Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus represents amphibious maternal power and strength; Egyptian traditions divide it between Taweret’s protection and Set’s violent virility.
Our paraphrase of what the sources say it carries.
At a glance
- Type
- Symbol
- Borne by
- 2 figures (1 is this, 1 carries it)
- Traditions
- Biblical folklore (1)Egyptian mythology (1)
Figures that bear it
A model judged each figure against its own description, one term at a time. Is: the figure is a kind of this thing. Bears: it carries the thing or is marked by it. What a figure does is filed under motifs and powers. Open "why" for the sentence the judgement rests on.
- Behemoth is Biblical folklore
why
In Biblical tradition, Behemoth is an enormous, primordial beast resembling a hippopotamus.
- Ammit bears Egyptian mythology
why
In ancient Egyptian lore, Ammit is a fearsome creature with the head of a crocodile, the torso of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus.