prehistoric Egyptian snake and hare goddess
Unut
Unut, also known as Wenut or Wenet, is an Egyptian goddess of prehistoric origin linked to the Hare nome of Upper Egypt. Her form shifted from snake to woman with a hare's head, and her name was once taken into the highest royal position in Egyptian history.
The myth
According to tradition, Unut originally took the form of a snake and was known as "The Swift One". Later she was depicted with a woman's body and a hare's head, an animal the Egyptians associated with speed, alertness and keen senses. Her male companion is Wenenu, who was sometimes regarded as a form of Osiris or Ra.
The sources place her in the fifteenth province of Upper Egypt, whose capital was Hermopolis (Wenu), where she was worshipped alongside Thoth. She was later taken into the cult of Horus and then of Ra. Her name can be written with five different hieroglyphs, yet it rarely appears in literature and inscriptions.
Worship and religion
In Hermopolis she was venerated together with Thoth, and her incorporation into the cults of Horus and Ra shows how local deities were absorbed into the larger Egyptian religious systems. Details about specific rituals are scarce.
Legacy
Her name was taken into the highest royal position just once in the long Egyptian history, and the only king to bear it was Unas. Hare-shaped amulets, possibly linked to her, are another trace of her presence.
In art
