Qetesh
Qetesh | |
---|---|
heavenly goddess | |
Ra[1] |
Deities of the ancient Near East |
---|
Religions of the ancient Near East |
Part of a series on |
Ancient Egyptian religion |
---|
Ancient Egypt portal |
Qetesh (also Qodesh, Qadesh, Qedesh, Qetesh, Kadesh, Kedesh, Kadeš or Qades
Due to lack of clear references to Qetesh as a distinct deity in Ugaritic and other Syro-Palestinian sources, she is considered an Egyptian deity influenced by religion and iconography of
Character
The functions of Qetesh in Egyptian religion are hard to determine due to lack of direct references, but her epithets (especially the default one, "lady of heaven") might point at an astral character, and lack of presence in royal cult might mean that she was regarded as a protective goddess mostly by commoners. Known sources do not associate her with fertility or sex, and theories presenting her as a "
Her epithets include "Mistress of All the Gods", "Lady of the Stars of Heaven", "Beloved of Ptah", "Great of magic, mistress of the stars", and "Eye of Ra, without her equal".[7] A connection with Ptah or Ra evident in her epithets is also known from Egyptian texts about Anat and Astarte.[8][9]
Iconography
On a stele representing the deity, Qetesh is depicted as a frontal nude (an uncommon motif in Egyptian art, though not exclusively associated with her), wearing a Hathor wig and standing on a lion, between Min and the Canaanite warrior god Resheph. She holds a snake in one hand and a bouquet of lotus or papyrus flowers in the other.[10][11]
Origin
Early researchers attempted to prove Qetesh was simply a form of a known Canaanite deity, rather than a fully independent goddess. William F. Albright proposed in 1939 that she was a form of the "lady of Byblos" (Baalat Gebal), while René Dussard suggested a connection to "Asherat" (e.g. the biblical Asherah) in 1941. Subsequent studies tried to find further evidence for equivalence of Qetesh and Asherah, despite dissimilar functions and symbols.[12]
The arguments presenting Qetesh and Asherah as the same goddess rely on the erroneous notion that Asherah,
Modern
In popular culture
Qetesh is the name given to the
Qetesh is also the name used in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode Goodbye, Sarah Jane Smith, and confirmed to be the humanoid species (also known as "soul-stealers") of Ruby White (the episode's villain) who feeds off excitement and heightened emotion and have stomachs that live outside their bodies.
Moreover is Qadesh, also called Qwynn, a character in Holly Roberds' fantasy novel "Bitten by Death", published in 2021.
See also
- Shala, a Mesopotamian goddess also depicted as nude and associated with the sky
- Queen of Heaven (Antiquity)
References
- ^ I. Cornelius, Qudshu, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (electronic pre-publication), p. 1, 4
- ^ Ch. Zivie-Choche, Foreign Deities in Egypt [in:] J. Dieleman, W. Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2011, p. 5-6
- ^ M. Krebernik, Qdš [in:] Reallexikon der Assyriologie und vorderasiatischen Archäologie vol. 11, 2008, p. 176
- ^ S. L. Budin, A Reconsideration of the Aphrodite-Ashtart Syncretism, Numen vol. 51, no. 2, 2004, p. 100
- ^ I. Cornelius, Qudshu, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (electronic pre-publication), p. 1: "a goddess by the name of Q. is not known in the Ugaritic or any other Syro–Palestinian texts"
- ^ I. Cornelius, Qudshu, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (electronic pre-publication), p. 4
- ^ "The "Holy One" by Johanna Stuckey". www.matrifocus.com. Archived from the original on 31 January 2008. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- ^ M. Smith, 'Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts [in:] D. T. Sugimoto (ed), Transformation of a Goddess. Ishtar – Astarte – Aphrodite, 2014, p. 66
- ^ K. Tazawa, Astarte in New Kingdom Egypt: Reconsideration of Her Role and Function [in:] D. T. Sugimoto (ed), Transformation of a Goddess. Ishtar – Astarte – Aphrodite, 2014, p. 110
- ^ Ch. Zivie-Choche, Foreign Deities in Egypt [in:] J. Dieleman, W. Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2011, p. 6-7
- ^ I. Cornelius, Qudshu, Iconography of Deities and Demons in the Ancient Near East (electronic pre-publication), p. 1
- ^ S. A. Wiggins, The Myth of Asherah: Lion Lady and Serpent Goddess, Ugarit-Forschungen 23, 1991, p. 384-386; 389
- ^ S. A. Wiggins, The Myth of Asherah: Lion Lady and Serpent Goddess, Ugarit-Forschungen 23, 1991, p. 387
- ^ M. Smith, 'Athtart in Late Bronze Age Syrian Texts [in:] D. T. Sugimoto (ed), Transformation of a Goddess. Ishtar – Astarte – Aphrodite, 2014, p. 49-51
- ^ G. Del Olme Lete, KTU 1.107: A miscellany of incantations against snakebite [in] O. Loretz, S. Ribichini, W. G. E. Watson, J. Á. Zamora (eds), Ritual, Religion and Reason. Studies in the Ancient World in Honour of Paolo Xella, 2013, p. 198
- ^ S. A. Wiggins, A Reassessment of Asherah: With Further Considerations of the Goddess, 2007, p. 57, footnote 124; see also p. 169
- ^ S. A. Wiggins, A Reassessment of Tikva Frymer-Kensky's Asherah [in:] R. H. Bael, S. Halloway, J. Scurlock, In the Wake of Tikva Frymer-Kensky, 2009, p. 174
- ^ S. A. Wiggins, Shapsh, Lamp of the Gods [in:] N. Wyatt (ed.), Ugarit, religion and culture: proceedings of the International Colloquium on Ugarit, Religion and Culture, Edinburgh, July 1994; essays presented in honour of Professor John C. L. Gibson, 1999, p. 327
- ^ The Ugaritic Baal cycle: Volume 2 by Mark S. Smith, page 295
- ^ The Origins of Biblical Monotheism: Israel's Polytheistic Background and the Ugaritic Texts by Mark S. Smith - Page 237
- ^ Ch. Zivie-Choche, Foreign Deities in Egypt [in:] J. Dieleman, W. Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, 2011, p. 5-6