NEITH

also spelled Neit ancient Egyptian goddess who was the patroness of the city of Sais in the Nile River delta. Neith was worshiped as early as predynastic times (c. 3000 BC), and several queens of the 1st dynasty (c. 29252775 BC) were named after her. She also became an important goddess in the capital city of Memphis. Her principal emblem was a pair of crossed arrows shown against the background of a leather shield. A further emblem was a bow case, which the goddess was sometimes depicted wearing on her head in place of a crown. But Neith was usually depicted as a woman wearing the red crown associated with Lower Egypt, holding crossed arrows and a bow. In mythology she was the mother of the crocodile god Sebek, and later of Re. The worship of Neith was particularly prominent in the 26th dynasty (664525 BC), when Egypt's capital was located at Sais.