In ancient Egyptian religion, Neper (alts. Nepra or Nepri) was a god of grain. His female counterpart was Nepit, the goddess of grain. His consort may have been

Tayt Tayt (also Tait, Tayet, and Taytet) was an ancient Egypt, Egyptian goddess. Some attest her husband was Neper (mythology), Neper while others state she was possibly the consort of Hedjhotep. Textile goddess Tayt was the ancient Egyptian goddes ...

, the goddess of weaving.

In myth

Pictured in human form, Nepri is often depicted as a child suckled by

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 ...

."Conceptions of God In Ancient Egypt: The One and the Many", Erik Hornung (translated by John Baines), p. 276, Cornell University Press, 1996, Nepri's body was dotted to represent grains. The hieroglyphs that write his name similarly include the symbols of grain. Naturally, as ''lord of the mouth'', Neper's mother was identified as

, who gave out the '' ren'', a person's true name, and who was also identified as a source of

nourishment Nutrition is the biochemical and physiological process by which an organism uses food to support its life. It provides organisms with nutrients, which can be metabolized to create energy and chemical structures. Failure to obtain sufficient nu ...

. In particular, Neper was especially associated with the most used types of grain, namely

barley Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley p ...

and

emmer wheat Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid (4''n'' = 4''x'' = 28 chromosomes). The domesticated types are ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccum'' and ''Triticum turgidum ''conv.'' durum''. The wild plant is ...

. His name simply means "lord of the mouth", a reference to the function of grain as sustenance. Once the

myth of Osiris and Isis The Osiris myth is the most elaborate and influential story in ancient Egyptian mythology. It concerns the murder of the ancient Egyptian deities, god Osiris, a primeval pharaoh, king of Egypt, and its consequences. Osiris's murderer, his brother ...

coalesced, since

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He wa ...

was a god of agriculture and the dead, his story was associated with the annual harvest and the annual disappearance of any visible life in the crop. Thus, at this point, Neper was considered merely an aspect of Osiris, a much more significant god, gaining the title ''(one who) lives after dying''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neper (Mythology) Egyptian gods Food deities ca:Nepit