Sensational discovery: Ancient Egyptians worshipped the goddess of the Milky Way

In Ancient Egyptian mythology, the sky goddess Nut personified the cosmos, protecting the Earth and reviving the Sun daily. However, new research points to its even more impressive connection to the Milky Way. Astrophysicist Or Graur from the University of Portsmouth in the UK has published a landmark paper where he proves: images of Nut on ancient artifacts may be the oldest symbolic reflection of our galaxy. 

The Milky Way over the Giza Necropolis. Illustration: Grok 3

Graur became interested in Nut while researching myths about the Milky Way for a popular science book. Analyzing the Egyptian Pyramid Texts, the Book of Nut, and other sources, he found similarities between descriptions of the goddess and astronomical simulations of the night sky of ancient Egypt. For example, the winter sky was associated with Nut’s arms and the summer sky with her spine. In 2024, the scientist expressed a bold hypothesis: the Egyptians saw in Nut the embodiment of not only the sky, but also the galaxy. 

Artifacts reveal the mystery

In 2025, Graur analyzed 125 images of Nut from 555 tombs from nearly 5,000 years ago. Although the classic image of the goddess is a naked woman covered in stars, some of the frescoes are striking in detail. On one of the tombs, the scientist noticed a wavy black line crossing the body of Nut. On both sides of the line were an equal number of stars. 

Cosmological vignette of Nut on the outer coffin of Nesitaudjatakhet in the collection of the Odesa Archaeological Museum OAM 52976 (C107). Nut’s body is covered in stars, as well as a thick wavy black line running from the soles of her feet to the tips of her toes. This curve, surrounded by stars on both sides, resembles the Great Rift of the Milky Way. Author: Mykola Tarasenko / Odesa Archaeological Museum / NASU

“This curve resembles the Great Rift, a dark band of cosmic dust that divides the Milky Way in half,” Graur explains. Similar elements were found in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings, in particular in the burial of Pharaoh Ramses VI (XII century BC). The ceiling of his tomb depicts two arches of Nut separated by golden lines symbolizing the transition of day into night. 

Sky is Nut?

The researcher emphasizes: Nut is not an “embodiment” of the Milky Way. But the galaxy, the sun and the stars are the elements that adorn her body, because she was considered the personification of the heavens. 

“The myths of Nut are an attempt by the ancients to explain the universe through the lens of everyday life. They saw stars being “born” from its body at night and “eaten” by the sky during the day,” the scientist adds. 

This theory not only expands the understanding of Egyptian cosmology, but also reminds us how science is intertwined with cultural heritage.

Earlier we reported on how astrophysicists modeled a view of the Milky Way from the age of ancient Egypt.

According to Popular Science

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