13 Facts About Hatmehit

Hatmehit or Hatmehyt was an Ancient Egyptian goddess associated with the city in the Nile Delta known as Djedet or Mendes.

In later periods Hatmehit takes on the iconography of Isis and Hathor, with her fish standard or crown replaced by the horns and sun disk that both shared.

Hatmehit was part of the Mendesian triad which consisted of her, the god Banebdjedet, and Harpocrates.

Hatmehit's cult was localized mainly to Nome 16 of Lower Egypt around Mendes although there are depictions of her found widely around Egypt.

Hatmehit can be found in the temples at Behbeit El Hagar, Dendera, and Edfu, as well as in tombs in Abusir and Bahariya Oasis.

For example, due to Mendes' role as a center for perfume production, Hatmehit gained an association with good scents and perfumery.

The only location of a shrine to Hatmehit discovered thus far in Mendes was one located near an ancient harbor.

Outside of Mendes, Hatmehit appears as a deity overseeing the day on IV Akhet 22 in Dendera and II Peret 3 in Edfu.

On IV Akhet 28, there is a Procession of Hatmehit recorded in the Cairo Calendar.

The second was a shorter reference found on the doorjamb to a room called the Birthplace of Isis where as part of her titulary she was called by the name "Hatmehit, who protects ames-scepter".

Isis-Hatmehit remained an important part of life in the Mendesian nome into the Roman period.

Hatmehit is considered by some Egyptologists to be connected with Hathor.

Additionally, Herman de Meulenaere argues that due to Hatmehit's epithets describing her as one of the parties who search for the body of Osiris that pointed to a connection with Nephthys as well.