early Ptolemaic period, a temple dedicated to Ipet was built at Karnak. This enigmatic temple was thought to witness the daily birth of the sun god from the hippopotamus goddesses that dwelled there. The sun god (Amun-Re) was conceived of as having multiple divine mothers, and by this later period in Egyptian history, Taweret and the other hippopotamus goddesses were included in this body of solar mothers.

Detail of the astronomical ceiling in the tomb of Seti I. A celestial form of Taweret can be seen in the far right.

The virgin symbolism is the clue that I’m going to sink my teeth into and prove what I suspect is symbolism directly tied to The Labors of Hercules, which historians can use to date the deity. For a comprehensive breakdown of that story and more insight into Egyptian hieroglyphics, read and/or listen to July’s End with Black Swans (click the image).

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