Nut is the goddess who personifies the sky in ancient Egyptian mythology. She was imagined as a star-covered woman arching her body over the earth, with her fingers and toes touching the four cardinal directions.
In the Heliopolitan creation story, Nut is the daughter of Shu, the god of air, and Tefnut, the goddess of moisture. Her brother and husband is Geb, the earth god. Their separation by Shu explains the division between earth and sky and creates the ordered world inhabited by the gods and humans.
Nut was also associated with the daily cycle of the sun. Egyptian religious imagery described the sun as traveling across her body by day, being swallowed at night, and being reborn at dawn. She was therefore both a cosmic goddess and a protector of the dead. Coffin lids and tomb ceilings often show her star-filled body sheltering the deceased, while Isis and Hathor had different primary roles despite also being major goddesses.