River and land
Sopdet
spdtGreekSothis, the Greek form of the name, for the star Sirius
How it changed
The deified star Sirius, whose reappearance in the dawn sky after weeks of invisibility fell close to the start of the flood, which made her its herald and the marker of the Egyptian new year. The slippage between that observed rising and the 365-day civil calendar is the Sothic cycle modern scholars use to anchor Egyptian dates. She merged with Isis in later periods, as Isis-Sothis.
Cult centre
None fixed; observed from temples across Egypt
Best attested
Old Kingdom onward, and central to the calendar
Family
- ConsortSah, the deified Orion
- ChildrenSopdu
Consort of Sah, the deified Orion; mother of Sopdu.
Epithets
- “Bringer of the new year”
- “The sharp one”
How to recognise the figure
A woman in a tall crown topped by a five-pointed star.
Others in this group