Hathor: Difference between revisions

'''Hathor''' ({{lang-egy|[[wikt:ḥwt-ḥr|ḥwt-ḥr]]|lit=House of Horus}}, {{lang-grc|Ἁθώρ}} {{transl|grc|Hathōr}}, {{lang-cop|ϩⲁⲑⲱⲣ}}, [[Meroitic language|Meroitic]]: {{Script|Mero|𐦠𐦴𐦫𐦢}} ''{{transl|mero|Atari}}'') was a major [[ancient Egyptian deities|goddess]] in [[ancient Egyptian religion]] who played a wide variety of roles. As a [[sky deity]], she was the mother or consort of the sky god [[Horus]] and the [[sun god]] [[Ra]], both of whom were connected with kingship, and thus she was the [[mother goddess|symbolic mother]] of their earthly representatives, the [[pharaoh]]s. She was one of several goddesses who acted as the [[Eye of Ra]], Ra's feminine counterpart, and in this form, she had a vengeful [[Aspect (religion)|aspect]] that protected him from his enemies. Her beneficent side represented music, dance, joy, love, sexuality, and maternal care, and she acted as the consort of several male deities and the mother of their sons. These two aspects of the goddess exemplified the [[women in ancient Egypt|Egyptian conception]] of [[femininity]]. Hathor crossed boundaries between worlds, helping deceased [[ancient Egyptian conception of the soul|souls]] in the transition to the [[ancient Egyptian afterlife beliefs|afterlife]].

Cattle goddesses similar to Hathor were portrayed in [[art of ancient Egypt|Egyptian art]] in the fourth millennium BC, but she may not have appeared until the [[Old Kingdom]] ({{circa|2686–2181 BC}}). With the patronage of Old Kingdom rulers, she became one of Egypt's most important deities. More [[Egyptian temple|temples]] were dedicated to her than to any other goddess; her most prominent temple was [[Dendera Temple complex|Dendera]] in [[Upper Egypt]]. She was also worshipped in the temples of her male consorts. The Egyptians connected her with foreign lands, such as [[Nubia]] and [[Canaan]], and their valuable goods, such as [[incense]] and [[semiprecious]] stones, and some of the peoples in those lands adopted her worship. In [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]], she was one of the deities commonly invoked in private prayers and [[votive offerings]], particularly by women desiring children.