Unlike other carnivore birds, vultures were recognized by Egyptians for their fearsome looks and size. Not only that Vultures have the ability to fly very high up even higher than an eagle.
Because of these qualities, vultures were used to symbolize power and authority. Vultures were so sacred in ancient Egypt, that killing a vulture was an offense punishable by death.
They believed the vulture is the personification of the Egyptian goddess Nekhbet.
Nekhbet Worship As A Local Deity
Nekhbet was first considered the patron goddess of the city of Nekheb. In fact, the name Nekbet is believed to have the meaning "She of Nekheb".
Eventually, the goddess became the patron of Upper Egypt and one of the two patron deities for all of Ancient Egypt when it was unified.
She was often called "Hedjet" which means "White Crown" in reference to the crown of Upper Egypt.
Appearence
In her depictions Nekbet is portrayed as a woman with a white vulture’s head with outstretched wings wearing a white crown.
These outstretched wings symbolize the protectiveness of the goddess.
Nekhbet And The Royal Family
Nekhbet is often viewed as a protector especially of the pharaoh.
Even though she is directly connected with the pharaoh the goddess is also considered the protector of the entire royal family.
She is especially connected with royal children and the expectant mothers of the royal family.
There are some depictions found in ancient Egypt with the queen of Egypt wearing a headdress that looked like a white vulture. But in the new kingdom the goddess was viewed as a deity who protects all of those in Egypt not only the royal family.
Nekhbet In Her Mothering Role
The Egyptians believed that vultures were all females and could reproduce without the intervention of males. So vultures were considered as a symbol of purity and was closely associated with motherhood.
That is one of the main reasons the goddess is connected with children and mothers.
Pyramid texts from the fifth dynasty suggests that Egyptians believed Nekhbet to be one of the creator deities. Because of the belief that vultures can reproduce on their own it is believed that the goddess played a role in giving birth to the human race.
That is why the goddess is sometimes referred to as "the father of fathers and mother of mothers".
So Nekhbet became a goddess of childbirth overseeing the birth and protecting the newborns.
She is also considered the mythical mother of all Egyptian kings so Egyptian paintings depict her as a goddess nursing the pharaoh.
In her mothering role, Nekbhet was known as the "Great White Cow of Nekhb".
Nekhbet As The Guardian Of The Dead
Another aspect the goddess rules upon is death.
Just like a Vulture feed on a dead animal, the goddess is believed to feed on dead people so that they can be reincarnated.
Because the goddess is connected with both birth and death Nekbhet represents the cycle of life and death.
It is said that the goddess was present at the time when Osiris was brought back to life.
Because of her close association with the Pharaoh the goddess is said to protect the deceased pharaohs as well. She would shield the dead pharaoh with her outstretched wings so that no evil could harm the pharaoh on the journey to the afterlife.
So Nekbhet could be considered the protective goddess of the pharaoh throughout his lifetime, and even after death.
Nekhbet And Ra
She is also considered to be one of the goddesses that represent the eye of Ra.
Nekhbet is believed to be one of the gods who help Ra on his nightly journey.
Nekbhet As A Protector In Battle
In the epic battle between Horus and Seth, Nekbhet is believed to play a role by protecting Horus and guiding him to claim the throne.
Just as the king of gods, but also she would guide the pharaoh and protect them in battle. A site of a vulture is considered good luck especially before a battle.
Two Ladies
While Nekbhet was the protector of Upper Egypt, the cobra goddess "Wadjet" was considered the patron of lower Egypt.
It is seen that the two goddesses are worshiped as separate entities even after the merge of lower and upper Egypt because of the important roles each of these deities play.
Instead, the two deities were referred by the term "two ladies" and were considered protectors of unified Egypt.
After the unification, both the symbols of the two goddesses appeared on the headdress of the pharaoh. This symbolizes that the pharaoh is protected by both the deities who watch over upper and lower Egypt.
Final Conclusion
Just as in the case of most Egyptian deities there is not much information about this goddess even though there is evidence that she has played an important role in Egyptian mythology.
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