The Goddess Hathor; One of The Might of Femininity in Ancient Egypt.

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Hathor was the incarnation of dance and sexuality and was given the epithet “Hand of God” (referring to the act of masturbation) and “Lady of the Vulva”. One myth tells that Ra had become so despondent that he refused to speak to anyone. Hathor (who never suffered depression or doubt) danced before him, exposing her private parts, which caused him to laugh out loud and return to good spirits.

Hathor and Sekhmet at Kom Ombo @Steve F-E-Cameron CC BY-SA 3.0

As the “lady of the west” and the “lady of the southern sycamore”, she protected and assisted the dead on their final journey. Trees were not commonplace in ancient Egypt, and their shade was welcomed by the living and the dead alike. She was sometimes depicted as handing out water to the deceased from a sycamore tree (a role formerly associated with Amentet, who was often described as the daughter of Hathor), and according to myth, she (or Isis) used the milk from the Sycamore tree to restore sight to Horus who Set had blinded. Because of her role in helping the dead, she often appears on sarcophagi with Nut (the former on top of the lid, the latter under the lid). AncientEgyptOnline

Once again, I take the opportunity to express my friendship with the brilliant Marie Grillot by sharing one of her excellent articles about discovering the magical ostracon image of the Goddess Hathor.

Hathor, The Goddess, is worshipped by the artisans of the “Place of Truth.”

égyptophile

Ostracon depicts the face of the goddess Hathor emerging from a lotus flower
19th Dynasty (1550 -1295 BC).
Discovered by Bernard Bruyère during his 1923-1924 excavations in TT 330, the Tomb of Karo in Deir el-Medineh
Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre Museum – E 12966 – museum photo

This “figured” ostracon comes from the necropolis of the current village of Deir el-Medineh. In ancient times, this place was called the “Place of Truth” and housed the artisans who worked on the digging and decoration of the eternal residences of the Valley of the Kings and the Valley of the Queens. “The village was a royal institution,” and community members lived there and could be buried there. This is how numerous tombs were discovered in two distinct cemeteries (east and west).

“Set Maât her imenty Ouaset” – the “Place of Truth to the west of Thebes” of antiquity
is today the village of Deir el-Medineh

During the excavations of 1923-1924, carried out in the necropolis by Bernard Bruyère, this ostracon was discovered. It was located in TT No. 330, the tomb of Karo, who was a servant of the Place of Truth during the 19th Dynasty.

Before decorating the tombs, the artisan painters – the word artist was apparently not used then – initially practised on shards of limestone or terracotta. These graphic supports – which served as a sort of “rough draft” or preparatory sketch before working “in situ” – are called “ostraca” (singular = ostracon).

This one, 13 cm high and almost 11 cm wide, is covered with a layer of ocher-yellow colour. In its lower part, in the centre, there is an open lotus flower. Very slightly above it, occupying most of the surface, the head of the goddess Hathor flourishes.

While her face usually has round cheeks, here it is clearly triangular, almost stylised, treated in white, while the mouth and nose are sketched in light red lines. The large black eyes are stretched and rise towards the temples; the eyebrows, also black, carefully follow the same curve.

Ostracon depicts the face of the goddess Hathor emerging from a lotus flower
19th Dynasty (1550 -1295 BC).
Discovered by Bernard Bruyère during his 1923-1924 excavations in TT 330, the Tomb of Karo in Deir el-Medineh
Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre Museum – E 12966 – (museum photo)

The dark blue hair is covered with a few black lines, signifying the texture of the strands of hair. It is separated in the middle, then passes behind the cow’s ears before very closely following the shape of the face. The hair parts at the neck move outwards before ending in a large curl.

Her head is surmounted by a “kind of abacus”, elegant in shape, treated in shades of red-ochre outlined in black. Above is inscribed a beautiful line of hieroglyphs, spaced and traced in black, the translation of which is “Hathor who reigns over the sky of Thebes”.

Her neck is adorned with a large, colourful “ousekh” type collar, which seems to be made up of black and ocher-red rows.

In the lower-left corner, a man is depicted. While his feet are at the level of the lotus flower, his head barely reaches the level of the hathoric ears. He is in a walking attitude; his body is simply covered in a short loincloth. His black hair reaches above his shoulders. His eye, very stretched, is also black.

Bernard Bruyère – Egyptologist
(Besançon 10-11-1879 – Saint-Germain-en-Laye 4-12-1971)

Bernard Bruyère and Charles Kuentz consider that: “this tableau would be an ex-voto to the goddess Hathor whose cult in the New Kingdom was very popular in the Theban region”.

Hathor has two faces: the Goddess of love and fertility and the Goddess of the world of the dead. As mistress of the western peak: “she then receives the deceased, who has become her child, into the mystical lap of the tomb-mountain. She helps him to be reborn as, as Isis-Hathor, she watched over Horus in the papyrus swamp of Khemmis.”

The goddess Hathor emerged from the Theban mountain.
Tomb of Amenemheb (TT 278 – Necropolis of Gurnet Muraï

We sometimes find her represented (TT13, TT278…) in the scenes of Theban tombs: in her form of a cow, adorned with the menat collar, she emerges “from a thicket of papyrus at the foot of the western mountain of Thebes, looking into the direction of the rising sun. Its papyrus residence in the swamps symbolises the place where the germ of the deceased is reformed.

During the sharing of the excavations carried out in 1927, this ostracon returned to France: it entered the Louvre Museum under the inventory number E 12966.

Marie Grillot

Source:

The face of the goddess Hathor emerging from a lotus flower http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/cartelfr/visite?srv=car_not_frame&idNotice=24103&langue=fr Stone notebooks, Anne Minault-Gout, Hazan
A century of French excavations in Egypt, 1880-1980, Ifao, Louvre museum
The artists of Pharaoh, RMM, 2002 http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bases/archives/ostraca/ostracafigures

21 thoughts on “The Goddess Hathor; One of The Might of Femininity in Ancient Egypt.”

  3. Another great post Aladin, thank you for sharing it with us. I love that the Goddess Hathor had two very different faces, which for me evokes balance between Her life giving and death taking powers. I have often wondered how long you have held an interest in ancient Egypt with its rich, impressive mythology? Ever since I was a child and visited the Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum in the seventies, I’ve been hooked. Love and light, Deborah.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I would describe it as an endless puzzle, my dear friend. Thank you for occasionally checking in on your friends from your rabbit hole. I am thrilled to be a part of your circle. It’s fascinating to see how Goddesses and Gods coexisted in ancient times. And the magic they left behind still amazes us today. 🥰🙏🦋💕😘🙏

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Fascinating, Alaedin.
    It is always notable to me how every society throughout history has had gods (idols) or a god.
    The need to know beyond here and now has driven the creative mind, and held masses hostage.
    Philosophies without god(s) is preferable, but ultimately still hold no absolute answers.
    These posts on Egypt are most stimulating.
    Thank you!

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Another great post! I was interested to read about the sycamore as it seemed a strange one to grow in ancient Egypt. A quick google tells me its a bit different to our sycamore in that it’s fruit is fig and was known as the ‘tree of love’, sadly now it’s an endangered species. I learn something new every week from your articles Aladin so thank you.

    Liked by 1 person

  8. elainemansfield's avatar elainemansfield

    Maybe I have this figured by changing my browser from the usual one I use. I hope this works.
    I’m a fan of Hathor sculptures with her cow ears and cow body form. It’s interesting that she’s often depicted full-faced rather than only from the side like most other Egyptian sculpture and painting. She’s also connected to my favorite sky goddess Nut. When my brother was alive, I often visited a museum in Boston to see Hathor in her cow form and I saw many images of her in the Metropolitan Museum of Art as the Great Goddess who feeds her children with ample milk. I’d forgotten she emerges from the papyrus swamp, It’s interesting that papyrus is the material used for making paper so there is that connection with writing and Egyptian calligraphy. Thanks for sharing this piece, Aladin.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I assume that she is an interesting goddess because she’s a very flexible deity. I knew you would like her and I am very happy for having you by my side. Thank you, my lovely wise friend. 💕🙏💖🌹🦋

      Like

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