August 29th: Hathor

The Ancient Egyptians celebrated the birthday of their goddess, Hathor today, so here are 10 things you may not know about Hathor.

1. The ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor is usually depicted as a Cow goddess with horns in which is set a sun disc. She may also be wearing twin feathers and a menat necklace.
2. She was a goddess of Music, dance, foreign lands, trees, fertility, childbirth and the patron goddess of miners.
3. Symbols associated with her include the cow, lioness, falcon, cobra, Hippopotamus, Sistrum, musical instruments, Drums, mirrors and cosmetics.
4. Other names she was known by include "Mistress of the West" (welcoming the dead into the next life); Lady of the Sycamore (as a tree deity); Lady of the House of Jubilation, and The One Who Fills the Sanctuary with Joy.
5. Exactly what her relationship was with the sun god, Ra, is hard to pin down. The mythology suggests she was his daughter, sister, mother and lover. As his mother, she gives birth to him every morning and in the course of the day, makes love to him and conceives.
6. Hathor was one of the most popular Egyptian deities and had more feasts dedicated to her than any of the others.
7. More Egyptians named their children after Hathor than any other deity as well. A well known example is Princess Hathorhotep, daughter of King Amenemhat III.
8. Hathor was unusual in that both men and women could become her priests.
9. Despite Hathor's reputation as a gentle, joyful mother goddess, she had a dark side, too. One myth relates that when she got wind of a plot to assassinate Ra, she got so angry that she was transformed into a bloodthirsty war goddess and set out to slaughter those responsible, and drink their blood. No-one could stop her. In the end, Ra decided he had better put a stop to the chaos and bloodshed. He poured a large quantity of beer disguised as blood onto the ground. She drank it, and became so drunk that she reverted to her gentle, cow-like self.
10. The Greeks had a lot of respect for Hathor as well. They equated her with their own goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.