Qedešet: A Syro-Anatolian Goddess in Egypt

This article considers the iconographic origins of the Egyptian goddess Qedešet and her Levantine cognate Qudšu through an examination of their individual iconographic elements, such as V-pose arms, snakes, and coiffures. As the evidence indicates, the nude, en face female, typically standing upon an animal and often portrayed as a potnia therôn, derives from Anatolia. Specifically Egyptian elements are the Hathoric coiffure and the grasping of snakes. Highly distinctive regional aspects of the iconography are presented, distinguishing among Anatolian, North Levantine, South Levantine, and Egyptian iconographic types.