Two Ladies

English

Etymology

Calque of Egyptian nbtj, from the dual of nbt (“mistress, lady”).

Proper noun

Two Ladies

1. the Egyptian goddesses Wadjet and Nekhbet
   • 1999, Geraldine Harris, Delia Pemberton, Illustrated Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt:

     The Two Ladies painted on a coffin: On the left Nekhbet as a vulture wearing the White Crown; on the right Wadjyt as a cobra wearing the Red Crown.

   • 2002, Toby A.H. Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt:

     In this case, the label attests to the existence of the Two Ladies, and their close connection with the kingship, from the very beginning of the First Dynasty; but it does not prove the existence of the Two Ladies’ title at this stage, nor does it have any bearing on the identification of the semi-legendary king Menes.

   • 2008, Christiane Ziegler, Queens of Egypt: From Hetepheres to Cleopatra, pages 154, 156:

     The idea of the dual kingship of Upper and Lower Egypt is shifted from Horus and Seth to the Two Ladies, written (nbty), a clear reference to the vulture goddess Nekhbet of Upper Egypt and the cobra goddess Wadjet of Lower Egypt. [...] This sets up a paradigm of complemetarity between the king, ruler of the Black Land, and the queen, who is a manifestation of the Two Ladies as the Two Lands.

Derived terms

• Two Ladies name