ancient Egyptian religion Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of Polytheism, polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with Ancient Egyptian deities, many deities belie ...

, Neper (alts. Nepra or Nepri) was a god of grain. His female counterpart was Nepit, the goddess of grain. His consort may have been Tayt, the goddess of weaving.

In myth

Pictured in human form, Neper is often depicted as a child suckled by Renenutet."Conceptions of God In Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many", Erik Hornung (translated by John Baines), p. 276, Cornell University Press, 1996, Neper's body was dotted to represent grains. The hieroglyphs that write his name similarly include the symbols of grain. Naturally, as ''lord of the mouth'', Neper's mother was identified as Renenutet, who gave out the '' ren'', a person's true name, and who was also identified as a source of

nourishment Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food and water to support its life. The intake of these substances provides organisms with nutrients (divided into macro- and micro-) which can be metabolized ...

. In particular, Neper was especially associated with the most used types of grain, namely

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

and emmer wheat. His name simply means "lord of the mouth", a reference to the function of grain as sustenance. Once the myth of Osiris and Isis coalesced, since

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

was a god of agriculture and the dead, his story was associated with the annual harvest and the annual disappearance of any visible life in the crop. Thus, at this point, Neper was considered merely an aspect of Osiris, a much more significant god, gaining the title ''(one who) lives after dying''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neper (Mythology) Egyptian gods Food deities Food gods ca:Nepit