Description

Among the numerous deities invested with special spheres of responsibility in ancient Egypt Mr.t is charged with the salutation of the deity (king or god) and the provision of cult-music. Since there is no lack of source material relating to the goddess from all periods right down to Roman times, Mr.t readily provides an exemplary demonstration of a minor deity's transformation through time. Her original deification must have taken place during the 4th and 5th dynasties when the chorus designated Mr.t came to be personified as the ritual figure "Mr.t upon the house of Gold" at the Hebsed and the first "Priests-of-Mr. t"-titles appeared. To the characteristic iconography, tress of hair and special gesture taken over from the chorus by the deity more symbols came to be added: the mysterious House of Gold, the place where statues were fashioned; the heraldic plants of Upper and Lower Egypt; and, in Ptolemaic times, the harp.