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Neith as pictured by the Ancient Egyptians;
Wikipedia Creative Commons (left)
(right)
The Libyan Berber Goddess Tannit (Neith)
Tannit or Neith is originally a Berber Libyan Goddess venerated by the
Berbers of North Africa from immemorial times. Poets and scholars of all
ages knew Her as the Goddess Neith. There is no doubt that the
Nit of the Ancient Egyptians, Tanit of the Phoenicians, and Athena of the
Greeks were none other than the Libyan Goddess Tannit.
The Goddess
Neith is one of the oldest goddesses in the world and her shrine was attested
in Egypt from pre-dynastic times. She was the patron deity of the city
of Sais, in the Western Nile Delta of Lower Egypt.
Her
Berber name
Tannit was said to mean Ta-Nit, meaning "the Land of Nit",
in reference to ancient Libya (today's North Africa as a whole) being Her
original home. According to Herodotus Tannit (whom he called Athena) was
venerated by the Libyan Amazon around Lake Tritonis.
The meaning of Neith's name was interpreted in many ways, the most popular
of which associates the her with water as the personification of the primordial
waters of creation and thus She was said to be the Creator Goddess. Her
name also associates her with "wisdom" and "law" and as such She was
the arbiter
in the Horus-Seth dispute and thus the keeper of Cosmic Order.
The Libyan Goddess Tannit (Neith)
at Assaraya Alhamra Museum, Tripoli, Libya.
The following Arabic text, also displayed
under the stone, describes the above symbol of Tannit .
Translation:
"The Goddess Tannit. Tannit is regarded as one of the most famous
and important Punic goddesses in Tripolitania. She is the wife of the Punic
god Bal Hamon. She was the goddess of sowing, harvest and fertility, and
a sky goddess essentially associated with the moon. Her symbol, known as
the symbol of Tannit, is a triangle representing the human body, surmounted
by a circle representing the head, and separated by a horizontal line which
represents the hands. The worship of the goddess Tannit emerged after the
5th century BC. She appears to be of Libyan origin. This piece is from
the 2nd century BC.
"
[End of translation.]
Neith (Athena), Tolmeita Museum, Cyrenaica, Libya.
A commanding statue of the Goddess Athena, the Libyan
Goddess Neith, the Egyptian Nit. In ancient time the Libyan Goddess Neith
was venerated by most of the Mediterranean people including the Ancient
Egyptians, Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, etc.
Aegis
of Neith, Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt - Museum of Fine Arts of Lyon
Bronze statuette from the British Museum
Wikipedia
Creative Commons
The Egyptians and the Berbers share the same heritage and speak sister
languages belonging to the same Hamitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic Language
Family. The Egyptian worshipped the Berber Goddess Neith since pre dynastic
times under various names including Net and Nit. Her main city was Tanis
in north Egypt - an area was inhabited by Berbers long before the pharaohs'
invasion of the Lower Egypt.
Parthenogenesis
As the Virgin Mother Goddess the Goddess Neith had no male consort. She
was the one who existed, who is and who will be. Hence her parthenogenesis
nature as the Mother of Osiris (in the form of Isis) was later transferred
to Mary, the Mother of Jesus Christ.
For
published information about the Libyan Goddess Neith please see Wikipedia's
page.
This page's URL: https://www.tannit.net
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