Statue of Hathor (Luxor Museum)

In Egyptian mythology, Hathor (Egyptian for house of Horus) was originally a personification of the Milky Way, which was seen as the milk that flowed from the udders of a heavenly cow. Hathor was an ancient goddess, and was worshipped as a cow-deity from at least 2700 BC,[1] during the second dynasty. Her worship the Egyptians goes back earlier however, possibly, even by the Scorpion King who ruled during the Protodynastic Period before the dynasties began. His name, Serqet, may refer to the goddess Serket. Hathor was believed to be the mother of the pharaoh. Hathor can refer to Hathor, an Egyptian goddess Month of Hathor, the third month of the Coptic calendar 161 Athor, a Main Belt asteroid Hathor (Stargate), a Goauld System Lord in the science-fiction television series Stargate SG-1 Hathor (Stargate SG-1), a Stargate SG-1 episode. ... Image File history File links Egypt. ... Image File history File links Egypt. ... Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ... For other uses, see Horus (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Milky Way (disambiguation). ... A cow udder with 4 teats An udder is the mammary organ of cattle and some other mammals, including goats and sheep. ... COW is an acronym for a number of things: Can of worms The COW programming language, an esoteric programming language. ... (Redirected from 2700 BC) (28th century BC - 27th century BC - 26th century BC - other centuries) (4th millennium BC - 3rd millennium BC - 2nd millennium BC) Events 2900 - 2334 BC -- Mesopotamian wars of the Early Dynastic period 2775 - 2650 BC -- Second Dynasty wars in Egypt Germination of the Bristlecone pine tree Methuselah... Known rulers, in the History of Egypt, for the Second Dynasty. ... King Serket, translating to King Scorpion or sometimes The Scorpion King, refers to one or two kings of Upper Egypt during the Protodynastic Period. ... The Protodynastic Period of Egypt refers to the period of time at the very end of the Predynastic Period. ... In Egyptian mythology, Serket (also spelt Serket-hetyt, Selket, Selkis, Selchis, and Selkhit) was originally the deification of the scorpion. ...

The name Hathor refers to the encirclement by her, in the form of the Milky Way, of the night sky and consequently of the god of the sky, Horus who was said to be her son. Later she was described as the wife of Ra, the creator whose own cosmic birth was formalised in the Ogdoad cosmogeny after his worship arose and displaced that of Horus. At that time images of Ra bear the eye motif. For other uses, see Milky Way (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Horus (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ra (disambiguation). ... In Egyptian mythology, the Ogdoad are the eight deities worshipped in Hermopolis. ... Cosmogony [Gr. ... This article is about the Egyptian god. ...

An alternate name for Hathor, which persisted for 3,000 years, was Mehturt (also spelt Mehurt, Mehet-Weret, and Mehet-uret), meaning great flood, a direct reference to her being the milky way.^{[citation needed]}

Hathor as a cow, wearing her necklace and showing her sacred eye - Papyrus of Ani

The Milky Way was seen as a waterway in the heavens, sailed upon by both the sun deity and the king, leading the ancient Egyptians to describe it as The Nile in the Sky. Due to this, and the name mehturt, she was identified as responsible for the yearly inundation of the Nile. Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata No higher resolution available. ... The Papyrus of Ani is a papyrus from the 19th dynasty of the New Kingdom of Ancient Egypt containing portions of the Book of Going Forth by Day, more commonly known as the Books of the Dead. ... The Nile (Arabic: , transliteration: , Ancient Egyptian iteru, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing river in Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. ...

Another consequence of this name is that she was seen as a herald of imminent birth, as when the amniotic sac breaks and floods its waters, it is a medical indicator that the child is due to be born extremely soon. A drawing of the amniotic sac from Grays Anatomy. ...

Another interpretation of the Milky Way was that it was the primal snake, Wadjet, the protector of Egypt who was closely associated with Hathor and other early deities among the various aspects of the great mother goddess, including Mut and Naunet. In Egyptian mythology, Buto (papyrus colored--referring to the color of the cobra) was a snake (especially cobra) goddess and patron of the oracle in the city of the same name. ... For other uses, see Mut (disambiguation). ... In Egyptian mythology, Naunet (or Nunet) is the goddess of the primordial, watery abyss of the underworld and one of the Ogdoad. ...

Hathor also was favoured as a protector in desert regions (see Serabit el-Khadim). Serabit el-Khadim (Arabic, also transliterated Serabit al-Khadim, Serabit el-Khadem) is a locality in the south-west Sinai Peninsula where turquoise was mined extensively in antiquity, mainly by the ancient Egyptians. ...

Milky Way personified

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The Milky Way seen in a wide angle photograph from a remote area.

Anthropologists^{[attribution needed]} interpret that legends built around aspects of the sky and other natural phenomenon became the traditions upon which myths were described while viewing the sky and associations with deities exist in most cultures. Image File history File links Emblem-important. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 258 pixelsFull resolution (4000 × 1290 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 258 pixelsFull resolution (4000 × 1290 pixel, file size: 1. ...

In Egypt the primordial waters were associated with the Nile River which often flooded the land, both feared and bountiful. The Milky Way often was described as the river in the sky in Egyptian texts.^{[citations needed]}

Associations, images, and symbols

Dendera Temple, showing Hathor on the capitals of a column

Eventually, Hathor's identity as a cow, meant that she became identified with another ancient cow-goddess of fertility, Bat. It still remains an unanswered question amongst Egyptologists as to why Bat survived as an independent goddess for so long. Bat was, in some respects, connected to the Ba, an aspect of the soul, and so Hathor gained an association with the afterlife. It was said that, with her motherly character, Hathor greeted the souls of the dead in Duat, and proffered them with refreshments of food and drink. She also was described sometimes as mistress of the acropolis. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Entrance to the Dendera Temple Complex Dendera Temple complex, (Ancient Egyptian: Iunet or Tantere). ... COW is an acronym for a number of things: Can of worms The COW programming language, an esoteric programming language. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Great Sphinx of Giza against Khafres Pyramid at the Giza pyramid complex. ... In Egyptian mythology, the human soul is made up of seven parts: the Ren, Sekhem, the Akh, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Sekhu. ... In Egyptian mythology, Duat (also called Akert or Amenthes) is the underworld, where the sun traveled from west to east during the night and where dead souls were judged by Osiris, using a feather, representing Truth. ... Acropolis (Gr. ...

The assimilation of Bat, who was associated with the sistrum, a musical instrument, brought with it an association with music. In this later form, Hathor's cult became centred in Dendera in Upper Egypt and it was led by priestesses and priests who also were dancers, singers, and other entertainers.-1... Dendera (Arabic: دندرة) (also spelled Denderah/Dandarah), is a little town in Egypt on the west bank of the Nile, about 5 km south from Qina, on the opposite side of the Nile. ... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ... For other uses, see Dance (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Song (disambiguation). ...

Sculpture of Hathor as a cow, with all of her symbols, the sun disk, the cobra, as well as her necklace and crown

Hathor also became associated with the menat, the turquoise musical necklace often worn by women. A hymn to Hathor says: Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 433 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Antiquité égyptienne, la déesse Hathor (son nom est représenté par le 1er hiéroglyphe en haut à droite), Musée égyptien du Caire, (Égypte). ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 433 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Antiquité égyptienne, la déesse Hathor (son nom est représenté par le 1er hiéroglyphe en haut à droite), Musée égyptien du Caire, (Égypte). ... Part of a Menat depicting Hariesis standing in front of the goddess Sekhmet, flanked by the gods Wadjet and Nekhbet. ... For other uses, see Turquoise (disambiguation). ... For other senses of this word, see necklace (disambiguation). ...

Thou art the Mistress of Jubilation, the Queen of the Dance, the Mistress of Music, the Queen of the Harp Playing, the Lady of the Choral Dance, the Queen of Wreath Weaving, the Mistress of Inebriety Without End.

Essentially, Hathor had become a goddess of Joy, and so she was deeply loved by the general population, and truly revered by women, who aspired to embody her multifaceted role as wife, mother, and lover. In this capacity, she gained the titles of Lady of the House of Jubilation, and The One Who Fills the Sanctuary with Joy.

The worship of Hathor was so popular that more festivals were dedicated to her honor than any other Egyptian deity, and more children were named after this goddess than any other deity. Even Hathor's priesthood was unusual, in that both women and men became her priests. HI MOMMY!!

Bloodthirsty warrior

Hathor among the deities greeting the newly dead pharaoh, Thutmose IV, from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings, Luxor, Egypt

The Middle Kingdom was founded when Upper Egypt's pharaoh, Mentuhotep II, took control over Lower Egypt, which had become independent during the First Intermediate Period, by force. This unification had been achieved by a brutal war that was to last some twenty-eight years with many casualties, but when it ceased, calm returned, and the reign of the next pharaoh, Mentuhotep III, was peaceful, and Egypt once again became prosperous. A tale, from the perspective of Lower Egypt, developed around this experience of protracted war. Image File history File links Egypt. ... Image File history File links Egypt. ... The Middle Kingdom is the period in the history of ancient Egypt stretching from the establishment of the Eleventh Dynasty to the end of the Fourteenth Dynasty, roughly between 2030 BC and 1640 BC. The period comprises two phases, the 11th Dynasty, which ruled from Thebes and the 12th Dynasty... Map of Upper and Lower Egypt Ancient Egypt was divided into two kingdoms, known as Upper and Lower Egypt. ... nomen or birth name Nebhotepre Mentuhotep II (2046-1995 BCE) was a Pharaoh of the 11th dynasty, the son of Intef III of Egypt and a minor queen called Iah. ... Map of Lower and Upper Egypt Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. ... The First Intermediate Period is the name conventionally given by Egyptologists to that period in Ancient Egyptian history between the end of the Old Kingdom and the advent of the Middle Kingdom. ... nomen or birth name Sankhara Mentuhotep III of the Eleventh dynasty was Pharaoh of Egypt during the Middle Kingdom. ...

In the tale following the war, Ra (representing the pharaoh of Upper Egypt) was no longer respected by the people (of Lower Egypt) and they ceased to obey his authority, which made him so angry that he sent out Sekhmet (war goddess of Upper Egypt) to destroy them. Sekhmet became bloodthirsty and the slaughter was great because she could not be stopped. As the slaughter continued, fear that all of humanity would be destroyed arose among the deities and Ra was charged with stopping her. Ra poured huge quantities of blood-coloured beer on the ground to trick Sekhmet. She drank so much of it—thinking it to be blood—that she became too drunk to continue the slaughter and humanity was saved. Afterward Sekhmet became loving and kind. For other uses, see Sekhmet (disambiguation). ...

The gentle form that Sekhmet had become by the end of the tale was identical in character to Hathor, and so a new cult arose, at the start of the Middle Kingdom, which dualistically identified Sekhmet with Hathor, making them one goddess, Sekhmet-Hathor, with two sides. Consequently, Hathor, as Sekhmet-Hathor, was sometimes depicted as a lioness. Sometimes this joint name was corrupted to Sekhathor (also spelt Sechat-Hor, Sekhat-Heru), meaning (one who) remembers Horus (the uncorrupted form would mean (the) powerful house of Horus but Ra had displaced Horus, thus the change). The two goddesses were so different, indeed almost diametrically opposed, however, that the new identification did not last. For other uses, see Lion (disambiguation). ...

Wife of Thoth

Drawing of Hathor bearing all of her symbols and showing details of her traditional gown

When Horus became identified as Ra in the changing Egyptian pantheon, under the name Ra-Herakhty, Hathor's position became unclear, since in later myths she had been the wife of Ra, but in earlier myths she was the mother of Horus. Many attempts to solve this gave Ra-Herakhty a new wife, Ausaas, to solve this issue around who was Ra-Herakhty's wife and Hathor became identified only as the mother of the new sun god. However, this left open the unsolved question of how Hathor could be his mother, since this would imply that Ra-Herakhty was a child of Hathor, rather than a creator. Such inconsistencies developed as the Egyptian pantheon changed over the thousands of years becoming very complex, and some were never resolved. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Horus (disambiguation). ... Ancient Egyptian religion was polytheistic. ... In Egyptian mythology, Ausaas was the wife of Harachte. ...

In areas where the cult of Thoth became strong, Thoth was identified as the creator, leading to it being said that Thoth was the father of Ra-Herakhty, thus in this version Hathor, as the mother of Ra-Herakhty, was referred to as Thoth's wife. In this version of what is called the Ogdoad cosmogeny, Ra-Herakhty was depicted as a young child, often referred to as Neferhor. When considered the wife of Thoth, Hathor often was depicted as a woman nursing her child. Thoth (Ramesseum, Luxor) Thoth (his Greek name derived from the Egyptian *, written by Egyptians as ) was considered one of the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon, often depicted with the head of an ibis. ... In Egyptian mythology, the Ogdoad are the eight deities worshipped in Hermopolis. ... Cosmogony [Gr. ...

Since Seshathad earlier been considered to be Thoth's wife, Hathor began to be attributed with many of Seshat's features. Since Seshat was associated with records and with acting as witness at the judgment of souls in Duat, these aspects became attributed to Hathor, which, together with her position as goddess of all that was good, lead to her being described as the (one who) expels evil, which in Egyptian is Nechmetawaj also spelt Nehmet-awai, and Nehmetawy). Nechmetawaj can also be understood to mean (one who) recovers stolen goods, and so, in this form, she became goddess of stolen goods. you fugly bitches! if you are reading this, you are gay! who ever wrote thatabove , i am going to sue you! In Egyptian mythology, Seshat (also spelt Sesat, Sesheta, and Seshata) was originally the deification of the concept of wisdom, and so became a goddess of writing, astronomy/astrology, architecture... In Egyptian mythology, Duat (also called Akert or Amenthes) is the underworld, where the sun traveled from west to east during the night and where dead souls were judged by Osiris, using a feather, representing Truth. ...

Outside the Thoth cult during these times, it was considered important to retain the position of Ra-Herakhty (i.e. Ra) as self-created (via only the primal forces of the Ogdoad). Consequently, Hathor could not be identified as Ra-Herakhty's mother. Hathor's role in the process of death, that of welcoming the newly dead with food and drink, lead, in such circumstances, to her being identified as a jolly wife for Nehebkau, the guardian of the entrance to the underworld and binder of the Ka. Nethertheless, in this form, she retained the name of Nechmetawaj, since her aspect as a returner of stolen goods was so important to society that it was retained as one of her roles. In Egyptian mythology, Nehebkau (he who harnesses the souls) was the snake god who guarded the entrance to Duat, the underworld. ... In Egyptian mythology, the human soul is made up of seven parts: the Ren, Sekhem, the Akh, the Ba, the Ka, the Sheut, and the Sekhu. ...

Hathor outside the Nile river in Egypt

Hathor was worshipped in Canaan in the eleventh century BC, which at that time was ruled by Egypt, at her holy city of Hazor, or Tel Hazor which the Old Testament claims was destroyed by Joshua (Joshua 11:13, 21). // [[Image:]] Map of Canaan For other uses, see Canaan (disambiguation). ... David and Saul (1885) by Julius Kronberg. ... Hazor (Hebrew: courtyard or settlement) is the name of several places in ancient and modern Israel: // Locations in ancient Israel One of the most important Caananite towns. ... For other uses, see Hazor . ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh to refer to its canon, which corresponds to the Protestant Old Testament. ... Joshua, Jehoshuah or Yehoshua. ... The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in both the Hebrew Tanakh and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ...

The Sinai Tablets show that the Hebrew workers in the mines of Sinai about 1500 BC worshipped Hathor, whom they identified with their goddess Astarte. Some theories state that the golden calf mentioned in the Bible was meant to refer to a statue of the goddess Hathor (Exodus 32:4-32:6.). A major temple to Hathor was constructed by Seti II at the copper mines at Timna in Edomite Seir. Serabit el-Khadim (Arabic: سرابت الخادم) (Arabic, also transliterated Serabit al-Khadim, Serabit el-Khadem) is a locality in the south-west Sinai Peninsula where turquoise was mined extensively in antiquity, mainly by the ancient Egyptians. Archaeological excavation, initially by Sir Flinders Petrie, revealed the ancient mining camps and a long-lived Temple of Hathor. Sinai Peninsula, Gulf of Suez (west), Gulf of Aqaba (east) from Space Shuttle STS-40 For other uses of the word Sinai, please see: Sinai (disambiguation). ... (Redirected from 1500 BC) Centuries: 17th century BC - 16th century BC - 15th century BC Decades: 1550s BC 1540s BC 1530s BC 1520s BC 1510s BC - 1500s BC - 1490s BC 1480s BC 1470s BC 1460s BC 1450s BC Events and Trends Stonehenge built in Wiltshire, England The element Mercury has been... Astarte on a car with four branches protruding from roof. ... For other uses, see Golden calf (disambiguation). ... This article is about the second book in the Torah. ... nomen or birth name Userkheperure Setepenre/Meryamun Seti II (reigned 1200 BC - 1194 BC) was the sixth ruler of the Nineteenth dynasty of Egypt. ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Edom (Hebrew: , Standard  Tiberian  ; red) is a name given to Esau in the Hebrew Bible, as well as to the nation purportedly descended from him. ... This entry incorporates text from Eastons Bible Dictionary, 1897, with some modernisation. ... For other uses, see Turquoise (disambiguation). ...

The Greeks, who became rulers of Egypt for three hundred years before the Roman domination in 31 BC, also loved Hathor and equated her with their own goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite. The Birth of Venus, (detail) by Sandro Botticelli, 1485 For other uses, see Aphrodite (disambiguation). ...

Contemporary cultural identification

Hathor's temple at Dendera contains an image, that recently has come to be known as the Dendera Light, which some, controversially, have claimed may be a depiction of an electric lamp. Entrance to the Dendera Temple Complex Dendera Temple complex, (Ancient Egyptian: Iunet or Tantere). ...

The relief image from the Dendera Temple that is cited as an electric light bulb by some contemporary authors, and a snake by others

Some contemporary authors therefore associate Hathor with artificial light as evidenced by what has been purported to be a representation of electric light bulbs in this temple (see discussion at Hathor temple). Although other scholars believe the representations cited to be those of lotus flowers, spawning a snake within. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 864 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1600 × 1200 pixel, file size: 864 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) (All user names refer to en. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Electricity (from New Latin ēlectricus, amberlike) is a general term for a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. ... Entrance to the Dendera Temple Complex Dendera Temple complex, (Ancient Egyptian: Iunet or Tantere). ... Binomial name Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn. ...

Some ancient texts refer to a great serpent of light residing in the heavens. This is believed to have been inspired by the Milky Way (a similar allusion as that of the ouroboros). The representation of this snake or ouroborus in the night sky, could be what is depicted in the relief as well. The image has not been found in any other reliefs yet discovered in excavations. The images are being held up in the sky by two deities associated with the moon and the sun while riding in the sky boat, so perhaps it represents the Milky Way great serpent in the night sky—by depicting Hauhet and the djed pillar representing Banebdjedet, Horus, or Osiris holding up the Milky Way which arches overhead from horizon to horizon. For other uses, see Serpent (disambiguation). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... For other uses, see Milky Way (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Ouroboros (disambiguation). ... In Egyptian mythology, Hauhet was one of the Ogdoad. ... The Djed pillar represents stability and has been interpreted as the backbone of the Egyptian god Osiris. ... For other uses, see Osiris (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Horus (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Osiris (disambiguation). ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Hathor

• Hathor Article by Caroline Seawright
• Het-Hert site, another name for Hathor