The goddesses shared in the exercise of supreme power, and had the same right of inheritance and possession as regards sovereignty that women had in human law.[*] Isis was entitled lady and mistress at Buto, as Hathor was at Denderah, and as Nit at Sais, "the firstborn, when as yet there had been no birth." They enjoyed in their cities the same honours as the male gods in theirs; as the latter were kings, so were they queens, and all bowed down before them. The animal gods, whether entirely in the form of beasts, or having human bodies attached to animal heads, shared omnipotence with those in human form. Horus of Hibonu swooped down upon the back of a gazelle like a hunting hawk, Hathor of Denderah was a cow, Bastit of Bubastis was a cat or a tigress, while Nekhabit of El Kab was a great bald-headed vulture.[**] Hermopolis worshipped the ibis and cynocephalus of Thot; Oxyrrhynchus the _mor-myrus_ fish;[***] and Ombos and the Fayum a crocodile, under the name of Sobku,[****] sometimes with the epithet of Azai, the brigand.[v] * In attempts at reconstituting Egyptian religions, no adequate weight has hitherto been given to the equality of gods and goddesses, a fact to which attention was first called by Maspeeo (_Etudes de Mythologie et d'Archeologie Egyptiennes_, vol. ii. p. 253, et seq.). ** Nekhabit, the goddess of the south, is the vulture, so often represented in scenes of war or sacrifice, who hovers over the head of the Pharaohs. She is also shown as a vulture-headed woman. *** We have this on the testimony of classic writers, Steabo, book xvii. p. 812, _De Iside et Csiride_, Sec. vii., 1872, Paethey's edition, pp. 9, 30, 128. ^Elianus, Hist, anim., book x. Sec. 46. **** Sobhu, Sovku is the animal's name, and the exact translation of Sovu would be crocodile-god. Its Greek transcription is [ ]. On account of the assonance of the names he was sometimes confounded with _Sivu, Sibu_ by the Egyptians themselves, and thus obtained the titles of that god. This was especially the case at the time when Sit having been proscribed, Sovku the crocodile, who was connected with Sit, shared his evil reputation, and endeavoured to disguise his name or true character as much as possible. v Azai is generally considered to be the Osiris of the Fayum, but he was only transformed into Osiris, and that by the most daring process of assimilation. His full name defines him as _Osiri Azai hi halt To-sit (Osiris the Brigand, who is in the Fayum)_, that is to say, as Sovku identified with Osiris. [Illustration: 138.jpg THE CAT-HEADED BAST. 4] 4 Drawn by Faucher-Gudin, from a green enamelled figure in my possession (Saite period).