Although her name means "the Green One", Uto is the personification of the Red Crown of Lower-Egypt and as such she is the counterpart of the Upper-Egyptian goddess Nekhbet. It is thus not surprising to find these two godesses together in the Two Ladies name of the royal titulary.
She is often represented as a cobra, or as a woman with the head of a cobra or as a woman wearing the Red Crown. She assists Nekhbet in the crowning of the king, where Nekhbet crowns him with the White Crown of Upper-Egypt and Uto with the Red Crown of Lower-Egypt.
Associated with the cobra, Uto is the uraeus who spits out her venom against the enemies of the king. She is therefore called "the Lady of the Flames" and thus related to the flaming heat of the sun. Like her counterpart, she too is a protector-goddess.
Her primary cult centres were located in the Lower-Egyptian twin cities of Pe and Dep (Buto).
- Uto -
Nekhbet (right) and Uto (left) crown the King. From a scene at the temple of Horus at Edfu.
