Meaning "the House of Horus". In early times seen as the sky-goddess and mother of Horus, in the New Kingdom she was merged with Isis to become the same deity.

Already in the Old Kingdom her cult center seems to have been in Dendera. During the Ptolemeian period a great temple was built here, and dedicated to her.

Beside her mother characteristics she was also called the "Eye of Re", who in myth brought disaster to her enemies. In Thebes she was worshipped as a goddess of the dead.

Hathor was frequently shown with a woman's head and a cow's ears. Her forms were many, she was often depicted with a sun-disc on her head and cow's horns but also shown with a cow's head, a lioness, a snake and a tree nymph.

In Thebes she held some importance even as a mortuary deity, shown here in the form of a cow and thought to receive the deceased, just as she received the setting sun, preserving it from the powers of darkness. Thus she was sometimes called the 'female soul with two faces'.

Her greatest importance was perhaps as a goddess for women, for beauty, love, joy, dance and music. At times she had a large female priesthood who acted as singers and dancers in temple rituals and processions.

Main center of worship:

Iunet/Tentyris/Dendera
6th Nome,Upper Egypt

Other Temple sites:

Iunu/Heliopolis/Cairo 3th Nome, Lower Egypt

Mennefer/Memphis 1st Nome, Lower Egypt

Aphroditopolis/Atfih, 22th Nome, Upper Egypt

Quis/Cusae/el-Qusiya, 14th Nome,Upper Egypt

Per-Hathor/Pathyris/Gebelein, 4th Nome, Upper Egypt

P-aaleq/Philae 1st Nome, Upper Egypt

Festivals:(dates not historically verified) Hathor Going Forth from Dendera to marry Horus at Edfu once a year

29 August - 12th Paopi - Birthday of Het-Hert (Hathor)

17th September - 1st Hethara - Feast of Het-hert (Hathor)

21st September - 5th Hethara - Autum Equinox; Honors to Het-hert (Hathor)

4th October - 18th Hethara - Festival of Het-Hert (Hathor)

21st October - 5th Koiak - Het-Hert Goes Forth to Her people

29th October - 13th Koiak - Day of Going Forth of Het-Hert and the Ennead

2dn November - 17th Koiak - Festival of Het-Hert.

28th November - 13th Tybi - Feast of Het-Hert and Sekhmet

23rd December - 8th Mechir - Festival of the Great Heat; Feast Day of Het-Hert

23rd January - 9th Pamenot - Day of Het-Hert (Hathor)

1st April - 17th Pachons - Day of Het-Hert (Hathor)

15th May - 1st Epipi - Festivals of Het-Hert and Bast

19th May - 5th Epipi - Het-Hert(Hathor) returns to Punt; the Netjers are saddened

21st May - 7th Epipi - Sailing of the netjers after Het-Hert(Hathor)

16th June - 3rd Mesore - Feast of Raet, Feast of Het-Hert as Sirius

Article by Mirjam
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