Renenūtet (also transliterated Ernūtet, Renen-wetet, Renenet) was a goddess of grain, grapes, The importance of the harvest caused people to make many offerings to Renenutet during harvest time.
Initially, her cult was centered in Terenuthis. Renenutet was depicted as a cobra or as a woman with the head of a cobra.
The verbs "to fondle, to nurse, or rear" help explain the name Renenutet. This goddess was a "nurse" who took care of the pharaoh from birth to death. She was also called "the mistress of provisions", "Renenutet mistress of the offerings", "Renenutet mistress of the food", and "Renenutet the venerable of the double granary", and "who maintains everybody".
She was the female counterpart of Shai, "destiny", who represented the positive destiny of the child. Renenutet was called Thermouthis or Hermouthis in Greek. She embodied the fertility of the fields (both the vegetation and the soil itself She also came to be seen as a bringer of happiness, and was strongly associated with milk and breastfeeding. and shrines to her were set up in vineyards. Images of her were found in kitchens, near ovens, in granaries, and in cellars. These images often invoked her to protect food stores against insects, mice, and snakes, not just as a provider of food.
Sometimes, as the goddess of nourishment, Renenutet was seen as having a husband, Sobek. He was represented as the Nile River, the annual flooding of which deposited the fertile silt that enabled abundant harvests. The temple of Medinet Madi is dedicated to both Sobek and Renenutet. It is a small and decorated building in the Faiyum.
The festival’s origins can be traced back to at least the New Kingdom. It was originally seen as the day when Renenutet gave birth to her son Nepri, the god of grain. In Thebes, several child deities were venerated, including Khonsu-pa-khered, Harsiese (Opet Temple), Harpre-pa-khered (North Karnak and Armant), and Somtous (Ptah Temple and Deir el-Medina). It became a festivael particularly in honor of Khonsu, after whom the month of Pashons was named.
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ca:Llista de personatges de la mitologia egípcia#R
