Egyptian mythology Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian pantheon, Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part ...

, Nemty (Antaeus in Greek, but probably not connected to the

Antaeus Antaeus (; , derived from ), known to the Berbers as Anti, was a figure in Traditional Berber religion, Berber and Greek mythology. He was famed for his defeat by Heracles as part of the Labours of Hercules. Family In Greek sources, he was ...

Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the Ancient Greece, ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories conc ...

) was a

god In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

whose worship centered at Antaeopolis in the northern part of

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

. Nemty's worship is quite ancient, dating from at least the

2nd dynasty The Second Dynasty of ancient Egypt (or Dynasty II, – ) is the latter of the two dynasties of the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, Egyptian Archaic Period, when the seat of government was centred at Thinis. It is most known for its last rule ...

, at which point he already had

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

s dedicated to his cult. Originally, Nemty appears to have been the patron of the ancient area around Badari, which was the center of the cult of

Horus Horus (), also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor () in Egyptian language, Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and t ...

. Due to lack of surviving information, it is not very well known what the original function of Nemty was or whether he was more than just a title of Horus referring to some specific function. Over time, Nemty became considered simply as the god of

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

men and was consequently depicted as a

falcon Falcons () are birds of prey in the genus ''Falco'', which includes about 40 species. Some small species of falcons with long, narrow wings are called hobbies, and some that hover while hunting are called kestrels. Falcons are widely distrib ...

standing on a

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

, a reference to Horus, who was originally considered as a falcon. As god of ferrymen, he gained the title Nemty, meaning ''(one who) travels''. His later cult center was in Antaeopolis, but also in Per-Nemty (House of Nemty) in the 12th Upper Egyptian nome. Nemty appears in the tale '' The Contendings of Horus and Seth'' which describes the settlement of the inheritance of Osiris, seen as a metaphor for the conquest of

Lower Egypt Lower Egypt ( ') is the northernmost region of Egypt, which consists of the fertile Nile Delta between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea, from El Aiyat, south of modern-day Cairo, and Dahshur. Historically, the Nile River split into sev ...

by Upper Egypt (whose patron was

Seth Seth, in the Abrahamic religions, was the third son of Adam and Eve. The Hebrew Bible names two of his siblings (although it also states that he had others): his brothers Cain and Abel. According to , Seth was born after Abel's murder by Cain, ...

), at the beginning of the

Old Kingdom In ancient Egyptian history, the Old Kingdom is the period spanning –2200 BC. It is also known as the "Age of the Pyramids" or the "Age of the Pyramid Builders", as it encompasses the reigns of the great pyramid-builders of the Fourth Dynast ...

. In this tale, one of Seth's attempts to gain power consists of his gathering together the gods and providing good arguments, convincing all of them (in later traditions, all except

Thoth Thoth (from , borrowed from , , the reflex of " eis like the ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an African sacred ibis, ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. His feminine count ...

). Seth fears magical intervention by

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

, Horus' wife (in early Egyptian mythology), and so holds the gathering on an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

, instructing Nemty not to allow anyone resembling Isis to be ferried there. However, Isis disguises herself as an old woman and unknowingly Nemty takes her across after being paid a gold ring, having rejected the first offer of

gruel Gruel is a food consisting of some type of cereal—such as ground oats, wheat, rye, or rice—heated or boiled in water or milk. It is a thinner version of porridge that may be more often drunk rather than eaten. Historically, gruel has been a ...

, resulting in the disruption of the council by her use of magic. Nemty is punished for his error, by having his

toe Toes are the digits of the foot of a tetrapod. Animal species such as cats that walk on their toes are described as being ''digitigrade''. Humans, and other animals that walk on the soles of their feet, are described as being ''plantigrade''; ...

s cut off, which is more severe than it appears, since as a falcon, he would no longer be able to perch and thus would not be able to reside on the boat. Two pharaohs bore theophoric names incorporating Nemty's, both during the

Sixth Dynasty of Egypt The Sixth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (notated Dynasty VI), along with the Third Dynasty of Egypt, Third, Fourth Dynasty of Egypt, Fourth and Fifth Dynasty of Egypt, Fifth Dynasty, constitutes the Old Kingdom of Egypt, Old Kingdom of Dynastic Egyp ...

at the end of the Old Kingdom period, Merenre Nemtyemsaf I and Merenre Nemtyemsaf II. Here "Nemtyemsaf" means "Nemty is his protection". In older literature, the hieroglyphs of the god were read as ''Anti'' or ''Anty''. Several studies confirmed that this reading is not correct. "Nemty" is also the name of a

ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware that Encryption, encrypts the victim's personal data until a ransom is paid. Difficult-to-trace Digital currency, digital currencies such as paysafecard or Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, cryptocurrencies are com ...

program.

References

{{authority control Egyptian gods Falcon deities Tutelary deities