Tawaret
In ancient Egyptian mythology, Tawaret (also Taweret) was the demon-wife of Apep, the first god of evil. She was often shown as a hippopotamus. Because female hippos are aggressive to protect their young, pregnant women wore amulets of Tawaret to protect their pregnancies.
Tawaret was a very popular goddess in the first Dynasty. She was, overall, the goddess who protected women during childbirth and pregnancy. In ancient Egypt, it was believed that if you wanted to live through childbirth it was necessary to pray to Tawaret.
Tawaret Media
Faience statuette of Taweret, her hands resting on the sa.
Faience hippopotamus statuettes like this one were placed in tombs and temples to help the deceased be successfully reborn into the afterlife. Brooklyn, Brooklyn Museum.
Faience amulet depicting Taweret, Late Period (c. 600-400 BCE), held in the Louvre Museum, Paris.
This image (c. 1463 BCE) shows the astronomical ceiling of Senemut's tomb. A celestial form of Taweret can be seen towards the bottom in the center.
Limestone fragment of a stele depicting two people (right) worshipping Taweret, (19th-20th dynasty, New Kingdom).
This apotropaic wand (c. 1880 to 1700 BCE) shows a procession of protective deities, including a hippopotamus goddess. Such a wand would have been used in rituals associated with birth and were perhaps used to draw a magical circle around the mother and child. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
