Hathor (Ancient Egyptian: ḥwt-ḥr, lit. 'House of Horus') is a primary goddess of ancient Egypt. A sky deity, she's mother of Horus and wife of the sun god Ra. She can act as the ferocious Eye of Ra to punish misbehaving mortals.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
See also:
Ra the Sun God and Horus the falcon-headed god are both associated with kingship. The Pharaohs are their mortal representations. Hathor is the symbolic mother of the Pharaohs. With Ra and Horus she forms a divine triad.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
She's often portrayed as a cow with both celestial and maternal qualities. As a benevolent goddess she's patron of music, dance, love, sexuality, joy, motherhood and maternal care. She also acts as a psychopomp like Anubis, guiding the deceased to the Afterlife.
See also:
In her female form, Hathor appears as a woman wearing a headpiece of cow horns holding a sun disc and pointing up to the heavens, reinforcing Hathor's connection to the cosmic skies. Hathor can also manifest as a lioness, cobra, or sycamore tree.
Cattle deities appear in 4th millennium Egyptian art. Hathor herself may be among them. The first mention of Hathor as a figure of worship is in the Old Kingdom (c. 2686 - 2181 BCE). As patron of Old Kingdom rulers she becomes one of Egypt's most significant deities.
See also:
In ancient Egypt it's customary to pray for the health of the Pharoah and invoke his protective deities. Thus the influence of Hathor spreads quickly though the land. She has more temples dedicated to her than any other goddess.
READ: Cult of the Fire God - Bronze Age Quest Adventure
Her epithets include Mistress of the Sky and Mistress of the Stars. She's also a household protection figure, being one of the deities most often invoked in private prayers and votive offerings. Women wanting children pray to Hathor.
See also:
Goddess of youth and beauty, Hathor may be depicted with lush beautiful hair. In ancient Egypt, through centuries of fashion, many men and women shave their bodies and heads and/or wear wigs.
The "lock of youth" is a braid or braided style on the right side of the shaven head for a child of noble birth. Ramesses II has one as a child in the 13th century BCE. At maturity the lock is cut and given in offering to the God Horus, a symbolic casting away of childhood roles.
See also:
Worship of Hathor is connected to the sistrum, an ancient musical ritual instrument. Priestesses of Hathor are skilled in its use. Nefertari, Royal Wife of Ramses II and priestess of Hathor, is especially dedicated to the goddess. She's often shown shaking her sistra.
Hathor's center of worship is her temple at Dendera, Upper Egypt. Besides being patroness of Kings, Hathor also receives offerings at temples of her male consorts. These include Ra, Horus, Atum the creator god, Amun (after 16th century BCE), and Khonsu the moon god.
See also:
Khonsu is first worshipped c. 2055 BCE. At first he's seen as a cannibal god. In one myth he plays senet with the ancient god Thoth, who gambles with him for five nights of moonlight.
Because of her celestial connection, Hathor is connected with trade and travel by sea or wide waters, where sailors navigate by the stars. The Egyptians associate Hathor with foreign lands such as Nubia and Canaan.
See also:
Thus linked to valuable trade goods, such as incense and gemstones, the gentle powers of Hathor are influential in harmonious relations. Nubia especially incorporates her worship, already having a strong cattle cult and trade tradition.
In turn the Egyptians adopt protector god Bes. He also becomes a popular household deity, eventually becoming the god of all Good, including helpful magic, household protection and music.
See also:
As the Eye of Ra, Hathor is bloodthirsty and vengeful, trampling and spearing men, causing war, disease, famine, ruin. Other Eye of Ra goddesses include war goddess Sekhmet, winged cobra goddess Wadjet, and earth mother goddess Mut.
Worship of Hathor replaces that of a crocodile god, perhaps Sobek, at Dendera, Upper Egypt. Hathor becomes patron deity of Dendera. From nearby Hu, bovine goddess Bat is assimilated into the cult and fused with Hathor in the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055 - 1650 BCE).
See also:
In the New Kingdom (c. 1550 -1070 BCE), goddesses such as Mut and Isis rise up in power. Isis assumes characteristics initially related to Hathor. One of her roles is as psychopomp, and in later depictions she wears the horned solar headdress of Hathor.
Nonetheless Hathor remains one of the most widely worshipped deities due to her influence as a goddess of women, connections to the Sun God, the stars and the economy. The idea of the cosmic cow goes back to primordial creation myths.
See also:
After the end of the New Kingdom, Hathor's cosmology becomes lost in the shadow of Isis. Her cult survives, and continues until the extinction of ancient Egyptian religion in the first millennium CE.
Comments