Hathor, << HATH awr, >> was an ancient Egyptian goddess of the sky. In mythology, she generally appears in either of two forms: (1) a woman wearing a crown with the sun’s disk between two cow’s horns or (2) a cow whose belly formed the sky.
Hathor was the daughter of Re, the god of the sun. She served as the goddess of joy and music, but when angered she became Sekhmet, the lion goddess of war. Her main center of worship was at Dendera, where she was associated with the sky god Horus. She had a son, Ihy, who played for her a rattle called a sistrum.
Hathor was identified with the Egyptian royal family. She is sometimes portrayed as a cow feeding milk to an infant king. Royal women served as her priestesses.
