Goddess of the Red Crown

Neith was the goddess of the red crown of lower Egypt and is a predynastic Egypt mythological figure.

She was the patron of weaving, hunting, and of war.

Lower Egypt is that part of Egypt that begins at the Aswan cataract and runs to the shores of the Mediterranean sea.

Kurt Sethe, a German philologist, argues that Neith could be the Canaanites war goddess Anath who was a bloodthirsty and terrifying god figure of war.

The cults to the goddess of the red crown show themselves in early texts of Abydos, according to The Great goddessses of Ancient Egypt by Lesko, but the real influence of Neith is seen at Sais which is much closer to the Mediterranean and the territory where Alexander the Great and the Ptolemy Pharoah chose to rule Egypt from. The lady of Sais was the creator of all.

The earliest images of the goddess of the red crown, again according to the same source, are found at the time of the reigns of Djet and Nynetjer during the Archaic Period. Reverence to the goddess of the delta was also respected at Memphis where an temple of Neith was situated just outside of the white walls.

Those royals who honoured the goddess of the delta or the predynastic goddess of the red crown often took on her name. ie. Meryneith.

The Greek version of Neith might be the strong and independent Athena. Neith in early Egypt is almost as powerful as the king himself.

The Berber culture Africans might have equated Tanit to Neith, where Ta is land and Nit is Neith.

The Phoenician equivalent was likely Ishtarte or Ishtar ( would be interesting this one to see any correlations to the ished tree and Apophis relation). The Ogdoad myths have her as the mother of Ra and of Apep

Neith, the goddess of the red crown, was also Nit, Net, Neit...

From the Pyramid Texts

" My mother is Isis

My nurse is Nephtys

Neith is behind me

Selket is before me"

The image of Neith is often one of a women holding a bow and arrow and a weaver's shuttle above her head. Other images have the goddess of the red crown pictured as a lioness, serpent (snake, lizard), or cow.