Home » Reading & Literature » Mythology » Hathor

Hathor

© Linda Casselman

This week, let's meet the nurturing Egyptian goddess Hathor.

Usually depicted as a sacred cow or as a beautiful woman with a horned headdress and solar disc, identifying her as the daughter of the sun god Ra, Hathor was a beloved and gentle goddess. She was the Egyptian sky goddess, as well as the goddess of love, joy, dance, and song. Hathor presided over mothers and children, and this nurturing aspect of the goddess extended to all living beings for she nourished them with her life-giving milk.

Hathor further extended her kind and gentle spirit to the dead as well. In the form of a sacred cow, Hathor carried the dead into the underworld, refreshing them along the way with food and drink.

Hathor was not always so kind, gentle, and nurturing however...
So the myth goes:

When Ra reached an old age, humankind plotted to overthrow him. This enraged the mighty sun god, so he sent the burning Eye of Ra down to terrorize them. Ra's daughter Hathor, in the form of the fearsome lioness goddess Sekhmet, was the terrifying power that Ra sent down upon his ungrateful people. Sekhmet slaughtered the wicked in a tremendous frenzied bloodbath.

Satisfied with this punishment on his people, Ra ordered Sekhmet to desist but the bloodthirsty goddess was relentless. So Ra himself descended to earth where he drenched the ground in a mixture of beer and pomegranate juice. Thinking the ground was soaked with blood, Sekhmet lapped it all up in her ferocious hunger. She grew so intoxicated that she abandoned her attack on the people and turned back into the gentle Hathor, thus saving mankind from total annihilation.

So on Hathor's annual feast day, revellers drank a mixture of beer and pomegranate juice in remembrance of this act.

Take a moment to revere this kind and gentle goddess; think of her when you see a mother giving the life milk to her child; send her a prayer of thanks in moments of great joy in your life. Be kind to others or risk the wrath of Sekhmet!

Join me next time when we meet the ancient Egyptian god Seth who once raped the beautiful goddess Hathor as she bathed in a river.

Hathor Déesse de l'amour et du bonheur

The copyright of the article Hathor in Mythology is owned by Linda Casselman. Permission to republish Hathor in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.