Domains & Iconography
Domains: Sirius, calendar, inundation
Iconography: five‑pointed star, woman with star
Heliacal Rising & Calendar
Sopdet’s heliacal rising (first visible appearance at dawn) near the time of the inundation marked the Egyptian New Year. Priests observed the star to regulate civil and ritual calendars, taxation cycles, and festival schedules.
Astral Theology & Isis
In later texts Sopdet is identified with Isis; paired with Sah‑Orion (often associated with Osiris), she frames an astral couple guiding seasonal renewal. The star becomes a theological clock by which the river’s generosity is anticipated and praised.
Iconography
A woman crowned by a five‑pointed star; on ceilings and coffins, stellar diagrams situate Sopdet at turnings of the year. Amulets and astronomical tables attest to popular and priestly uses alike.
Legacy
From Middle Kingdom star tables to Roman‑period zodiacs, Sopdet remained Egypt’s symbol that time is written in the heavens yet felt in the fields.