Online:
Visits:
Stories:
Profile image
By Ancient Origins
Contributor profile | More stories
Story Views

Now:
Last Hour:
Last 24 Hours:
Total:

Hathor, the Turquoise Goddess Near the Nile

Saturday, April 9, 2016 6:57
% of readers think this story is Fact. Add your two cents.

(Before It's News)

Hathor, the Turquoise Goddess Near the Nile

The shadow of Hathor is still present in many places related to the monumental history of ancient Egypt. She was one of the most important goddesses near the Nile, and remains one of the best-known symbols of ancient Egyptian religion.

Who Worshipped the Goddess

Hathor was a goddess of joy, feminine love, and motherhood. She was worshiped by both royalty and the common people. She was thought to have supported women in childbirth and also looked after music, dance, and fertility. She was a goddess of miners as well.

The goddess was known as the Mistress of the West, Mistress of Turquoise, and Mistress of Foreign Lands. The oldest information about her comes from the Fourth Dynasty (c. 2613 -2494 BC), but there is some information suggesting that her cult may be older. She was also worshiped by the pharaohs of the New Kingdom (c. 1550 – 1069 BC).

The female king, Hatshepsut, added a small shrine dedicated to Hathor in her mortuary temple at Deir el-Bahri. For powerful women, Hathor and Sekhmet together contained all the attributes which they needed. However, male rulers of Egypt also worshiped Hathor. For example, Ramesses II built the lesser of his two temples at Abu Simbel for Hathor and his wife Nefertari. Hathor was also popular during the Ptolemaic Period (332 – 30 BC).

The small temple at Abu Simbel.

The small temple at Abu Simbel. (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Section: 

www.Ancient-Origins.net – Reconstructing the story of humanity’s past



Source: http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/hathor-turquoise-goddess-near-nile-005684

Report abuse

Comments

Your Comments
Question   Razz  Sad   Evil  Exclaim  Smile  Redface  Biggrin  Surprised  Eek   Confused   Cool  LOL   Mad   Twisted  Rolleyes   Wink  Idea  Arrow  Neutral  Cry   Mr. Green

Top Stories
Recent Stories

Register

Newsletter

Email this story
Email this story

If you really want to ban this commenter, please write down the reason:

If you really want to disable all recommended stories, click on OK button. After that, you will be redirect to your options page.