Who is Taweret? Exploring origins of the Egyptian hippo goddess in 'Moon Knight'

A lot has happened in the final fifteen minutes of the fourth episode of Moon Knight. Marc was shot and seemingly died before he woke up in an asylum. The mind-boggling scene teased that the entire season of Moon Knight was the creation of Marc’s ailing mind. Layla is a patient while Arthur Harrow is the doctor. Things become weirder when Marc discovers Steven trapped in a sarcophagus.

However, the biggest moment of confusion was when we encountered the biped Hippo Goddess with a cute voice which left viewers screaming in fear along with Marc and Steven. The biped Hippo is Goddess Taweret and she might be a crucial character in future episodes of Moon Knight.

---

Goddess Taweret is an original character created for the Moon Knight series and does not exist in comic books

In the defense of Marc and Steven, anyone would be scared after seeing a huge talking biped Hippo. After all, Hippos are the world’s deadliest land animal and are responsible for killing more than 500 people every year in Africa.

According to Egyptian Mythology, the Goddess Taweret is represented by a bipedal female Hippopotamus. She is the goddess of childbirth and fertility. She is known to have the power of rejuvenation. So does that mean Taweret will help Steven return to life after he was shot dead by Arthur Harrow?

Taweret is neither a member of nine Enneads in Marvel nor is she mentioned in any of the comic issues. The debut character was created specifically for the series by the writer Jeremy Slater. Slater had mentioned that during the writing process, the research team provided them with cartoon drawings of different Egyptian gods. In an interview with Marvel.com Slater revealed that:

“I spent that entire first week of our writers' room, just staring at that. Then finally, at some point, I couldn't take any more. I interrupted whatever we were talking about and I was like, ‘Guys, we have something much more important, which is, how do I get this hippo into the show?’”

Goddess Taweret’s character is performed by Antonia Salib, who is a comparatively new actress. Since Taweret is a new character in MCU, Salib worked in a collaborative process with director Mohamed Diab, the costume, and the VFX department to create the look, voice, and nitty-gritty of the character.

This small sneak peek into the writers’ room suggests how absurd ideas are turned into important beats and characters by the talented writing team. Things are going to get crazier in future episodes of Moon Knight. Episode five will air on Disney+ on Wednesday, April 27, 2022.