| Meret | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Meret wearing a bundle oflotus | |||||||
| Name inhieroglyphs |
| ||||||
| Symbol | Blue lotus Papyrus reed | ||||||
| Genealogy | |||||||
| Spouse | Hapi | ||||||
InEgyptian mythology,Meret (also spelledMert) was a goddess who was strongly associated with rejoicing, such assinging anddancing.
Meret was atoken wife occasionally given toHapi, the god of theNile flood. Her name being a reference to this, meaning simplythe beloved. As token wife, she was usually depicted with the same associations as Hapi, having on her head either theblue lotus forUpper Egypt, or thepapyrus plant forLower Egypt. Since Hapi was the source of bountifulness, Meret was usually depicted with an offering bowl, as she was seen, being his wife, as the symbolic recipient of his generosity.
Among the lower classes, where nationalism was less important than successful harvest, she was more strongly considered the wife of Hapi than the protectresses of Lower and Upper Egypt, which were more normally his wife in the upper classes. As a deity whose role was to be the symbolic receiver of bounty from the inundation of the Nile, she was strongly associated with rejoicing, such assinging anddancing.[1] Later stories tell that Meret was the goddess of the eighth hour, in theBook of Gates.
