the hippopotamus or the hippo is one of
the most fascinating creatures existing
on earth
despite their looks these animals are
identified as extremely aggressive
beings
it has been found that hippos inhabited
around the nile river before the dawn of
egyptian old kingdom
the ancient egyptians were fascinated by
the violent and aggressive nature of
these creatures
and it is believed that their curiosity
on the hippos
had played an important role in
inhabiting the region
so the animal got soon entangled with
the egyptian mythology
male hippopotamuses were thought to be
manifestations of chaos
so they became the target of many
warriors especially kings to prove their
strength and authority over their
community
but the female hippos were viewed as
deities
mainly because of their overprotective
nature towards their babies
tarat the egyptian goddess of childbirth
and the protector of women and children
eventually emerged through these beliefs
she is not only associated with the
hippo but also the lion and the nile
crocodile
all these animals were feared by the
egyptians but also highly respected
in depictions of the goddess we can see
that she has the limbs and pores of a
lion and the back and tail of a nile
crocodile
it further ensures that the goddess is a
fierce protector and would be a
dangerous opponent to the evil against
those who are under her protection
her name has the meaning she who is
great or simply great
one before being identified as a
fertility goddess some legends portrait
as a ferocious deity
in these tales she was identified as the
wife of apep who is a god of chaos
in this role she was known as nebutaket
the mistress of the horizon and was
associated with the northern sky
egyptians believed the northern sky to
be a dark cold and potentially a
dangerous place the goddess represented
the circumpolar stars of the
constellations ursa minor and draco
the goddess was depicted in these
aspects on the ceiling of the tube of
seti one in the valley of the kings
according to some legends tara was
responsible to evilness during the
daytime while her husband apep fight god
ra during the nightfall in the attempt
to unleash chaos
another story describes her as the
guardian of the northern sky
because the northern sky is said to be
the darkest and coldest part in the sky
evil spirits are more drone to it and
it's tower its duty to chase them away
the never setting circumpolar stars of
ursa minor and draco represents her
presence as the guardian stopping all
who were unworthy before they could pass
her by
during the period of the old kingdom it
was observed by egyptians that unlike
the male hippos female hippos become
aggressive when they sense danger
towards their young
and so the violent goddess was
transformed into a fertility goddess who
even became the patron deity of
childbirth pregnant women and children
the depictions of the deity also took
the form of a nine-month pregnant woman
she is even identified in some text as
the mother or wet nurse of the pharaoh
over time she became a household deity
protecting those in need regardless of
their social status
almost all the households had a statue
of the goddess
especially pregnant women and children
often carried an amulet of the goddess
for protection
her image also could be found on
children's feeding cups
as she is a patron goddess of child
rearing
she is believed to help women in labor
and to ward off evil spirits and demons
that would bring harm to the mother or
the baby
tolerant is mentioned in some variations
of the story related to the goddess
bastet who was sent to nubia to control
her anger
after based its eventual return to egypt
she sees a hippopotamus brings the
flooding of the nile
through the flood the land become
fertile again
many argue the hippopotamus mentioned
here is tarat
some scholars believe that because of
this role of the goddess that she is
known as the mistress of pure water
special knife made from hippopotamus
ivory with the goddess image carved on
is used to perform a special ritual to
drive evil spirits away from mothers and
children
also tools that are used in performing
magic are often made in hippopotamus
ivory so that the wheel dog would be
protected and the magic would be
enhanced by tarat's powers
she is also depicted with one arm
resting on the symbol which is a symbol
of protection in order to emphasize her
protective nature
and in some occasions she carries an
ankh which is the symbol of life or a
knife which would be used to threaten
evil spirits
it could be seen in egyptian mythology
that many of the deities associated with
childbirth has been linked in the
journey to the underworld because they
believed in the rebirth of the souls in
their life after death
so tarat has also been associated with
the afterlife
in a funeral one could find a
hippopotamus decorated with marsh flora
in tombs and temples
in the book of the dead tarwat is
mentioned as the lady of magical
protection
she is described as a goddess who guided
the dead into the afterlife especially
when the dead travel through the
mountains of the west where the entrance
to the land of the dead could be found
spell 269 in the pyramid text announces
that the deceased king will suck on the
goddess's milk when he ascends to the
heavens
it could be frequently seen in egyptian
mythology when goddesses took the
protective role they often take the form
of tarat
this includes powerful goddesses such as
isis hatha and mutt as well
so eventually it could be seen that
tarwat absorbed many of the attributes
from these powerful goddesses
and so the depictions show her wearing
the hethoric sun disc which is
associated with both hatha and isis
because of her appearance she is
regarded as a consort of many gods who
can change their appearance to that of a
hippopotamus or a similar figure
some legends mention tarat as the wife
of sobek a god associated with the nile
crocodile
this is because tara is sometimes
depicted in her standard form with a
crocodile on her back and a small
upright crocodile in her right hand
she is also seen as the mistress of set
who is a god of chaos
these legends describe that tyrant does
not aid said in spreading chaos but
holds him back from spreading
destruction by holding him with chains
tarat is one of the deities that was
well recognized in the egyptian pantheon
even in the reign of akhenaten who
forced people to worship the sun disc
alone tarat's image could be found in
household objects
tarat's popularity reached outside of
egypt as well
since many of the neighbing
civilizations such as nubia crete and
phoenicia
adopted the goddess to their beliefs
what do you think of this story
let me know your thoughts in the
comments
thank you so much my patreon and
subscribers for your amazing support
if you haven't already and if you'd like
to support my channel you can do so by
being a patreon a youtube member and a
subscriber
hope you enjoyed the video and i'll see
you again in another story to tell