Hedjhotep (also Hedj-hotep from '' ḥḏ- ḥtp'') was a minor ancient Egyptian deity, a god of fabrics and clothes and, to a lesser extent, of weaving and the deceased. Hedjhotep is sometimes described as a goddess rather than a god, holding a wadj-scepter and

ankh Progressive ankylosis protein homolog (ANK ilosis H omolog) is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''ANKH'' gene. This gene encodes a multipass transmembrane protein that is expressed in joints and other tissues and controls pyrophosphat ...

sign. He possibly originated from the northern part of

Middle Egypt Middle Egypt () is the section of land between Lower Egypt (the Nile Delta) and Upper Egypt, stretching upstream from Asyut in the south to Memphis in the north. At the time, Ancient Egypt was divided into Lower and Upper Egypt, though Middle ...

. The earliest attestations of Hedjhotep date back to the

Twelfth Dynasty The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some ...

of the Middle Kingdom, when he appears in spells of the Coffin Texts including spells 779 and 908. A cult center of Hedjhotep might have existed at the time east of the

Faiyum Faiyum ( ar, الفيوم ' , borrowed from cop, ̀Ⲫⲓⲟⲙ or Ⲫⲓⲱⲙ ' from egy, pꜣ ym "the Sea, Lake") is a city in Middle Egypt. Located southwest of Cairo, in the Faiyum Oasis, it is the capital of the modern Faiyum ...

in el Lahun. It is in nearby Harageh that archaeological excavations unearthed the only stele known to be dedicated explicitly to Hedjhotep, stele AEIN 1540, from the tomb of a man named Nebipu who held the titles of "libationer" and "keeper of clothing". The

onomastic Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An '' orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, ...

of individuals who lived in the region of

Heracleopolis Magna Heracleopolis Magna ( grc-gre, Μεγάλη Ἡρακλέους πόλις, ''Megálē Herakléous pólis'') and Heracleopolis (, ''Herakleópolis'') and Herakleoupolis (), is the Roman name of the capital of the 20th nome of ancient Upper Eg ...

during the Middle Kingdom indicates that Hedjhotep then benefitted from a growing cult and dedicated priesthood. In spite of this, Hedjhotep does not seem to have been honoured by dedicated priests in subsequent periods of Ancient Egyptian history, during which he appears only sporadically on sarcophagi and liturgical contexts centered on rituals devoted to the king. In parallel with these developments, the New Kingdom sees Hedjhotep being given medicinal roles. He is invoked with Shezmu, the god of the preparation of unguents, in the treatment of headache and stomach-ache, and in the making of amulets where he is in charge of their cords. Another papyrus of the same time period presents Hedjhotep as a dichotomy: beneficial as a god of clothing but harmful as a deity who committed an offence against Montu, possibly running away with one of his divine wives or having forced a sexual relation on him similar to what happens in " The Contendings of Horus and Seth". From this time onwards, Hedjhotep is often associated with a goddess of weaving named Tayt as well as with

Renenutet Renenūtet (also transliterated Ernūtet, Renen-wetet, Renenet) was a goddess of nourishment and the harvest in the ancient Egyptian religion. The importance of the harvest caused people to make many offerings to Renenutet during harvest time. In ...

. Hedjhotep is more frequently honoured during the Late Period, Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman period, when he is shown replacing Horus as the son of

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

in scenes of cloth-offerings. The latest period sees the development of a syncretism with the god Shu, making of Hedjhotep a son of Ra and the first to have dressed the naked, having invented clothing. Hedjhotep nonetheless remains primarily the god who creates the clothes of the king, the gods and the deceased, thereby stimulating their resurrection.

References

Footnotes

Sources

* *Backes, Burkhard (2001): ''Rituelle Wirklichkeit, Über Erscheinung und Wirkungsbereich des Webergottes Hedjhotep und den gedanklichen Umgang mit einer Gottes-Konzeption im Alten Ägypten'', Brussels, * * * * * * * {{Authority control Egyptian gods Egyptian death gods Crafts gods Health gods