Hathor (deity)

Symbols: Cow; sistrum; lioness; falcon; sun disk

Country: Egypt

Father: Ra

Children: Ihy; Harsomtus

One of ancient Egypt’s great goddesses, Hathor was a sky divinity. She was the daughter of the sun god Ra and the wife of Horus, the falcon-headed god associated with the sky and kingship. Some also believed she was the primeval cow goddess who created the world and everything in it. Hathor was therefore often represented as a cow (which was her sacred animal) or a cow-headed goddess. She was also shown with a human head that had cow’s ears or two outward curving horns; often, her father’s sun disk appeared between the horns.

In her bovine form, she nourished the living with her milk; and because of her maternal nature, she was seen as the protector, royal nurse, and mother of the king (one of the king’s titles was Son of Hathor).

Over time, Hathor became a powerful deity associated with royal wives, particularly with the king’s chief wife, who became her priestess. Often described as the beautiful one, Hathor was seen as the goddess of fertility and motherhood who helped women conceive and assisted them in their childbirth. Her favorite instrument was the sistrum, a small percussion instrument that she played to drive away evil from the land.

Ancient Egyptians also worshipped Hathor as the goddess of joy, love, sexuality, and pleasure. She encouraged sensual experiences through dance and music. Her son Ihy was considered the personification of musical ecstasy. It was said that her temple was the "home of intoxication and a place of enjoyment" (Larousse Encyclopedia, 25). Consequently, she’s closely associated with alcoholic drinks, which were often a feature of her festivals, and she was shown on vessels that contained wine and beer.

Hathor had a role as a funerary goddess as well. She was dubbed the Lady of the Sycamore, who welcomed the dead to the afterlife with refreshing food and purifying water. Another title was Queen of the West, and in this role, part of Hathor’s duties included protecting the ancient Theban cemetery. Egyptians hoped that in the afterlife, they would be judged as followers of Hathor so that they might receive her eternal protection.

In addition, as the Egyptian goddess of foreign lands—from Lebanon in the north to Punt in the south—she was recognized as the protector and patron of trade and the precious resources mined from those other regions.

In Mythology

Hathor was considered the favored daughter of the sun god Ra, who is mentioned in many of her myths. One story states that Ra was angry because of humanity’s ingratitude and its turn to evil. He felt that human beings had not lived up to his expectations. So Hathor, who became the avenging Eye of Ra, was turned into a lioness and started to slaughter people. She soon became drunk on human blood, and Ra realized that if she continued her rampage, there would be no more people left to worship him. But it was difficult to reign in the goddess. So Ra dyed huge pots of beer red, and this transformation tricked Hathor. She believed the beer was actually blood that had been left for her. The goddess drank heavily, fell into a stupor, and was purged of her bloodlust. Having abandoned herself to revelry while drunk, she was restored to her happy, joyful self. That is why beer was an important part of the rites associated with Hathor’s worship.

As the goddess of merriment, Hathor is the one credited with getting Ra out of a sulk. During the battle between Seth and Horus, Ra became upset and withdrew from the other gods. Hathor then went to Ra, started dancing in front of him, and stripped until he burst out laughing. The tale is thought to describe a solar eclipse, when the sun disappears and has to be cheered up so that it can return.

One version of the Horus myth says that it was Hathor who healed her husband Horus’s eye when he was wounded in the battle with his uncle Seth. Hathor poured milk into Horus’s eye and with her powers healed his sight so that he could continue the battle.

Origins and Cults

A popular goddess throughout ancient Egypt, Hathor was always prominently connected with the royal house. She enjoyed royal patronage because she was seen as the divine mother, nursemaid, and wife to the king. Hathor thus wielded a lot of influence in the daily lives of the nobility and the common folk. In the Theban area, there are representations of pharaohs such as Amenhotep II, Hatshepsut, and Thutmose III who are crouched under a cow goddess’s belly, drinking from her udders or standing near her bovine image.

Hathor’s divinity derived from three legends: She was the daughter of the sun god Ra, she was the helper of the dead in the underworld, and she was the divine patroness of trade. All three roles served to further cement her position in the Egyptian pantheon.

There were many shrines dedicated to Hathor throughout Egypt as well as beyond—in Nubia, Sinai, Byblos, and other places where Egypt enjoyed influence and control. In Egypt, her important temples were at Atfih, Cusae, Deir al-Medina, and Dendera; the temple at Dendera was the site of her greatest cult center.

Hathor’s biggest festival was her annual reunion with Horus, which was celebrated in the third month of the Egyptian summer. At the conclusion of a grand procession, her own statue, which was housed in Dendera, would be reunited with the Horus statue in the temple at Edfu. The two statues then participated in various rituals and were placed together in a chamber for the night to get reacquainted. Thousands of pilgrims came to see the sight and stayed on to participate in celebrations that followed over the next fourteen days.

Another popular Hathor festival was held on New Year’s Day, which was considered the anniversary of her birth. Before the sun rose, Hathor’s priestesses brought her statue out of the temple and presented it to the rising sun. Afterwards, there was much rejoicing, and the day ended in music, drinking, and dance.

Bibliography

Bunson, Margaret. Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. New York: Facts on File Inc., 2012. Print.

Hart, George. The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2005. Print.

The New Larousse Encyclopedia of Mythology. Trans. Richard Aldington and Delano Ames. London: Hamlyn, 1959. Print.

Wilkinson, Richard. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. New York: Thames & Hudson, 2003. Print.