Qadesh

Qedesh, Kadesh, Qetesh, Quetesh, Qudshu,

Qedeshet, Qadishtu

According to Budge, and on the Turin and other stele she was called"mistress of all the gods, the eye of Ra, with a second". And was worshiped as a moon goddess.

A Semitic deity whose worship was introduced into the Egyptian pantheon during the New Kingdom era, when the Egyptians came into closer contact with the peoples of the Levant. It is said; in the Levant the cult of Qadesh, likethat of Astarte, involved her followers simulating the ritual "sacredmarriage" of the goddess with Reshep who was of Syrian origin. From sunset April 29 to sunset May 1st was the Egyptian Feast of the Sacred Marriage usually dedicated to Isis & Osiris, this was also a holiday for Kadesh. She may have also had a part in a spring harvest festival dedicated to Min.

This sexuality displayed by Qadesh naturally led to an identification between her and Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love. She was a goddess of nature,beauty and sexual pleasure and sacred marriage.

The stele above shows her standing on top of a lion (in which some believe to be a symbol offemale power) in the buff holding out symbols of eroticism and fertility to her companions, the god of virility, Min and Reshep the god of war and pestilence. As such, Resheph was associated with Montu, Egypt's native god of war.

Of whom many believe to be her husband. He is identified with Nergal in Mesopotamianmythology, who was introduced in the Middle Kingdom. Having been adopted into Egyptian belief, it was decided that Qetesh, as the goddess of sex, should be the mother of Min, the god of fertility and thus sexual aptitude. Others disagree and say that Min was he other half. Then you have those who say they were both her husbands. Apparently she was a verypopular goddess, she eventually became considered an aspect of Hathor, who had by that time become a goddess of pleasure.

Lotuses for Min and snakes for Resheph.The snakes are thought to represent male genitalia and in herright hand lotus flowers representing female genitalia. Like Bes and Hathor, sheis always pictured facing forward rather than in profile.

After her adoption into the Egyptian pantheon, she was more commonly depicted wearing the headdress of Hathor or a pair of cows horns and a sun disc (also linked with Hathor and the "Eye or Ra") in other depictions she wears a tight-fitting red sheath dress down to her ankles.

Her name, some believe has the meaning of "holy", it is not clear what her origins are but she seems to be a manifestation of the sensuousness inherent in the goddesses Astarte and Anat. On some versions of the Qetesh stele with Min and Resheph, it is placed over another register showing gifts being presented to Anat the goddess of War and below a register listing the lands belonging to Min (Egypt) and (Reseph) Syria.

According to Steve Whittet
Independent Scholar;

"I have been looking at an Egyptian stele, where Egypt and Syria are shown brought together by Quetesh (goddess of the high waters) to share a border at Kadesh in the mountains above the lands of El under the auspices of the Goddess Anat"

Above her head is the inscription

[k:t:nu i(rt t :k33 kn]

(ktnu uraeus tkaakn) (High goddess of the high place)

On Respu's side

[anpu det god det the thing itself] (Anpu the god himself)

[a:hotep:h ptnu hk3k:pdt] (thanks the skys rule(goddesses)

for protection)

[netru det goddess det plural]

On Mins side

[min det god wr ak k3 swt ty f A

at hotep pt hr det the thing itself]

(min the great god rejoices,

from his double plumes,

the heavens reward my face)

Above the serving girls bringing provisions to Anat

[rdi det give ] (give)

[ti:ta det goddess] the land of the goddess

[snk knskadet the thing itself] sustenence (suckel)

[tApt Anat] (this heavenly Anat)

[N:t det plural ] (rain down from on high)

[sw det people] the peoples

lands

[w3d f] (make green)

[nbt tprdet the thing itself

tuy det people] (every house of this people)

[sa fn] (every son of Syria's)

[ay det peoples lands] (peoples lands)

Above Anat

[antat] (Anat)

[Uraus nbt] every goddess

[nbht][netru] in heaven

Behind her

protection

life

strength control

the lands

everyone

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