| Renpetneferet | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genealogy | |
| Parents | Khereduankh |
| Siblings | Imhotep (sometimes husband) |
| Consort | Imhotep (sometimes brother) |
Renpetneferet (Ancient Egyptian:rnpt-nfrt) is a minor goddess who is credited as being either the sister or the wife ofImhotep inLate PeriodEgyptian texts.[1][2][3] There is no evidence of an individual by this name existing during the reign of KingDjoser, although similar names were being used for women during the fourth dynasty.[4]
The meaning of the name Renpetneferet is connected to the New Year, the adjectivenefer lending connotations of youth and beauty.[5]Renpet means year, and is often depicted as a minor goddess in her own right, connected with the GodHeh from theOgdoad in the iconography of theShen Ring.[6] This identification of the renpet with the Ogdoad and Heh is visible in the iconography associated withSeshat, the wife ofThoth. Seshat is depicted inscribing the count of the years into a renpet, or a palm frond which functioned as a register of time, and as the hieroglyph for the word year. This renpet emerges from a Shen Ring with a frog perched on top of it, the frog representing the Ogdoad.[7]
As Imhotep, along withAmenhotep son of Hapu, was assimilated to Thoth during the Late Period, his wife and mother were also given divine status.[8][9][10] This is a unique event in Egyptian history. Although Amenhotep son of Hapu's mother was deified, his wife/sister was not.[11] This "most holy of families"[12] was connected with the Hermopolitan reanalysis which occurred in the late period, and led toThoth-Hermes.[13] This is supported by the importance theHermopolitan Cosmology had in the worship of Imhotep and Thoth during the Late Period.[14]
InDeir el-Bahari a temple to Amenhotep son of Hapu and Imhotep was created during the Ptolemaic period, whereHygieia was worshipped alongsideAsclepius, a possible Greek association with Renpetneferet.[15]
Ademotic papyrus from the temple ofTebtunis, dating to the 2nd century AD, preserves a long story about Imhotep.[16] King Djoser plays a prominent role in the story, which also mentions Imhotep's family; his father the god Ptah, his motherKhereduankh, and his younger sister Renpetneferet. At one point Djoser desires Renpetneferet, and Imhotep disguises himself and tries to rescue her. The text also refers to the royal tomb of Djoser. Part of the legend includes an anachronistic battle between the Old Kingdom and the Assyrian armies where Imhotep fights anAssyrian sorceress in a duel of magic.[17]
