Tradition: Egyptian mythology
Alternative names: Mehturt
Category: Deity, Cow
The Myth
Mehet-Weret is an ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky whose name means “Great Flood.” She is known as the Celestial Cow, and in Egyptian creation mythology she is responsible for giving birth to the sun at the beginning of time.
Mehet-Weret is also associated with water, creation, and rebirth. She was believed to raise the sun into the sky each day, bringing light to the world and helping crops grow. She was also connected with the annual flooding of the Nile, whose waters fertilized the land.
As the mother of the sun god Ra, Mehet-Weret gives birth to the sun every day. The sun is therefore continually brought forth from her, allowing the world to escape darkness. She is depicted as protecting Ra and keeping him close to her.
Mehet-Weret was also connected with the night sky. Some traditions associated her with the Milky Way, imagined as a celestial river of stars whose waters corresponded to the life-giving flood of the Nile.
Her connection with rebirth continued into Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife. In the Book of the Dead, particularly Spell 17, she is credited with the birth of Ra and with protecting him through his nightly journey into the darkness of the underworld before bringing him back the following day. Because of this cycle, she was associated with the death and rebirth of both the sun and the deceased.
Mehet-Weret could also appear in funerary imagery. On the sarcophagus of Khonsu, she is depicted as part of the protective imagery surrounding the deceased, signifying his rebirth into the afterlife.
Sources
“Mehet-Weret.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed August 29, 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mehet-Weret