The gate of the year

Statue of the king Psamtik, or Psammeticus (XXVI dynasty, 570-526 B.C.), shown standing, surmounted and protected by the goddess Hathor, in the shape of a cow. The object is now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Hathor, who was also called “Great Wild Cow”, was a mother goddess, venerated since the Pre-Dynastic period and regarded as the symbolic mother of every king. During the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 B.C.) Hathor acted already as protectress of the ruler and is mentioned as the guardian of the temple of King Chephren. The papyrus plant was sacred to the goddess, and the papyrus thickets along the river banks were deemed as her abode. She personified female sensuality, love, dance and music, and was also bringer of fertility and protected women in childbirth. Hathor’s great popularity is confirmed by the numerous festivals that were celebrated in her honor or under her patronage. Among them, in particular: the New Year festival, during which the cult statue of the goddess was brought to the roof of her temple so that she could be united with the Sun god Ra; the Festival of Drunkenness that was held on the twentieth day of the first month in her honor; the festival in spring that related to the myth of her return from the Nubian desert, bringing back the fertility to the earth of Egypt; and, finally, the summer festival, during which the sacred marriage between Hathor of Dendera and Horus of Edfu was celebrated (Redford 2001; Lesko 2005d).

[Image: http://library.artstor.org/library/]




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Statue of the king Psamtik, or Psammeticus (XXVI dynasty, 570-526 B.C.), shown standing, surmounted and protected by the goddess Hathor, in the shape of a cow. The object is now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. Hathor, who was also called “Great Wild Cow”, was a mother goddess, venerated since the Pre-Dynastic period and regarded as the symbolic mother of every king. During the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 B.C.) Hathor acted already as protectress of the ruler and is mentioned as the guardian of the temple of King Chephren. The papyrus plant was sacred to the goddess, and the papyrus thickets along the river banks were deemed as her abode. She personified female sensuality, love, dance and music, and was also bringer of fertility and protected women in childbirth. Hathor’s great popularity is confirmed by the numerous festivals that were celebrated in her honor or under her patronage. Among them, in particular: the New Year festival, during which the cult statue of the goddess was brought to the roof of her temple so that she could be united with the Sun god Ra; the Festival of Drunkenness that was held on the twentieth day of the first month in her honor; the festival in spring that related to the myth of her return from the Nubian desert, bringing back the fertility to the earth of Egypt; and, finally, the summer festival, during which the sacred marriage between Hathor of Dendera and Horus of Edfu was celebrated (Redford 2001; Lesko 2005d). [Image: http://library.artstor.org/library/]