Bat (goddess)

Ancient Egyptian cow goddess

For other uses, see Bat (disambiguation).

Bat

Name in hieroglyphs| |  | | | |

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Ancient Egyptian religion

Beliefs

* Afterlife
* Creation myths
* Isfet
* Maat
* Maa Kheru
* Mythology
* Numerology
* Osiris myth
* Philosophy
* Soul

Practices

* Canopic jars
* Embalming ritual
* Funerals
* Mortuary temples
* Offering formula
* Opening of the mouth
* Pyramids
* Temples
* Veneration of the dead

Deities (list)

| Ogdoad|

* Amun and Amunet
* Heh and Hauhet
* Kek and Kauket
* Nu and Naunet

|

Ennead|

* Atum
* Geb
* Isis
* Nephthys
* Nut
* Osiris
* Set
* Shu
* Tefnut

Triads|

* Theban Triad
* Elephantine Triad

* Aani
* Aati
* Abaset
* Abtu
* Ahmose-Nefertari
* Aker
* Akhty
* Amenhotep, son of Hapu
* Amesemi
* Am-heh
* Ammit
* Amu-Aa
* Anat
* Andjety
* Anput
* Anubis
* Anuket
* Apedemak
* Apesh
* Apis
* Apophis
* Aqen
* Arensnuphis
* Arsinoe II
* Ash
* Assessors of Maat
* Astarte
* Aten

* Baal
* Baalat Gebal
* Babi
* Banebdjedet
* Ba-Pef
* Bastet
* Bat
* Bata
* Bennu
* Bes
* Beset
* Buchis

* Cavern deities of the underworld
* Celestial Ferrymana

* Dedun
* Dionysus-Osiris
* Djedefhor
* Duamutef
* Duau

* Gate deities of the underworld
* Gengen-Wer

* Ha
* Hapi
* Hapy
* Harmachis
* Harpocrates
* Harsomtus
* Hathor
* Hatmehit
* Hauron
* Hedetet
* Hedjhotep
* Heka
* Hemen
* Hemsut
* Henet
* Henkhisesui
* Heqaib
* Heqet
* Hermanubis
* Hermes Trismegistus
* Heru-ur
* Heryshaf
* Hery-maat
* Hesat
* Horus
* Hu
* Hutchai

* Iabet
* Iah
* Iat
* Igai
* Ihy
* Ikhemu-sek
* Imentet
* Imhotep
* Imsety
* Ipy
* Irer
* Ishtar
* Iunit
* Iusaaset

* Jupiter Ammon

* Kagemni I
* Kebechet
* Khensit
* Khenti-Amentiu
* Khenti-kheti
* Khepri
* Khereduankh
* Kherty
* Khnum
* Khonsu
* Kneph
* Kolanthes
* Kothar-wa-Khasis

* Maahes
* Maat
* Mafdet
* Mandulis
* Medjed
* Mehen
* Mehet-Weret
* Mehit
* Menhit
* Meret
* Meretseger
* Meskhenet
* Min
* Mnevis
* Montu
* Mut

* Nebethetepet
* Nebnerou
* Nebtuwi
* Nefertem
* Nehebkau
* Nehmetawy
* Neith
* Nekhbet
* Nemty
* Neper
* Nepit

* Onuris

* Pakhet
* Panebtawy
* Perit
* Petbe
* Peteese
* Pihor
* Ptah
* Ptahhotep

* Qebehsenuef
* Qebui
* Qed-her
* Qetesh

* Ra
* Raet-Tawy
* Rekhyt
* Rem
* Renenutet
* Renpet
* Renpetneferet
* Repyt
* Resheph
* Ruty

* Sah
* Satis
* Sebiumeker
* Sedjem
* Sekhmet
* Sepa
* Serapis
* Serket
* Seshat
* Shai
* Shed
* Shehbui
* Shemanefer
* Shepsy
* Shesmetet
* Shezmu
* Sia
* Sobek
* Sokar
* Sopdet
* Sopdu
* Souls of Pe and Nekhen

* Ta-Bitjet
* Tatenen
* Taweret
* Tayt
* Teka-her
* Thoth
* Tjenenyet
* Tutu

* Unut

* Wadjet
* Wadj-wer
* Weneg
* Wepset
* Wepwawet
* Werethekau
* Wosret

* Yam

Creatures

* Akhekh
* Apshait
* Criosphinx
* Griffin
* Hieracosphinx
* Medjed
* Serpopard
* Set animal
* Sphinx
* Uraeus

Characters

* Djedi
* Djadjaemankh
* Rededjet
* Ubaoner

Locations

* Aaru
* Akhet
* Benben
* Duat
* Lake of fire
* Land of Manu
* The Indestructibles

Symbols and objects

* Ankh
* Anra scarab
* Atef
* Cartouche
* Cowroid
* Corn mummy
* Crook and flail
* Crown of justification
* Deshret
* Djed
* Egyptian obelisk
* Egyptian pool
* Eye of Horus
* Eye of Ra
* Hedjet
* Hemhem crown
* Hennu
* Horus on the Crocodiles
* Hypocephalus
* Imiut fetish
* Khepresh
* Kneph
* Menat
* Modius
* Nebu
* Nemes
* Neshmet
* Ouroboros
* Pschent
* Scarab
* Seqtet boat
* Serekh
* Shen ring
* Solar barque
* Tyet
* Ushabti
* Vulture crown
* Was-sceptre
* Winged sun

Writings

* Amduat
* Books of Breathing
* Book of Caverns
* Book of the Dead
* Book of the Earth
* Book of Gates
* Book of the Heavenly Cow
* Book of Traversing Eternity
* Coffin Texts
* The Contendings of Horus and Seth
* Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld
* Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys
* Great Hymn to the Aten
* Litany of the Eye of Horus
* Litany of Re
* Pyramid Texts
* Spell of the Twelve Caves

Festivals

* Beautiful Festival of the Valley
* Cattle count
* Coronation of the pharaoh
* Min festival
* Mysteries of Osiris
* Opet Festival
* Sed festival

Related religions

* Atenism
* Church of the Most High Goddess
* Gnosticism
* Hermeticism
* Kemetic Orthodoxy
* Kemetism
* Kushite religion
* Mysteries of Isis
* Temple of Set
* Thelema

Ancient Egypt portal

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This painted terracotta Naqada figure of a woman is interpreted as representing Bat, c. 3500–3400 BCE - Brooklyn Museum

Bat is a cow goddess in Egyptian mythology who was depicted as a human face with cow ears and horns or as a woman. Evidence of the worship of Bat exists from the earliest records of the religious practices in ancient Egypt. By the time of the Middle Kingdom, after the unification of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, her identity and attributes were subsumed within that of the goddess Hathor,[1] a similar goddess worshipped in another nome. The imagery of Bat persisted throughout the history of ancient Egypt on the sistrum, a sacred instrument that remained associated with religious practices.

## Worship

[edit]

The worship of Bat dates to earliest times in ancient Egypt and may have its origins in Late Paleolithic cattle herding cultures. Bat was the chief goddess of Seshesh, otherwise known as Hu or Diospolis Parva, the 7th nome of Upper Egypt.

### Name

[edit]

The epithet, Bat, may be linked to the word ba with the feminine suffix 't'.[2] A person's ba roughly equates to one's personality or emanation and often is translated as 'soul'.

Both Bat (right) and Hathor (left) flank Menkaure in this Fourth Dynasty triad statue, c. 2530 B.C. The goddesses provide the authority for him to be king and are identified by their crowns. The emblem on Bat's crown represents the sistrum, although the crown also includes her zoomorphic face and the feather of Ma'at.

## Depictions in ancient Egyptian culture

[edit]

Although it was rare for Bat to be clearly depicted in painting or sculpture, some notable artifacts (such as the upper portions of the Narmer Palette) include depictions of the goddess in bovine form. In other instances she was pictured as a celestial bovine creature surrounded by stars, or as a woman. More commonly, Bat was depicted on amulets, with a human face, but with bovine features, such as the ears of a cow and the inward-curving horns of the type of cattle first herded by the Egyptians.

Bat became strongly associated with the sistrum and the center of her cult was known as the "Mansion of the Sistrum".[3] The sistrum is an ankh-shaped musical instrument,[4] which was one of the most frequently used sacred instruments in ancient Egyptian temples. Some instruments would include depictions of Bat, with her head and neck as the handle and base and with its rattles placed between her horns. The imagery is repeated on each side of the instrument, having two faces, as mentioned in the Pyramid Texts:.

I am Praise; I am Majesty; I am Bat with Her Two Faces; I am the One Who Is Saved, and I have saved myself from all things evil.[5]

### Relation to Hathor

[edit]

The imagery of Bat as a divine cow was remarkably similar to that of Hathor, a parallel goddess from another nome. In two dimensional images, both goddesses often are depicted straight on, facing the onlooker and not in profile in accordance with the characteristic Egyptian convention. The significant difference in their depictions is that the horns of Bat curve inward and those of Hathor curve outward slightly. It is possible that this could be based in the different breeds of cattle herded at different times.

Hathor's cult center was in the 6th Nome of Upper Egypt, adjacent to the 7th nome where Bat was the cow goddess, which may indicate that once they were the same goddess in Predynastic Egypt. By the Middle Kingdom, the cult of Hathor had again absorbed that of Bat in a manner similar to other mergers in the Egyptian pantheon.

Bat flanks the top of both sides of the Narmer Palette, c. 3200–3100 BC

## See also

[edit]

* Asherah
* List of Egyptian deities
* Cattle in religion and mythology

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, p.172 Thames & Hudson. 2003. ISBN 0-500-05120-8
2. ^ Barbara Lesko Great Goddesses, 100, p. 81
3. ^ Hart, George. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, p. 47 2nd Edition Routledge. 2005. ISBN 0-415-34495-6
4. ^ Wilkinson, Richard. H. Reading Egyptian Artp. 213 Thames and Hudson 1992. ISBN 0-500-27751-6
5. ^ R. O. Faulkner, The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, Oxford 1969, p. 181, Utterance 506

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bat (goddess).

* The goddess Bat - discussion on Philae
* The goddess Bat - discussion on Egyptian Myths

* v
* t
* e

Ancient Egyptian religion

Beliefs|

* Afterlife
* Creation myths
* Isfet
* Maa Kheru
* Maat
* Mythology
* Numerology
* Osiris myth
* Philosophy
* Soul

Practices|

* Canopic jars
* Embalming ritual
* Funerals
* Mortuary temples
* Offering formula
* Opening of the mouth
* Pyramids
* Temples
* Veneration of the dead

Deities (list)|

| Ogdoad|

* Amun and Amunet
* Heh and Hauhet
* Kek and Kauket
* Nu and Naunet

|

Ennead|

* Atum
* Geb
* Isis
* Nephthys
* Nut
* Osiris
* Set
* Shu
* Tefnut

Triads|

* Elephantine Triad
* Theban Triad

* A
* Aani
* Aati
* Abaset
* Abtu
* Ahmose-Nefertari
* Aker
* Akhty
* Amenhotep, son of Hapu
* Amesemi
* Am-heh
* Ammit
* Amu-Aa
* Anat
* Andjety
* Anput
* Anubis
* Anuket
* Apedemak
* Apesh
* Apis
* Apophis
* Aqen
* Arensnuphis
* Arsinoe II
* Ash
* Assessors of Maat
* Astarte
* Aten
* B
* Baal
* Baalat Gebal
* Babi
* Banebdjedet
* Ba-Pef
* Bastet
* Bat
* Bata
* Bennu
* Bes
* Beset
* Buchis
* C
* Cavern deities of the underworld
* Celestial Ferryman
* D
* Dedun
* Dionysus-Osiris
* Djedefhor
* Duamutef
* Duau
* G
* Gate deities of the underworld
* Gengen-Wer
* H
* Ha
* Hapi
* Hapy
* Harmachis
* Harpocrates
* Harsomtus
* Hathor
* Hatmehit
* Hauron
* Hedetet
* Hedjhotep
* Heka
* Hemen
* Hemsut
* Henet
* Henkhisesui
* Heqaib
* Heqet
* Hermanubis
* Hermes Trismegistus
* Heru-ur
* Heryshaf
* Hery-maat
* Hesat
* Horus
* Hu
* Hutchai
* I
* Iabet
* Iah
* Iat
* Igai
* Ihy
* Ikhemu-sek
* Imentet
* Imhotep
* Imsety
* Ipy
* Irer
* Ishtar
* Iunit
* Iusaaset
* J
* Jupiter Ammon
* K
* Kagemni I
* Kebechet
* Khensit
* Khenti-Amentiu
* Khenti-kheti
* Khepri
* Khereduankh
* Kherty
* Khnum
* Khonsu
* Kneph
* Kolanthes
* Kothar-wa-Khasis
* M
* Maahes
* Maat
* Mafdet
* Mandulis
* Medjed
* Mehen
* Mehet-Weret
* Mehit
* Menhit
* Meret
* Meretseger
* Meskhenet
* Min
* Mnevis
* Montu
* Mut
* N
* Nebethetepet
* Nebtuwi
* Nebnerou
* Nefertem
* Nehebkau
* Nehmetawy
* Neith
* Nekhbet
* Nemty
* Neper
* Nepit
* O
* Onuris
* P
* Pakhet
* Panebtawy
* Perit
* Petbe
* Peteese
* Pihor
* Ptah
* Ptahhotep
* Q
* Qebehsenuef
* Qebui
* Qed-her
* Qetesh
* R
* Ra
* Raet-Tawy
* Rekhyt
* Rem
* Renenutet
* Renpet
* Renpetneferet
* Repyt
* Resheph
* Ruty
* S
* Sah
* Satis
* Sebiumeker
* Sedjem
* Sekhmet
* Sepa
* Serapis
* Serket
* Seshat
* Shai
* Shed
* Shehbui
* Shemanefer
* Shepsy
* Shesmetet
* Shezmu
* Sia
* Sobek
* Sokar
* Sopdet
* Sopdu
* Souls of Pe and Nekhen
* T
* Ta-Bitjet
* Tatenen
* Taweret
* Tayt
* Teka-her
* Thoth
* Tjenenyet
* Tutu
* U
* Unut
* W
* Wadjet
* Wadj-wer
* Weneg
* Wepset
* Wepwawet
* Werethekau
* Wosret
* Y
* Yam

Creatures|

* Akhekh
* Apshait
* Criosphinx
* Griffin
* Hieracosphinx
* Medjed
* Serpopard
* Sha
* Sphinx
* Uraeus

Characters|

* Djadjaemankh
* Djedi
* Rededjet
* Ubaoner

Locations|

* Aaru
* Akhet
* Benben
* Duat
* Lake of fire
* Land of Manu
* The Indestructibles

Symbols
and objects|

* Ankh
* Anra scarab
* Atef
* Cartouche
* Corn mummy
* Cowroid
* Crook and flail
* Crown of justification
* Deshret
* Djed
* Egyptian obelisk
* Egyptian pool
* Eye of Horus
* Eye of Ra
* Hedjet
* Hemhem crown
* Hennu
* Horus on the Crocodiles
* Hypocephalus
* Imiut fetish
* Khepresh
* Kneph
* Menat
* Modius
* Nebu
* Nemes
* Neshmet
* Ouroboros
* Pschent
* Scarab
* Serekh
* Shen ring
* Solar barque
* Tyet
* Ushabti
* Vulture crown
* Was-sceptre
* Winged sun

Writings|

* Amduat
* Books of Breathing
* Book of Caverns
* Book of the Dead
* Book of the Earth
* Book of Gates
* Book of the Heavenly Cow
* Book of Traversing Eternity
* Coffin Texts
* Enigmatic Book of the Netherworld
* Festival Songs of Isis and Nephthys
* Great Hymn to the Aten
* Litany of the Eye of Horus
* Litany of Re
* Pyramid Texts
* Spell of the Twelve Caves
* The Contendings of Horus and Seth

Festivals|

* Beautiful Festival of the Valley
* Cattle count
* Coronation of the pharaoh
* Min festival
* Mysteries of Osiris
* Opet Festival
* Sed festival

Related religions|

* Atenism
* Church of the Most High Goddess
* Gnosticism
* Hermeticism
* Kemetic Orthodoxy
* Kemetism
* Kushite religion
* Mysteries of Isis
* Temple of Set
* Thelema

* Ancient Egypt portal

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