Meretseger: Theban Cobra Goddess Who Presided Over The Valley of The Kings

A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com - In Egyptian mythology, Meretseger presided over the Theban necropolis located on the west bank of the Nile, especially the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens.

Stela with priest Neferhor praying to Meretseger, Luxor, Deir el-Medina, New Kingdom, Dynasty 20, reign of Ramesses III, c. 1182-1151 BC, limestone - Oriental Institute Museum, University of ChicagoImage credit: Daderot - CC0 1.0

Meretseger was associated with one particular landmark among the desert hills, and it was the pyramid-shaped, natural mountain peak (420 m) in the Theban Hills, known as el Qurn ("The Horn").

From there, she looked over the region. She was sometimes called Dehenet-Imentet ('the peak of the West') after her dwelling place, clearly recognizable on the horizon. Interestingly, her mountain peak was believed to be one of the entrances to the underworld. However, her most popular name was Metseger ('she who loves silence'), and this name perfectly fitted her because she adored the desolate, quiet, and lonely place belonging to the deceased.

In the mythology of ancient Egypt, three important cobra goddesses ruled over three environments. One of them was Wadjet, who ruled over the marshes of Lower Egypt.

The second was the goddess Renenutet ("snake who nourishes"), a popular and benevolent deity of cornfields. The third one was Meretseger, who presided over a desert hill, but she was only sometimes compassionate.

Meretseger on an ostracon. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Image credit: Djehouty - CC BY-SA 4.0

The necropolis' artisans and other workers who worked in the Valley of the Kings were aware of the goddess's constant presence. As they knew she was watching their hard work, they frequently "needed to appease Meretseger before they could work safely in her domain. One describes Meretseger as striking like a lion when angry but coming like a sweet breeze when she is appeased. Snakes were said to sleep below the earth like the dead every night and come alive again by day." 1.

In the village, several unearthed stelae were dedicated to Meretseger, and some made emotional and desperate requests for the goddess's forgiveness.

The artisans from the Valley of the Kings revered several deities such as Ptah, Osiris, Hathor, and kings and queens. However, Meretseger was always remembered by her worshipers. The snake, a source of danger and evil, held people in constant fear, and this goddess could avert the threat from these deadly creatures or cure them if necessary.

Being harsh with people, Meretseger was believed to strike those guilty of crimes or other evil deeds (like stealing something from the royal graves) with loss of sight or punished them with the help of dangerous bites and poisonous stings.

Meretseger/Al-Qurn - The natural pyramid over the valley of the kings, Luxor, West Bank. Image credit: Steve F-E-Cameron (Merlin-UK) - CC BY-SA 3.0

Ancient Egyptians believed they could save themselves from all evil creatures by venerating the scorpion goddess. Ancient Egyptian goddess Serket had power over snakes and scorpions and their poisonous and deadly bites. Thus, she could heal from fatal bites of snakes and scorpions and, another time, punish evildoers.

Several stelae were discovered in Deir el-Medina, the home to artisans and craftsmen, and these artworks attest to the goddess's forgiveness and the recovery of workers. Meretseger was, first of all, worshiped by the artisans and other workers who built and decorated the tombs of the Egyptian royals in the Valley of the Kings during the 18th to 20th Dynasties of the New Kingdom of Egypt (ca. 1550–1080 BC).

The ancient Egyptians believed that "snake-headed demons and fire-spitting snakes punish evil souls.

The visions of the underworld painted on the walls of the royal tombs were all associated with snakes. Each of the twelve underworld gates has a snake guardian, and the solar barque and the corpse of Osiris were protected by the coils of the mehen snake, a kind of counter - Apophis. 

Stele Nakhtimen from Deir el-Medina, praying Meretseger the snake-goddess. Credit: Marie-Lan Nguyen - CC-BY 2.5

Time itself was depicted as an endless snake that swallows up the hours. One of these images, the "Ouroboros" or "tail-in-mouth" serpent, passed into other cultures as a symbol of infinity." 1

Usually, Meretseger was depicted as a coiled serpent, a cobra with a woman's head, a snake-headed woman, or with attributes like a modius with uraeus, a disk with horns. Both serpents and scorpions were among creatures that inhabited remote desert-like places, and as such, they were, no doubt, perfectly fitting symbols of this deity.

Meretseger's cult is first dated to the New Kingdom (1550–1070 BC) but not later when the Theban necropolis ceased to be used for royal tombs.

Written by – A. Sutherland  - AncientPages.com Senior Staff Writer

Updated on February 20, 2024

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