Who the Goddess Nut is

Nut was basically considered as the goddess of the sky. But is broader sense, she was known to be the personification of the vault of the heavens. She was one of the nine major deities of the ‘Ennead of Heliopolis’.

There were also some names by which sky goddess nut can be identified. These were Neuth, Nwt, Nuit, Newet etc.

Origin of Nut: Heliopolitan Theology

Origin of Nut can be traced in the Heliopolitan theology. This religious view basically was formed by the priests of Heliopolis to the emphasis on the solar origin of the universe. Here Atum; the sun god is considered as the supreme creator. Nut was one of the offspring of Shu; god of air and Tefnut; goddess of moisture, the first offspring of Atum.

Nut Family Tree

Nut was considered as the daughter of Shu and Tefnut and the grandchild of primaeval father Atum. Shu and Tefnut had another son; Geb; god of earth. Geb and Nut together as husband and wife had another four offspring; Isis, Osiris, Seth and Nephthys.

Separation of Nut and Geb

According to Heliopolitan mythology, Nut and Geb were being separated by Shu, their father. It happened because Nut swallowed the constellations because of which Geb got angry with her. Another version of the story says that there was no space between sky and earth to continue to the noble work of creating because of which sun god Atum ordered Shu to separate Nut and Geb. This mythology is well depicted in ancient Egyptian art.

Nut The Sky Goddess

As a goddess of the sky, Nut is depicted sometimes with water pot on her head. But the most dominant depiction of Nut is in a stretched form of the body having blue colour along with the number of stars. Her legs and arms are shown bent down which touch the horizons. In this type of depiction, she is accompanied by either her husband Geb only or both Geb and her father Shu.

Different types of her depiction can be seen in the tomb of Tutankhamen, on the ceiling of the burial chamber of the tomb of Ramesses VI in the Valley of the kings, in the private tombs of Thebes etc.

Nut the Milky Way

According to scholars Nut actually had more significance rather than only representing the sky. In the broader sense, she may have represented the whole Milky Way Galaxy. Both artistic and astronomical evidence can be traced to examine the validity of this hypothesis.

In ancient Egyptian art, Nut is depicted in blue colour, representing the sky. Here a broad band of stars are shown who was believed to cross the night sky. Spell 176 of the Book of the Dead refers to this belief.

Another mention must be mentioned here about the eminent scholar Ronald Wells who worked on ancient Egyptian astronomy. According to his research, the predawn sky at the winter solstice in pre-dynastic Egypt represented the Milky Way like a stretched out figure along with arms and legs which touched the horizons. These representations can easily be related to the iconographic depiction of Nut.

Nut Mother Goddess

The broader significance of Nut can be understood when Nut is considered as the mother of sun god Atum. The reasons behind this type of belief are the visualization of the cosmic functions of Nut as the sky goddess. It was believed that the sun as well as other heavenly bodies entered her mouth and emerged again from her womb each day.

It was believed that sun travelled through her body during the night and the stars travelled her body during the daytime. In Pyramid texts also, she is described as the mother of kings.

Connection with Resurrection and Re-birth

The role of Nut was not only limited to sky-goddess but also she appeared as an important deity in funerary aspects in ancient Egypt. Her name often came in Pyramid texts as an important goddess who takes part in the resurrection of the deceased king. Her strong connection with funerary aspects can also be traced in the production of Osiris and other deities related to the netherworld as the children of Nut and Geb.

Her role as funerary goddess also can be traced in her position as a heavenly cow. In later times, her place and functions were often replaced by goddess Hathor.

Sycamore Tree and Nut

Sycamore tree was considered as one important symbol of the goddess Nut. The association of Nut with sycamore tree as well as wood may have been formed because of her association with the coffin. Sycamore tree symbolizes protection, strength, divinity and strength. This is also referred in the  Book of the Dead.

Protector of The Dead

Nut was also considered as the protector of the dead. In this aspect, she is believed to be the supplier of water to the dead ones. This is the reason why Nut is often depicted bearing a water pot in her head.