TYPE: Creator goddess.
ORIGIN: Egyptian
KNOWN PERIOD OF WORSHIP: circa 3000 BCE and probably earlier, until the end of Egyptian history circa 400 CE.
CENTER(S) OF CULT: Heliopolis, Karnak and many other sanctuaries throughout Egypt.
ART REFERENCES: Wall paintings in the royal tombs at Thebes; sarcophagi, etc.
LITERARY SOURCES: Pyramid Texts, Etc.
INFORMATION: Nut is the most important female principle of the creation force in Egyptian cosmogony. According to the Ennead genealogy of the Heliopolis priests, she is the daughter of the god Su and the goddess Tefnut. Generally, however, she is seen as the creator goddess who, with the sun god, gives birth to the other deities of the pantheon. In legend she becomes the consort of her brother, the chthonic god Geb. Their partnership generates Isis, Osiris, Seth and Nephthys. In her earliest appearances Nut is a celestial cow stretching across the sky, often held aloft by the figure of the air god Su. This depiction continues into later times. In human form she often appears as a slim, arched figure, nude and balanced on her toes and fingertips, which touch the four cardinal points of the compass. In this posture she forms an arch over Geb, whose erect penis points upward toward her. She is alternatively often supported and separated from Geb and Su.
Nut is perceived as the barrier of the firmanent that separates the ordered cosmos from primordial matter. The thunder is her laughter. The solar boat travels along the arch of her body, entering her mouth as night falls to pass through her and emerge at dawn from her vulva.
In a funerary context, when the ruler dies he is said to be enfolded by the arms of Nut and to pass within her body; "The doors of the sky are opened to him".