(also spelled Nekhebet or Nechbet), in ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, the crowned goddess of Upper Egypt and patroness of childbirth. Nekhbet was usually portrayed as a woman wearing a vulture headdress and the white crown of Upper Egypt, or as a vulture itself. Nekhbet together with her sister Uadjit (Utatchet or Buto), the crowned goddess of Lower Egypt, made up the entity known as the Two Ladies of Egypt. Upper Egypt, the southern part of the country, closer to the source of the Nile, was symbolized by the vulture. Lower Egypt, the northern part of the country that included the delta region where the Nile emptied into the Mediterranean Sea, was symbolized by the uraeus (cobra). When Upper and Lower Egypt were united, these symbols together formed a composite crown worn by all rulers of Egypt thereafter, and the Two Ladies sometimes personified this union. The title, Two Ladies, was added to the roster of kingly names during the 1st dynasty. The Two Ladies may also have been associated with the sister goddesses Isis and Nephthys, with Nekbhet being a form of Nephthys and Uadjit being a form of Isis. In many inscriptions the Two Ladies were depicted sitting on baskets in close proximity to the cartouche of the king. They were also depicted with a winged disk. |