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Her name means “The Dwelling of Horus”, for it was thought that Horus as the Sun God came to rest each evening on her breast before being reborn with the awakening dawn. Hathor is the great Sky-Goddess that as a celestial cow gave birth to the universe. She was often represented as a cow or with bovine attributes such as a cow’s head, cow’s ears or horns on her headdress. Hathor was the Goddess of Joy and Motherhood and the embodiment of all that is best in women. She was also considered the Goddess of music, song, dance and lighthearted pleasure, but she was essentially a Moon Goddess. She was considered the protector of pregnant women and midwives. Her main cult center was at Dendera, where she was worshiped along with her husband, Horus. Hathor was the Supreme Goddess of sexual love in Egypt, immediately identified with Aphrodite by the Greeks. Her temple at Dendera was “The House of Intoxication and Enjoyment”. Her main attributes were two ritual instruments carried by her priestesses, the sistrum, a bronze sacred rattle and the menat, a necklace, thick with beads and a counterpoise long enough to be grasped in the hand which was only worn by Hathor, but used by her priestesses as a healing instrument.
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