HATHOR
A Reintroduction to an Ancient Egyptian Goddess
By Lesley Jackson
“Hathor was once the most loved and pre-eminent goddess of Egypt. An ancient goddess, ‘Hathor… who descends from the primeval age’ soon held all Egyptians in her loving embrace. She was one of the most accessible of the deities so it was unsurprising that she was a favourite, Her cult, and encounters with her, were full of music, love and laughter. No stern, demanding deity, she rejoiced in her followers’ happiness and many could say ‘she placed joy in my heart’…” - author Lesley Jackson
Hathor: A Reintroduction to an Ancient Egyptian Goddess is a comprehensive and thought-provoking study of one of the most important Ancient Egyptian deities. Primarily a Cow Goddess. Hathor was multifaceted, and her importance was emphasised through the many titles and roles she held. She was the goddess of the sky, sun, love, sex, dance, music, fertility, precious metals and gemstones, as well as being Protectress of Foreign Lands, Eye Goddess, Goddess of Desire, Lady of Drunkenness, and Lady of Fragrance. Present in all aspects of life, Hathor was a goddess of childbirth, who protected her worshippers during life and offered protection on the journey into the afterlife.
Daughter of the Sun God Ra, she was linked to other cow goddesses, as well as other major deities such as Isis, Bastet and Horus. She was intimately associated with the lioness goddess Sekhmet, who was both an aspect of Hathor and a significant and powerful goddess in her own right.
The Seven Hathors, a seven-fold manifestation of Hathor, predicted the destiny of newborn children and the time and manner of a person's death and were invoked in love spells and protection charms.
This extensive work provides a welcome and much-needed exploration of one of the most influential goddesses of the ancient world. It explores Hathor's different roles and titles, her associations with other deities, alter-egos and assimilations, her temples, worship, festivals and her subsequent decline in popularity towards the end of the Greco-Roman period.
Author Lesley Jackson draws on a wide range of historical sources, including magical papyri, stelae, statues, jewellery, ritual objects and archaeological evidence, employing these to reveal the captivating history and numerous functions of this mesmerizing goddess. In doing so, she succeeds in reintroducing Hathor to us as a sovereign, powerful, beautiful and lovely goddess, she ‘whose ba is powerful’.
Other books by Lesley Jackson include Isis: The Eternal Goddess of Egypt and Rome, Sekhmet and Bastet: The Feline Powers of Egypt, Thoth: The History of the Ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom, and The Cobra Goddess & The Chaos Serpent.
2020, 310 pages. Paperback & Kindle editions available.
ISBN 978-1-910191-22-4
Hathor by Lesley Jackson
INTRODUCTION
NAMES & ICONOGRAPHY
THE COW GODDESS
The Forms of Hathor
Pre-dynastic Goddesses
The Emergence of the Hathor Cow
The Celestial Cow
Other Cow Goddesses
THE SKY GODDESS
THE SOLAR GODDESS
THE TREE GODDESS
Trees in Egypt
Sacred Groves and Tree Cults
OBJECTS ASSOCIATED WITH HATHOR
The Sistrum
The Menat
Mirrors
Spoons
Papyrus
ASPECTS OF HATHOR
MUSIC & DANCE
LOVE & SEX
LADY OF DRUNKENNESS
The Distant Goddess
Beer in Egypt
Wine in Egypt
Ritual Offerings and Drunkenness
Offerings to Hathor
Offerings to the Deceased
The Festival of Drunkenness
Secular Drinking
The Issue of Excess
FRAGRANCE
FERTILITY & CHILDBIRTH
PROTECTING & NURTURING
Nursing the King
Provision of Food and Drink
Healing and Hathor
Hathor the Protector
Protector of Ra
The Battle Against Apophis
A GEOLOGICAL GODDESS
Mining in Egypt
The Desert
Specific Rocks and Minerals
GODDESS OF TRADE & FOREIGN LANDS
Protector of Sailors
Goddess of Merchants
Hathor of Byblos
Hathor in Nubia
Other Places
THE AFTERLIFE & REBIRTH
THE SEVEN HATHORS
Foretellers of Fate
Magic
Afterlife
Handmaidens
Conclusion
SEKHMET (Lion Goddess)
RELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHER DEITIES
Family Relationships
Horus of Edfu
Ptah
Sobek
Sons
Horus the Younger
Other Relationships
ALTER EGOS & ASSIMILATIONS
THE WORSHIP OF HATHOR
The Egyptian Concept of Religion
Propitiation
Hathor and Royals
The Worship of Hathor by Non-royals
At Amarna
Hathor the Women’s Goddess
Hathor’s Help to Mortals
Encountering Hathor
Praising Hathor
Hymns and Prayers
Offerings
Hathor Festivals
Return of the Wandering Goddess or the Distant Goddess
HATHOR’S TEMPLES
Those Who Serve Hathor
Hierarchy
The Roles of Women
Hereditary Positions
Individual Priests and Priestesses
Temple Rituals
Temple Offerings
WHAT HAPPENED TO HATHOR?
The Decline of Hathor
Isis
The Rise of Isis
Why Did Isis Triumph?
HATHOR FESTIVALS
CHRONOLOGY
PLACE NAMES IN THE TEXT
SACRED GEOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
Lesley Jackson has a lifelong interest in archaeology, ancient history and sacred myth and a fascination with the mysterious geographical, be they lost worlds, otherworlds or the sacred places of this world. She is a devotee of the Egyptian deities and since being blessed with early retirement has devoted much of her time to researching and writing about them.
Lesley is the author of Thoth: The History of the Ancient Egyptian God of Wisdom, Hathor: A Reintroduction to an Ancient Egyptian Goddess, Isis: The Eternal Goddess of Egypt and Rome, Sekhmet and Bastet: The Feline Powers of Egypt, and The Cobra Goddess & the Chaos Serpent in Ancient Egypt, all published by Avalonia. She has written a number of articles about Egyptian religion, some of which have been published in Pagan Dawn and Nile Magazine.
Despite the strong call of Egypt she is a Northerner at heart, preferring cooler climes and wooded landscapes. She lives in the East Riding of Yorkshire, close to the lost world of Doggerland.