Filled with sorrow that she would never be a mother, Nut turned
to Thoth for comfort. Like most males, he couldn't stand to see
a woman cry and promised to find a solution.
And that he did! Using his divine powers of
persuasion, Thoth talked the Moon into gambling with him. If he
won he would get just a little bit of the Moon's light.
The games went on for months, and at the end
Thoth had won enough light to create five complete days.
Nut didn't waste a precious moment of those five days. She
gave birth to a different child on each day. From that day
forward she was called "Mother of the Gods".
The extra five days Thoth added to the solar year were
devoted to celebrations in honor of the goddess Nut. They were
held in late February just before the beginning of the new solar
year which previously had been only 360 days in length.
Thanks to the Egyptian Goddess Nut our year came to have 365 days!
* Fair Warning: This isn't a version of
the myth you're likely to encounter frequently on the web. It
comes from much earlier times and cultures. For a discussion
(and a helpful reference) on the migrations of the myths of Re,
Nut, and Geb to Egyptian mythology, see
Up the Wrong Alley. |
