Egyptian mythology is a huge interesting layer in the history of the development of the whole culture as a whole, which until now has not been thoroughly studied. Scientists are constantly finding more and more details of the development of Egyptian civilization, make discoveries and replenish the pantheon of gods with new "characters." However, all researchers have long known the main, main gods, among them the Egyptian goddess Hathor, or Hathor. It should be told in more detail about her, so she is a rather interesting goddess of Ancient Egypt.
Goddess Hathor
The goddess of heaven, sun, beauty, femininity, as well as fun - all this is Hathor. She was considered the daughter of the supreme god Ra and the wife of Horus, who gave birth to the Sun from him. However, it is interesting if the goddess Hator is the daughter of the sun god Ra, how then did she give birth to the Sun, if it existed even before its appearance on the divine "light"? There is a lot of controversy about this, as a result, the researchers came to the conclusion that she, perhaps, is not Ra’s mother, but his wife. True or not, alas, we will never know.
Since ancient people tried to find explanations, even the most ridiculous, for any natural phenomena, as well as objects existing in this world, they explained the presence of the Milky Way with Hator milk, which often appeared in the form of a heavenly cow. Why exactly a cow? In Egypt, from ancient times, this animal was sacred, it symbolized the beginning of a new life, nature itself and even beauty.
What does the name of the goddess mean?
The name of the Egyptian goddess means either “home” or “Horus” (god of the sun), but still historians are inclined to believe that the “Hathor” is the house of Horus. The proof is the drawings found during excavations. They depicted a mountain, and on its top the house in which the falcon of the Mountains lives . From that moment, scientists began to think about whether the goddess Hathor was not the wife of the god Ra, and whether the sun-god of the Mountains was her son? Probably, it was so, because then everything falls into place again.
According to other sources, the name of the deity means "heaven", this fact is confirmed by the connection of the goddess with heaven, the Sun and the Milky Way. In general, the ancient Egyptians often associated all the strange processes taking place in heaven with the goddess Hathor.
Appearance Hathor
The most beautiful among the Egyptian goddesses has always been the goddess Hathor. The description tells us that she was portrayed as a beautiful slender woman with horns on her head, later they transformed into a crown, between which there was a circle between the two parts, probably it symbolized the solar disk. From time to time, Hathor appeared with drawings and frescoes with the ears and horns of a cow, while in the works of some authors she generally had the appearance of an ordinary average cow.
It often happened that a deity in the form of a woman with horns was depicted next to a cow, but these are already late frescoes. It is interesting that the Egyptians did not envy the Greeks and their faith, because they had their own Aphrodite - the goddess Hathor. Photos will not convey what believers felt to Hathor, but it is still clear that comparisons with Aphrodite are not groundless.
It is not surprising that sometimes she was depicted as a lioness, since there is one legend about Hathor-Sekhmet. She says that initially Ra lived among people, but grew old and let slip that all this time he was afraid of people and is still afraid. People, without thinking twice, went to war against their lord.
No matter how Ra tried to incinerate them, it was impossible to cope with an angry crowd. Then Geb suggested that Hathor become Sekhmet - the lioness goddess and exterminate people. The goddess liked killing so much that she no longer wanted to reincarnate again. Then Ra went to the trick. He turned off the Sun, Sekhmet fell asleep, and the gods prepared her a beer and added a dye of the color of blood to it. The lioness woke up and drank beer, mistaking it for blood. Drunk, she again turned into a Hathor.
Hator symbol
The main attribute of the goddess is sist. This musical instrument was a protection against evil spirits, which is why its images were used as amulets. Why it is a musical instrument is unknown, it is only known that her son was the god of music Ihi. Yes, and in some areas of Ancient Egypt, the goddess Hator herself was considered the patroness of musicians.
In later times, a special pillar with two cow heads at the end was considered a cult symbol of Hathor, since the goddess was considered the personification of the dual female soul.