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  Hathor, Goddess of Love, Music and Beauty...

*by* Caroline Seawright <caroline.html>
*October 3, 2000*
Hathor, from the Tomb of Seti I

*Hathor, Goddess of Love, Music and Beauty...*

hwt hr

Hathor's Head on the Remains of a Sistrum Hathor (Het-Hert, Het-Heru,
Hwt-Hert, Hethara), meaning "House of Horus [the Elder]", was a goddess
of many things, from the celestial to the alcoholic
<egypt_alcohol.html>! She was a celestial goddess, The Mistress of
Heaven. A goddess of love, music and beauty as the Goddess of Love,
Cheerfulness, Music and Dance. She was known as the Mother of Mothers
and the Celestial Nurse who presided over women <women_egypt.html>,
fertility, children and childbirth. Yet she was also a goddess of baser
things - she was the Vengeful Eye of Ra, the Lady of Drunkeness, and a
goddess of the dead as Lady of the West. As Lady of the Southern
Sycamore, the sycamore was sacred to her. It was from the sycamore tree
that she was thought to hand out good things to the deceased in the
afterlife, and so she was thought to be a friend to the dead.

Her name is translated as "House of Horus", which may be a reference to
her as the embodiment of the sky in her role of the Celestial Cow, being
that which surrounds the decidedly sky-oriented hawk-deity, Horus, when
he takes wing. If Horus was the god associated with the living king,
Hathor was the god associated with the living queen.

-- /Hathor/, Stephanie Cass

She was also known as the Mistress of Life, the Great Wild Cow, the
Golden One, the Mistress of Turquoise, Lady of Iunet (Dendera) (her cult
centre was located at Iunet), Mistress of Qis, Lady to the Limit (of the
Universe), Lady of Punt (perhaps an area in present day Somalia - a
famous expedition to this land was commissioned by Hatshepsut
<hatshepsut.html> (1473-1458 BC), of the 18th Dynasty), the Powerful
One, the Mistress of the Desert, Lady of the Southern Sycamore... and
many other names, besides. She was also the goddess of the third month
of the Egyptian calendars, know in Greek times as Hethara.

Hathor, Menkaura and Anput, the Personification of the Seventeenth Nome
An interesting story involving Hathor - all the more interesting because
it is very similar to the Japanese tale of the sun goddess who leaves
the company of the gods to sulk - is the story of Ra's temper tantrum.
Baba a predynastic <egypt_predynastic.html> baboon god, taunted Ra who
stood for Set <set.html> becoming ruler rather than Horus, "Your shrine
is empty!" With that, Ra stormed off to be alone - presumably this is a
story about a solar eclipse - and refused to join the other gods.
Realising that they'd gone too far, the others sent Baba away, but still
Ra refused to stop sulking. Finally, Hathor decided on a plan. She went
into Ra's presence and stood before him and started to dance and strip,
revealing her nakedness and lewdly showing him her private parts. The
dance caused Ra to laugh, forget his hurt feelings and he once again
rejoined the gods.

The reason that she has so many names, one would assume, is because she
is an ancient goddess - she seems to have been mentioned as early as the
2nd Dynasty. She may even been associated with the Narmer palette -
although the two human faced bovines may also have been a representation
of the king or of another ancient bovine goddess, called Bat, who was
eventually surplanted by Hathor.

It is interesting to note, though, that there is not a personal name of
the goddess mentioned in the list of names - they are all titles.

Hathor, Lady of Amenty, the Dweller in the Great Land, the Lady of
Ta-Tchesert, the Eye of Ra, the Dweller in his breast, the Beautiful
Face in the Boat of Millions of Years, the Seat of Peace of the doer of
truth, Dweller in the Boat of the favoured ones.....

-- /The Chapter of Praise of Hathor, Lady of Amenty, The Book of the
Dead <egypt_bookdead.html>/

The Seven Hathors as Cows, Wearing the Menat of Hathor and the Headdress
of Hathor Another interesting thing about Hathor is found in one
particular Egyptian tale - when the hero of the story was born, the
'Seven Hathors', disguised as seven young women <women_egypt.html>,
appeared and announced his fate. They seemed to be linked with not only
fortune telling, but to being questioners of the soul <egypt_soul.html>
on its way to the Land of the West. These goddesses were worshiped in
seven cities: Waset (Thebes), Iunu (On, Heliopolis), Aphroditopolis,
Sinai, Momemphis, Herakleopolis, and Keset. They may have been linked to
the Pleiades in later times, but this is debated. Hathor herself was
known as "Lady of Stars" and "Sovereign of Stars" and linked to Sirius
(the goddess Sopdet <sopdet.html>). The day that Sirius rose (originally
on the first day of the first month, known as Thuthi by Greek times) was
a festive occasion to the followers of Hathor - it was the day they
celebrated her birth. By Greek times, she was the goddess of Hethara,
the third month of the Egyptian calendar.

Generally, Hathor was pictured as a woman with cow's horns with the sun
between them (giving her the title of 'Golden One'), or as a beautiful
woman with cow's ears, or a cow wearing the sun disk between her horns,
or even as a lioness or a lion-headed woman showing her destructive
side. It was only in later Egyptian history that she was shown as a
woman with the head of a cow.

She often is seen carrying a sistrum, an ancient musical instrument
played by the priestesses. The sistrum usually had the face of Hathor
where the handle adjoins the rest of the instrument. This particular
instrument was thought to have sexual <sexuality.html> overtones,
relating to fertility. Hathor has a rather odd title, "Hand of God".
This might be related to how the handle of the sistrum is held, just as
the relationship of the loop ajoined to the handle (the naos) might be
related to her title of "Lady of the Vulva"!

Hathor was also known as the "Great Menat". The /menat/, a necklace with
a special counterweight, is not actually jewelry - it is a musical
instrument sacred to Hathor! The counter piece is similar to the
fertility dolls found in ancient tombs, while the beaded necklace was
believed to represent the womb. It was held in the hand and rattled to
convey the blessing of the goddess.

Hathor was also the "Lady of Greenstone and Malachite" and "Lady of
Lapis-Lazuli", presiding over these materials as well as being a goddess
of the fringes where they were mined. (Malachite is a banded light and
dark green semi-precious stone that was ground up and mixed with eye
make up. Lapis-lazuli adorned many pieces of ancient Egyptian jewelry.
This fits in well with Hathor's role of a goddess of beauty.) She was a
goddess of the west, and a goddess of Punt and Sinai and so was a
goddess of far off places. This is perhaps why she was also known as the
"Lady to the Limit" - the Egyptians believed her to be a goddess who
ruled over the known universe! The God Ihy, Son of Hathor and Horus-Behdety

She was said to be the mother of the pharaoh, and is often depicted in a
nurturing role, suckling the pharaoh when he was a child. Other than the
pharaoh - a living god - she was believed to have a son with
Horus-Behdety (a form of Horus the Elder) known as ihy Ihy (Ahy,
Horus-Sematawy, Harsomtus), a falcon-god and child-god of music and
dancing who carried a sistrum. The three were worshiped at Iunet.

My majesty precedes me as Ihy, the son of Hathor
I am the male of masculinity
.......
I escaped from her blood, I am the master of the redness.

But it is the following tale for which she is most remembered today:

*The Eye of Ra*

One of the tales of Hathor was how she was originally a goddess of
destruction (Hathor-Sekhmet), and how she came to be the goddess of
happier things:

Hathor Suckling Hatshepsut - Photo and Line Drawing of the Scene Then Ra
took on the shape of a man and became the first Pharaoh, ruling over the
whole country for thousands and thousands of years, and giving such
harvests that for ever afterwards the Egyptians spoke of the good things
"which happened in the time of Ra".

But, being in the form of a man, Ra grew old. In time men no longer
feared him or obeyed his laws. They laughed at him, saying: "Look at Ra!
His bones are like silver, his flesh like gold, his hair is the colour
of lapis lazuli!"

Ra was angry when he heard this, and he was more angry still at the evil
deeds which men were doing in disobedience to his laws. So he called
together the gods whom he had made - Shu <shu.html> and Tefnut
<tefnut.html> and Geb <geb.html> and Nut <nut.html> - and he also
summoned Nun <nun.html>. Soon the gods gathered about Ra in his Secret
Place, and the goddesses also. But mankind knew nothing of what was
happening, and continued to jeer at Ra and to break his commandments.
Then Ra spoke to Nun <nun.html> before the assembled gods: "Eldest of
the gods, you who made me; and you gods whom I have made: look upon
mankind who came into being at a glance of my Eye. See how men plot
against me; hear what they say of me; tell me what I should do to them.
For I will not destroy mankind until I have heard what you advise."

Then Nun <nun.html> said: "My son Ra, the god greater than he who made
him and mightier than those whom he has created, turn your mighty Eye
upon them and send destruction upon them in the form of your daughter,
the goddess Sekhmet <sekhmet.html>."

Ra answered: "Even now fear is falling upon them and they are fleeing
into the desert and hiding themselves in the mountains in terror at the
sound of my voice."

"Send against them the glance of your Eye in the form Sekhmet
<sekhmet.html>!" cried all the other gods and goddesses, bowing before
Ra until their foreheads touched the ground.

Hathor, Emerging from the Mountains of the West to Welcome the Dead
<http://www.egyptianmyths.net/papyrus.htm>
Image ? April McDevitt

So at the terrible glance from the Eye of Ra his daughter Sekhmet
<sekhmet.html> came into being, the fiercest of all goddesses. Like a
lion she rushed upon her prey, and her chief delight was in slaughter,
and her pleasure was in blood. At the bidding of Ra she came into Upper
and Lower Egypt to slay those who had scorned and disobeyed him: she
killed them among the mountains which lie on either side of the Nile,
and down beside the river, and in the burning deserts. All whom she saw
she slew, rejoicing in slaughter and the taste of blood.

Presently Ra looked out over the land and saw what Sekhmet
<sekhmet.html> had done. Then he called to her, saying: "Come, my
daughter, and tell me how you have obeyed my commands."

Sekhmet <sekhmet.html> answered with the terrible voice of a lioness as
she tears her prey: "By the life which you have given me, I have indeed
done vengeance on mankind, and my heart rejoices."

Now for many nights the Nile ran red with blood, and Sekhmet
<sekhmet.html>'s feet were red as she went hither and thither through
all the land of Egypt slaying and slaying.

Hathor Welcoming Nefertari Presently Ra looked out over the earth once
more, and now his heart was stirred with pity for men, even though they
had rebelled against him. But none could stop the cruel goddess Sekhmet
<sekhmet.html>, not even Ra himself: she must cease from slaying of her
own accord - and Ra saw that this could only come about through cunning.

So he gave his command: "Bring before me swift messengers who will run
upon the earth as silently as shadows and with the speed of the storm
winds."

When these were brought he said to them: "Go as fast as you can up the
Nile to where it flows fiercely over the rocks and among the islands of
the First Cataract; go to the isle that is called Abu (Elephantine) and
bring from it a great store of the red ochre which is to be found there."

The messengers sped on their way and returned with the blood-red ochre
to Iunu, the city of Ra where stand the stone obelisks with points of
gold that are like fingers pointing to the sun. It was night when they
came to the city, but all day the women <women_egypt.html> of Iunu had
been brewing beer <egypt_alcohol.html> as Ra bade them.

Ra came to where the beer <egypt_alcohol.html> stood waiting in seven
thousand jars, and the gods came with him to see how by his wisdom he
would save mankind.

An Old Kingdom Statue of the Personification of the Hare Nome, Hathor
and Menkaura

"Mingle the red ochre of Abu with the barley-beer <egypt_alcohol.html>,"
said Ra, and it was done, so that the beer <egypt_alcohol.html> gleamed
red in the moonlight like the blood of men.

"Now take it to the place where Sekhmet <sekhmet.html> proposes to slay
men when the sun rises," said Ra. And while it was still night the seven
thousand jars of beer <egypt_alcohol.html> were taken and poured out
over the fields so that the ground was covered to the depth of nine
inches -- three times the measure of the palm of a man's hand-with the
strong beer <egypt_alcohol.html>, whose other name is "sleep-maker".

When day came Sekhmet <sekhmet.html> the terrible came also, licking her
lips at the thought of the men whom she would slay. She found the place
flooded and no living creature in sight; but she saw the beer
<egypt_alcohol.html> which was the colour of blood, and she thought it
was blood indeed -- the blood of those whom she had slain.

Then she laughed with joy, and her laughter was like the roar of a
lioness hungry for the kill. Thinking that it was indeed blood, she
stooped and drank. Again and yet again she drank, laughing with delight;
and the strength of the beer <egypt_alcohol.html> mounted to her brain,
so that she could no longer slay.

At last she came reeling back to where Ra was waiting; that day she had
not killed even a single man.

Cow Eared Hathor from the Top of a Column Then Ra said: "You come in
peace, sweet one." And her name was changed to Hathor, and her nature
was changed also to the sweetness of love and the strength of desire.
And henceforth Hathor laid low men and women <women_egypt.html> only
with the great power of love. But for ever after her priestesses drank
in her honour of the beer <egypt_alcohol.html> of Iunu coloured with the
red ochre of Abu when they celebrated her festival each New Year.

Note that in the above tale, the goddess called 'Eye of Ra' was Hathor
who /became/ 'Sekhmet', then 'Hathor'. But afterwards, Sekhmet
<sekhmet.html> and Hathor were two separate deities, both having claim
to the title 'Eye of Ra'!

Hathor was a very clear example of the Egyptian idea of duality - Hathor
was both the 'sweet one' of music, dance and pleasure as well as a
goddess of destruction, an ancient goddess who was loved by the people
of Egypt.

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*Can you have a look at my Egyptology Column <egypt_column.html> for
more Hieroglyph Lessons, Egyptian gods and goddess articles and more!*

*PS - One favour I do ask, please e-mail your comments about the
articles to kunoichi@thekeep.org <mailto:kunoichi@thekeep.org> because
it's your comments that keep me writing! Oh, and can you check out my
other articles <author.html>?

I've added a new search <search.html> function to make it easier for you
to find information in my articles!

? Caroline Seawright 2000*

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