Anuket was the goddess of the Nile’s cataracts, especially the waters around Elephantine and Egypt’s southern frontier.
She belonged to the Elephantine Triad with Khnum and Satis. Khnum, the ram-headed creator god, was linked with the cataracts and the Nile’s channels, while Satis represented the flood and protection of the region. Anuket was associated with the river’s swift-flowing southern waters and with Lower Nubia.
Her name is commonly interpreted as “Clasper” or “Embracer,” a meaning that suits her connection with the Nile’s encircling channels. She was often shown as a woman wearing a tall, plumed headdress, and her symbols included the gazelle, bow, arrows, and ostrich feather.
Anuket was especially worshipped at Elephantine and nearby Seheil. During the New Kingdom, festivals and river processions honored her, and offerings were cast into the Nile in thanks for the life-giving flood. She is sometimes confused with Satis, but Anuket’s distinctive association is the cataracts and southern river region.