I’ll be honest, Neith is a goddess I have never felt much of a connection to. Nevertheless, considering her familial relationship with Sobek, I’ll do my best to give her justice here.
Neith is one of the eldest goddesses in ancient Egyptian mythology, appearing since the Predynastic Period. Her symbol is two crossed arrows over a shield (“Mistress of the Bow”, “Ruler of Arrows”), and her earliest mentions have her as a protective deity over kings with strong war and hunting aspects. The etymology of her name is uncertain, as its origin predates linguistic records. It is likely that Nt relates to water or creation, possibly meaning “She of the Waters” or a similar concept, based on hieroglyphic interpretation and her close ties to the primeval waters.
In the Pyramid Texts, she frequently appears alongside Isis and Nephthys as a guardian funerary goddess, with utterances describing her as a judge of the deceased. “Neith, with her arrows, guards your body; her shield is your strength in the Duat.” (PT 606) “Neith, who opens the way with her bow, who slays the enemies of the kings before Osiris.” (PT 364) She is depicted as a warrior who clears obstacles in the afterlife, a divine archer ensuring safe passage through hostile realms.
The Coffin Texts frame her as Creatrix and weaver, linked to the primeval waters of the Nun, and she is invoked for protection in the afterlife, with references to her weaving mummy bandages.
It is in the New Kingdom that she is sometimes depicted nursing a crocodile as “Nurse of Crocodiles”, and continues to appear in relation to funerals and guarding the deceased, one of four goddesses (Isis, Nephthys, Serket) guarding the canopic jars. In Temple Inscriptions at Luxor and Karnak, she is often a consort to Khnum or Set.
Sais was her cult center in the Delta, and it was a strategically vital location against northern invaders. Inscriptions portraying her with weapons reflect her role as regional protector – her mace a symbol of crushing her enemies, complementing her prowess as archer. Her temple at Sais, called Per-bit (House of the Bee), clearly links her to the bee and honey, although this may be a singular association.
During the Greco-Roman period, Herodotus described Neith’s festival, the Feast of Lamps, where devotees burned oil lamps all night in her honor. One of her temple inscriptions reads, “I am the things that are, that will be, and that have been…The fruit which I brought forth was the sun.” To the Greco-Romans, Neith was equated with Athena, particularly because of her role as a war goddess.
Neith as war goddess is one of her most prominent and enduring aspects in AE religion, with her presence in royal contexts tying her to military victory, a divine warrior who guided the king in battle, invoked for martial success.
In the Pyramid Texts, Sobek is called the son of Neith, praising his power while linking him to hers.
In the Temple of Esna, Neith is the primordial creatrix who emerged from the Nun, with “Sobek, born of her waters, guarding the flood with his might” (Esna V, 238). A second text, (Esna II, 17) describes Neith creating Sobek, “She gave form to Sobek in the primeval flood, his jaws her shield, his scales her arrows.” Here, Neith’s association with the primeval waters and warrior attributes are combined with Sobek’s natural watery connections and the might of the crocodile – creation and guardianship – complementary forces in maintaining Ma’at. Along with Sobek, a second crocodile son, Shemanefer (unique to Esna) is mentioned.
During the Late and Ptolemaic periods, amulets depicting Neith nursing crocodiles were popular, and one of her epithets was “Nurse of Crocodiles” as she nurtured them as a life-giving creator, tying her to the crocodile as a symbol of power and protection, fostering life and divine order.
As this creator goddess tied to primordial waters, Neith would have been a natural mother figure for Sobek, the embodiment of the Nile, with her mastery over chaos and her role in sustaining cosmic order.
Dua Sobek 