SG : 2020a
SCOTT :
1750A
Serket
Serket /ˈsɜrˌkɛt/,
also known as Selket, Serqet or Selcis /ˈsɛlsɨs/,
is the goddess of healing
poisonous stings and bites in Egyptian
mythology, originally the deification of
the scorpion.
Scorpion stings lead
to paralysis and Serket´s name describes this, as it means
(she who) tightens the
throat, however,
Serket´s name also can be read as meaning (she who) causes the throat to
breathe, and so,
as well as being seen as stinging the unrighteous, Serket was seen
as one who could cure scorpion stings and the effects of other
poisons such as snake bites.
In Ancient Egyptian
art, Serket was
shown as a scorpion (a symbol found on the earliest artifacts of
the culture, such as the protodynastic
period), or as a woman with a scorpion on her
head. Although Serket does not appear to have had any temples, she
had a sizable number of priests in many
communities.
The most
dangerous species of scorpion resides in North
Africa, and its sting may kill, so Serket was
considered a highly important goddess, and was sometimes considered
by pharaohs to be their
patron. Her close association with the early kings implies that she
was their protector, two being referred to as the
scorpion
kings.
As the
protector against poisons and snake bites, Serket often was said to
protect the deities from Apep, the
great snake-demon of
evil, sometimes being depicted as the guard when Apep was
captured.
As many of
the venomous creatures of Egypt could prove fatal, Serket also was
considered a protector of the dead, particularly being associated
with poisons and fluids causing stiffening. She was thus said to be
the protector of the tents of embalmers, and of
the canopic jar
associated with poison—the
jar of the intestine—which
was deified later as Qebehsenuf,
one of the Four sons of
Horus.
As the guard
of one of the canopic jars and a protector, Serket gained a strong
association with Aset (Isis), Nebet Het
(Nephthys),
and Neith who also
performed similar functions. Eventually, later in Egyptian history
that spanned thousands of years and whose pantheon evolved
toward a merger of many deities, Serket began to be identified with
Isis, sharing imagery and parentage, until finally, Serket became
said to be merely an aspect of Isis, whose cult had become very
dominant.