The Goddess and Public History

Who is Hathor?

Photo Credit/Depositphotos.com

Hathor is the Egyptian goddess of love, beauty, and pleasure, and a guardian of women. A multifaceted divine female, she manifested in many forms to the ancient Egyptians. She was a fiery solar deity and close consort to Ra-Horakhty, a lover who is a combination of the sun god Ra and the god Horus. She was a favorite among the common folk and was also embraced by Hatshepsut, one of the few female pharaohs, whose rule encouraged the cult of Hathor. Her religion was considered joyful. Her main place of worship was in Dendera, a city that thrived on ongoing celebrations.

As one of Egypt's most ancient goddesses, she's been blended with many popular deities. She is sometimes indistinguishable—in look and role—from Isis; she is also said to be the sister, or the milder aspect, of the lion goddess Sekhmet. Hathor's first form was as a cow goddess and a mother deity who empowers and feeds devotees with her rich milk. Hathor was believed to materialize during childbirth to help women through; she was a special guardian spirit of women and female animals. She was often depicted holding a mirror, and thus the mirror is a ritual reminder of the goddess's energy. The Greeks were especially fond of Hathor, equating her with their own goddess of beauty and love, Aphrodite. Hathor is usually seen as a trim Egyptian woman with dark hair and dark eyes highlighted by kohl; she wears a wide, jeweled neckpiece and a headpiece created from a solar disk atop a pair of cows' horns.

Hathor Sources:

Hathor quote: Wilson Pip, "Hathor: Egyptian Goddess of Sky—and Terror," Wilson's Almanac, www.wilsonsalmanac.com/goddess _hathor.html. Attributed to a "Hymn to the Goddess Hathor, Egypt, 18th Dynasty."

Time-Life Books, What Life Was Like on the Banks of the Nile: Egypt 3050–30 BC (Alexandria, VA: Time-Life Books, 1995).

Ellis Normandi, Feasts of Light: Celebrations for the Seasons of Life, based on Egyptian goddess mysteries (Wheaton, IL: Quest, 1999).

Alison Roberts, Hathor Rising: The Power of the Goddess in Ancient Egypt (Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions International, 1997).

Hathor

The beauty of your face glitters when you rise, O come in peace.

One is drunk at your beautiful face, O Gold, Hathor.

—HYMN TO HATHOR INSCRIPTION FROM A TOMB IN THEBES

Photo Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Title: Hathor Head Amulet

Period: Late Period

Dynasty: Dynasty 26–29

Date: 664–332 B.C.

Geography: From Egypt

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/550965

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