Neith
Neith was a goddess of the hunt.
She may have also been a war goddess.
Her worship dates from pre dynastic history. In early times she was
called 'mother of the gods' and 'Great Goddess'.
She was considered the guardian of men and gods.
Later, Neith was seen as a protector of the dead,
she is often seen standing with Nephthys at the head of coffins.
Or assisting Isis, Nephthys, and Selket to guard the Canopic jars.
As 'Opener of the Ways', she was a guide in the underworld,
a female Anubis. As a creative deity she was said to be the wife of Khnum at Elephantine.
She was appealed to for her wisdom as an arbitrator during the great quarrel
of Horus and Seth.
Neith assumed the role of state deity during the Twenty-sixth Dynasty,
when the kings of Sais repeled the invading Assyrians and reunited Egypt.
This period lasted for about a century and a half and the tendency in art and religion
was to try to regain the glories of the past.
This was a suitable time for the worship of an ancient goddess.
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