Hathor

Hathor was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion.

She was a complex figure with many different roles. She served as a sky deity and a solar goddess. As a sky goddess, she was the mother or consort of Horus and Ra. Because these gods were linked to kingship, Hathor became the symbolic mother of the pharaohs. She also helped deceased souls transition into the afterlife. This made her a goddess who crossed the boundaries between different worlds.

Hathor's nature included two very distinct aspects. One side was beneficent, representing beauty, music, dance, and joy. This side focused on love, sexuality, and maternal care. The other side was more intense and protective. In this form, she was known as the Eye of Ra. As the Eye of Ra, she was the feminine counterpart to the sun god. She acted as a vengeful protector to defend Ra from his enemies. These two sides represented the Egyptian conception of femininity.

The goddess was often depicted in several different forms. Her most common appearance was a woman wearing a headdress of cow horns and a sun disk.

She was also represented as a cow, a lioness, a cobra, or even a sycomore tree. The cow form symbolized her maternal and celestial qualities. Some myths even describe her as a group of deities. Egyptian texts mention the "Seven Hathors" or as many as 362 manifestations. This suggests she was a type of deity rather than a single entity.

Hathor's history shows a rise to great prominence during the Old Kingdom.

While cattle goddesses existed in the fourth millennium BC, Hathor became central under early rulers. She supplanted an early crocodile god at Dendera in Upper Egypt. She also absorbed the cult of the goddess Bat during the Middle Kingdom. This fusion helped her become one of Egypt's most important deities. Even when goddesses like Mut and Isis rose in popularity, Hathor remained widely worshipped. She was venerated until the ancient Egyptian religion ended in the early centuries AD.

Hathor's connection to the sun followed a specific mythological cycle. She was a solar deity who accompanied Ra in his celestial barque. She was often called the "Golden One" because of the sun's radiance. Some myths describe a cycle of constant regeneration involving Ra and Hathor. At sunset, the sun god entered the body of the sky goddess. This process resulted in the birth of new deities at sunrise. This cycle included the sun god himself and the Eye of Ra.

One famous myth explains her transition from a fierce to a gentle state. In the "Book of the Heavenly Cow," Ra sends Hathor as the Eye of Ra to punish humans. In this form, she became the lioness goddess Sekhmet. She began a massacre of the rebellious humans. To stop the violence, Ra ordered red-dyed beer to be poured over the land. Hathor drank the beer, mistaking it for blood. In her inebriated state, she reverted to the beautiful and benign Hathor. This story relates to festivals where music and drink were used to appease her.

Religious worship of Hathor involved many sensory experiences. People celebrated her with music, dance, and fine scents. Musicians played instruments like harps, lyres, and the sistrum. The sistrum was a rattle-like instrument very important to her worship.

These celebrations often included the Festival of Drunkenness. During such festivals, women carried flower bouquets and revelers played drums. This noise was believed to drive away hostile powers. More temples were dedicated to Hathor than to any other goddess. Her most prominent temple was located at Dendera.