Menat

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title: "Menat" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["egyptian-artefact-types", "hathor", "egyptian-amulets"] description: "Ancient Egyptian necklace" topic_path: "geography/egypt" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menat" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Ancient Egyptian necklace ::

::callout[type=note] the ancient Egyptian artifact ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Menat_necklace_from_Malqata_MET_DT234778.jpg" caption="The [[Malqata Menat]], late [[Eighteenth Dynasty"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Dendera_Krypta_12.JPG" caption="Temple of Hathor at Dendera"] ::

In ancient Egyptian religion, a menat (, ) was a necklace closely associated with the goddess Hathor.

Operation

The menat was held in the hand by its counterpoise and used as a rattle by Hathor's priestesses. It was also worn as a protective amulet, particularly by Apis bulls.

Parts

The menat typically included an aegis attached to beaded strings. The other ends of the strings were tied to a counterweight that dangled on the wearer's back. The aegis was often made of faience, but other materials such as leather and bronze were also used. It was often inscribed or bore depictions of deities associated with Hathor.

Purpose

The necklace was meant to ensure good luck and fortune and to protect against evil spirits. It was also worn for protection in the afterlife and is often found buried with the dead, given as a grave gift since Ramesside times. It was expected to foster fruitfulness and good health for women, and for men it signified virility.

Footnotes

References

• Erman, Johann Peter Adolf, and Hermann Grapow, eds. 1926–1953. Wörterbuch der aegyptischen Sprache im Auftrage der deutschen Akademien. 6 vols. Leipzig: J. C. Hinrichs’schen Buchhandlungen. (Reprinted Berlin: Akademie-Verlag GmbH, 1971.)

References

1. Ermann & Grapow, 2, 76, 4.
2. Ermann & Grapow, 2, 75.18-76.3.
3. [http://www.petrie.ucl.ac.uk/search/main/index.php Petrie Museum Collection - search for ''menat'']

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::