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Ancient goddess spotlight: Hathor
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~Cow Goddess of Life and Death~
Worshipped as an ancient Egyptian cow goddess in the early archaic period (c. 3000 BCE), Hathor (prounced hat-hor) is not exactly a protector of animals, but actually a creative and destructive goddess of human life. A multifunctional bringer of birth and death, Hathor is not only credited with having created the human body to house the spirit, she is believed to have conceivably created herself, since her divine parentage is unknown.
A cow goddess in her life-bringing physical manifestation, Hathor is depicted in ancient art in bovine form or as a woman with either cow ears, a horned headdress, or another form of 'normal' headdress. As such, cows were considered sacred symbols of divinity in ancient Egypt, and were therefore never sacrificed. Appropriate to her bovine identity, she also happens to be the consort of the Egyptian bull god Apis who later becomes known as Serapis.
A enabler of life and physical being, Hathor is also the patroness of all bodily pleasures including dance, music, song, art, love, sex, and more. Accordingly, one of her emblems is the sistrum, a musical device used in sacred ceremonies or dances. As for other symbols like many female deities of antiquity, she is also associated with the earth, and her sacred trees include the sycamore and date palm.
A creatrix of nature as well, she is believed to attend the birth of every child and reveal each life path and destiny. In this sense, Hathor not only forms the conduit for life but divines the journey itself in her additional function as a goddess of fate. Therefore, she controls just about everything: the human birth, the human experience, and the human death. Not only that, she also takes part in facilitating joy as well as punishment.
Similar to the Greek "golden Aphrodite", Hathor is called "golden Hathor" in a way specific to her position as the patron goddess of lovers. Correspondingly, the all-encompassing deity also resembles other ancient goddesses such as the Indic activator goddess Shakti, who is largely known as "sex incarnate".
Along the lines of Hathor's indulgent pleasures, she is also the goddess of intoxicating beverages -- which definitely includes anything alcoholic.
A warrior goddess of the fiercest kind not unlike the Indic goddess Kali, alcohol is actually believed to be one of the only ways to pacify her murderous zeal once she goes on her rampage. In one particular mythological tale, she destroys blasphemers who insult the sun-god Ra, a supreme being comparable to her father figure. After she slaughters all culpable individuals with a seemingly insatiability, the other gods become concerned and seek to halt the destruction by giving her sleep-inducing beer-mash, rendering her too drunk to care anymore.
According to scholar Miriam Dexter, the fact that the gods -- including the leader known as Ra -- had not even tried to enforce their will by ordering her to desist is an important distinction between the Egyptian pantheon and Greek pantheon. Whereas the Greek father god Zeus would have forced any of the other deities to follow his orders, Ra is omnipotent but not so omnipotent to the point of trying such an action with the all-consuming and all-providing Hathor. In other words, the Egyptian gods are portrayed as more egalitarian and less hierarchical than the Greek ones, which may be an indication of more balanced cultural practices among ancient Egyptians -- which is not to say that ancient Egypt did not have their own rigid gender roles.
Sources:
The Goddess Oracle by Amy Sophia Marashinsky (2002)
Whence the Goddesses: A Source Book by Miriam Robbins Dexter (1990)
Other articles of interest:
Ancient goddess spotlight: Durga
Ancient goddess spotlight: Inanna
Ancient goddess spotlight: Baba Yaga
Ancient goddess spotlight: Tara
Juliette Frette
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