Renpetneferet (Ancient Egyptian: ''rnpt-nfrt'') is a minor goddess who is credited as being either the sister or the wife of

Imhotep Imhotep (; "(the one who) comes in peace"; ) was an Egyptian chancellor to the King Djoser, possible architect of Djoser's step pyramid, and high priest of the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. Very little is known of Imhotep as a historical figur ...

in Late Period

Egyptian ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...

texts. There is no evidence of an individual by this name existing during the reign of King

Djoser Djoser (also read as Djeser and Zoser) was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd Dynasty during the Old Kingdom, and was the founder of that epoch. He is also known by his Hellenized names Tosorthros (from Manetho) and Sesorthos (from Euse ...

, although similar names were being used for women during the fourth dynasty.

Imhotep's Divine Family

The meaning of the name Renpetneferet is connected to the New Year, the adjective ''nefer'' lending connotations of youth and beauty.

Renpet Renpet was, in the Egyptian language, the word for "year". Its hieroglyph was figuratively depicted in art as a woman wearing a palm shoot (symbolizing time) over her head. She was often referred to as the ''Mistress of Eternity'' and also personi ...

means year, and is often depicted as a minor goddess in her own right, connected with the God Heh from the Ogdoad in the iconography of the

Shen Ring In ancient Egypt, a shen ring was a circle with a line tangent to it, represented in hieroglyphs as a stylised loop of a rope, bound to a stick. The tool used by builders and architects. Shen rings can most often be seen in the clutches of Horu ...

. This identification of the renpet with the Ogdoad and Heh is visible in the iconography associated with

Seshat Seshat (, under various spellings) was the ancient Egyptian Ancient Egyptian religion, goddess of writing, wisdom, and knowledge. She was seen as a scribe and record keeper. She was also credited with inventing writing. She became identified a ...

, the wife of

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 ...

. Seshat is depicted inscribing the count of the years into a renpet, or a palm frond which functioned as a register of time, and as the hieroglyph for the word year. This renpet emerges from a Shen Ring with a frog perched on top of it, the frog representing the Ogdoad. As Imhotep, along with Amenhotep son of Hapu, was assimilated to Thoth during the Late Period, his wife and mother were also given divine status. This is a unique event in Egyptian history. Although Amenhotep son of Hapu's mother was deified, his wife/sister was not. This "most holy of families" was connected with the Hermopolitan reanalysis which occurred in the late period, and led to Thoth-Hermes. This is supported by the importance the Hermopolitan Cosmology had in the worship of Imhotep and Thoth during the Late Period. In

Deir el-Bahari Deir el-Bahari or Dayr al-Bahri (, , ) is a complex of mortuary temples and tombs located on the west bank of the Nile, opposite the city of Luxor, Egypt. This is a part of the Theban Necropolis. History Deir el-Bahari, located on the west ...

a temple to Amenhotep son of Hapu and Imhotep was created during the Ptolemaic period, where

Hygieia Hygieia is a goddess from Greek mythology (more commonly spelled Hygeia, sometimes Hygiea; ; or , or ). Hygieia is a goddess of health ( – ''hugieia''), cleanliness and hygiene. Her name is the source for the word "hygiene". Hygieia devel ...

was worshipped alongside

Asclepius Asclepius (; ''Asklēpiós'' ; ) is a hero and god of medicine in ancient Religion in ancient Greece, Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. He is the son of Apollo and Coronis (lover of Apollo), Coronis, or Arsinoe (Greek myth), Ars ...

, a possible Greek association with Renpetneferet.

In Egyptian literature

demotic Demotic may refer to: * Demotic Greek, the modern vernacular form of the Greek language * Demotic (Egyptian), an ancient Egyptian script and version of the language * Chữ Nôm Chữ Nôm (, ) is a logographic writing system formerly used t ...

papyrus from the temple of

Tebtunis Tebtunis was a city and later town in Lower Egypt. The settlement was founded in approximately 1800 BCE by the Twelfth Dynasty king Amenemhat III. It was located in what is now the village of Tell Umm el-Baragat in the Faiyum Governorate. In Tebt ...

, dating to the 2nd century AD, preserves a long story about Imhotep. King Djoser plays a prominent role in the story, which also mentions Imhotep's family; his father the god Ptah, his mother Khereduankh, and his younger sister Renpetneferet. At one point Djoser desires Renpetneferet, and Imhotep disguises himself and tries to rescue her. The text also refers to the royal tomb of Djoser. Part of the legend includes an anachronistic battle between the Old Kingdom and the Assyrian armies where Imhotep fights an

Assyria Assyria (Neo-Assyrian cuneiform: , ''māt Aššur'') was a major ancient Mesopotamian civilization that existed as a city-state from the 21st century BC to the 14th century BC and eventually expanded into an empire from the 14th century BC t ...

n sorceress in a duel of magic.Kim Ryholt, The Assyrian invasion of Egypt in Egyptian literary tradition, in Assyria and Beyond, Nederlands Instituut voor het Nabije Oosten 2004, , p. 501

References

{{Ancient Egyptian religion footer Mythological characters Egyptian deities

Imhotep's Divine Family

In Egyptian literature

See also

References