Meskhenet, Goddess of the Birth Brick and Childbirth...

Meskhenet (Mesenet, Meskhent, Meshkent) was a goddess of birth, personified by the birthing brick that the Egyptian women squatted on while giving birth. She was either depicted as a birthing brick with a human head, or as a human with the headdress of a cow's uterus.

In ancient Egypt, where child mortality was high, Egyptians called upon the help of their gods through magical objects, like birth bricks, and special ritual practices during childbirth. The Egyptian birth brick was associated with a specific goddess, Meskhenet, sometimes depicted in the form of a brick with a human head. On the newly discovered birth brick, the main scene shows a mother with her newborn boy, attended on either side by women and by Hathor, a cow goddess closely associated with birth and motherhood.

-- Archaeologists uncover 3700-year-old 'magical' birth brick in Egypt. EurekaAlert, 25th July 2002

Khnum, and other deities associated with child birth are there to assist the birth, Isis the great mother and her twin sister Nephthys, Bes the protector of children, and Meskhenet, protectress of the Birthing-Place, and Taweret, the protectress of childbearing women, all were present to hail the birth of Hatshepsut, the great king, the daughter of Amen-Ra and Royal Wife Ahmose. After the birth all the deities surround the mother and child while Meskhenet, sits on her throne and promises the royal child, "I am behind you, protecting you, like Ra."

In the tale of Raddjedet and her triplets, it was Meskhenet who foretold that each one would be a ruler - "Then Meskhenet went to him and said, 'A king who will rule throughout this entire land.'"

She was also a goddess of fate who read the destiny of the child. She guarded the baby through infancy using her protective powers.

Meskhenet also appears in the Hall of Judgement when the heart of the deceased was thought to be weighed. She would testify to the character of the newly dead, and perhaps continued her guardianship role in "rebirth" in the underworld. In the Papyrus of Ani, she appears next to the scales, as a human headed birthing brick. She is then depicted as a female goddess, along with Renenutet, in front of Ani and his wife. She was linked to Shai, the god of destiny, and often found with him in The Book of the Dead.

In the papyrus of Ani, Shai stands by himself near the pillar of the Balance, and Renenutet is accompanied by Meskhenet, who appears to be the personification of all the conceptions underlying Shai and Renenutet and something else besides.

There was no cult centre for Meskhenet, but she was represented on birthing bricks and in The Book of the Dead. She was the goddess of birth, of fate and destiny, as well as the goddess of rebirth into the afterlife.

Can you have a look at my Egyptology Column for more Hieroglyph Lessons, Egyptian gods and goddess articles and more!

PS - One favour I do ask, please e-mail your comments about the articles to kunoichi@thekeep.org because it's your comments that keep me writing! Oh, and can you check out my other articles?

I've added a new search function to make it easier for you to find information in my articles!

© Caroline Seawright 2001