Tefnut was known as the goddess of mist and the sister of
Shu
. Tefnut and Shu were the parents of Nut , the goddess of the sky , and Gab , the god of the earth . She is depicted on the walls of the temples either as a woman with the head of a lioness carrying the solar disk surrounded by the cobra over her head , or as a lioness only , or as an ordinary woman with the solar disk surrounded by the cobra over her head . She is also presented as one of the gods who stand while weighing the heart of the dead person in front of
Thuth
and
Anubis
as it is indicated in the papyrus of Ani and Hunefer .
Tefnut was the heroine of an interesting myth of "the return of the eye of Ra" . In the myth of the creation of the sun and the moon , When
Ra
created Shu and Tefnut he sent his eye to watch them . When his eye finished her mission she found another eye taking her place and this enraged her . To placate her , Ra made one of his two eyes the solar eye that appears as a cobra fighting his enemies
and the other one the lunar eye . Tefnut was associated with the lunar eye of Ra in many myths .
As it is indicated on the walls of the temple of
Edfu
and Dandara , for some reasons Tefnut got angry from her father to the extent that she left him and took the form of a lioness that terrifies the humans and animals in
Nubia
and lives on their flesh and blood . She became very destructive and wild due to living in this uncivilized environment . Ra decided to reconcile his daughter and make use of her power in protecting himself against his enemies and thus he sent Thuth and Shu to bring her back to the civilized environment of
Egypt
.
Thuth convinced her of returning to Egypt where she would lead a prosperous life and find people who dignify her and present sacrifices for her . The return of Tefnut , the eye of Ra , was a great occasion that was remarkably celebrated by as it is presented on the wall of the temples . After coming to the civilized Egypt , she regained her kindness and gentility . The major theme of this myth is that people who live in civilized environment behave in a more gentle , tolerant and respectful way
than those who live in the jungles and savage areas .
)
)
)
)
