Tuesday, April 11, 2023

Egyptian Frog Goddess

 In Egypt, Heqet was the Egyptian goddess of fertility and childbirth. She was also referred to as the "Frog Goddess". Frogs were deemed a symbol of fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth because of ancient stories and concepts such as:

- Heqet helped and guided the pharaoh into the Underworld.

- Said to be the daughter of the sun God "Ra".

- Cults in Egypt used to worship the frog because they were believed to have had an important role in the creation of the world.

- Frogs were associated with fertility because they appeared in large numbers before the yearly flooding of the Nile River. 

- Hequet would breathe life into the body after Khnum, another deity, would sculpt humans out of mud from the Nile River. She would eventually put the child into the female's womb.

- Hequet was also portrayed as a midwife in Greek mythology. 


I think this portrays a positive perspective on frogs. It honors them and their abilities. One thing I am curious about is the deeper meaning behind why they were chosen to be the goddess of fertility. My hypothesis is due to their 3 stage life cycle and the complexity of it.

Photo source: https://www.wisconsinwetlands.org/updates/9-wetland-monsters/

Source: https://symbolsage.com/heqet-egyptian-frog-goddess/


2 comments:

Ali Isaacs said...

I have never heard of a frog goddess and it is pretty nice that there is one. Ra the sun god reminds me of Raava the spirit of light. Raava was probably inspired by Ra. I think frogs were chosen to depict fertility because one frog can have thousands of offspring.

Allison Welch said...

Are there other cultures that have associated frogs with fertility?