Egyptian religious poetry

GLOSSARY 19

Nefer-ka-Ré. “‘ Beautiful is the ka of Ré.”” Throne name of Pepy II of the vith dynasty.

Neith. The personification of the Crown of Lower Egypt (the Red Crown). Her sacred city was Sais. Herodotus describes a festival of Neith.

Nekheb (mod. El Kab). The “Southern Shrine” of the hymns.

Nekhebt (Gr. Eileitheia). The goddess who represented the South, depicted as a vulture. Her function was to protect the king.

Nekhen (Gr. Hieraconpolis). The capital of Upper Egypt in prehistoric times.

Nephthys (Eg. Neb-het, “ Lady of the house”’). Originally the goddess who received the Pharaoh on his death. She began as an independent deity ; later, was made a sister of Isis, with whom she mourned the death of Osiris.

Neshemt. See Boat of the Sun.

Nut. The Sky-goddess. The sun was born of her every day and died in her arms every night. Represented as a gigantic woman bending over the earth with her feet and hands touching the ground while her curved body makes the arch of the sky.

Pepy. There were two kings of this name in the vith dynasty. In the pyramids of both the burial chambers are inscribed with the religious texts known as the Pyramid Texts.

Ptah. Chief god of Memphis. God of all the arts of life.

Punt. Generic name for the trading ports down the Red Sea and possibly along the south of Arabia. The “Land of Punt” was known as the Land of the Gods, and was celebrated for spices and perfumes.

Rameses. “ Child of the Sun.” There were eleven kings of this name, of whom the best known was Rameses II of