Serqet (srqt, Scorpion-Goddess Constellation)

SER-ket

egyptian: srqt

Definition

Serqet (Egyptian srqt; Selkis in Greek-period papyri) is an Egyptian constellation of the northern sky, shown on astronomical ceilings as a goddess, sometimes in the shape of a scorpion. She is one of the four protective goddesses of the canopic jars; in Egyptian sky-mapping she appears as a constellation near the celestial pole, standing above or beside Meskhetyu (the Big Dipper). Exactly which stars she is remains debated — Belmonte and Lull disagree between a near-pole position taking in Polaris and a placement near Virgo — because Serqet was used in no Egyptian star clock.

In Tradition

Belmonte and Lull treat Serqet as one of the named northern constellations of the New Kingdom astronomical ceilings, distinct from the better-attested Meskhetyu. The two co-authors openly disagree on which stars she is: Lull places Serqet near the celestial north pole, reading the ceiling image of her outstretched hands as falling on Polaris, while Belmonte places her near the Lion, in Virgo. Both readings are unverified — a candid disagreement they let stand in their joint book.

In Practice

Serqet is a clear example of the identification problem at the heart of Egyptian archaeoastronomy: a constellation can be securely named, attested in images, and religiously important, and still resist being mapped to particular stars. Serqet appears on the Senenmut astronomical ceiling (18th Dynasty), standing above Meskhetyu in the northern panel, and on the Ramesseum, Pedamenope, Petosiris, Sethy I, and Tausert ceilings. Because she gives no hour-stars to the Ramesside star clocks, there is no transit data to fix her position — so identification rests on ceiling images alone, which leaves the Lull-versus-Belmonte debate unresolved (near the pole, on Polaris, versus Virgo and the Lion). Serqet is attested in the Pyramid Texts as well: PT 571 places the dead king among the imperishable stars "in the midst of Serqet's enclosure," setting the scorpion-goddess into the Old Kingdom stellar afterlife. Her scorpion form links her to the protective canopic-jar goddesses and to the wider Egyptian world of star-religion.

Historical Origin

Serqet as a sky-figure is attested in the Pyramid Texts (PT 571 §1469a, Old Kingdom, c. 2400-2300 BCE) and across the New Kingdom and later astronomical ceilings — Senenmut TT 353 (18th Dynasty, c. 1473 BCE), the Ramesseum, the Sethy I cenotaph, and the tomb of Tausert (19th Dynasty) — continuing into Ptolemaic-period temple ceilings. The Greek-period papyri write her name as Selkis. Modern scholarly treatment: Belmonte and Lull, Astronomy of Ancient Egypt (2018); Neugebauer and Parker, Egyptian Astronomical Texts.

Etymology

Origin: Egyptian. Meaning: srqt — scorpion-goddess; Greek-period Selkis.

Definition

In Tradition

In Practice

Historical Origin

Etymology

Further Reading