Chapel with Hathor the cow

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Hathor was a beneficent goddess in ancient Egypt. She was goddess of love, joy, beauty, music and maternity. Her association with the goddess of maternity is clear from the myth of Isis and Osiris as she suckled the young Horus when Isis left him with her while searching for the pieces of his father’s body. Hathor was thus considered the suckler of all kings and queens as Horus represents the living king.

Hathor had many titles among them lady of the sycamore or nbt nHt, also lady of the turquoise or nbt mfkt, and lady of Denderah which was her main cult center, and lady of the west and lady of Nubia (this last title is related to the legend of destruction of mankind).

Hathor is represented in three main forms:

<!--A cow with the solar disk between its two horns

<!--A beautiful lady with the solar disk between two co horns

<!--Body of a lady and the head of a cow

Her name Ht hr means the house of Horus which means his wife. This is related to the legend claiming that she was married to Horus and the and the festival celebrating their union “the good union” is represented on the alls of their temples at Edfu (of Horus) and Denderah (of Hathor). In Greek times she was associated with Aphrodite (goddess of love).

This impressive statue is colored sand stone of Goddess Hathor was found in 1906 by the Egyptian Exploration Fund. Both the statue and the chapel were made out of colored sand stone. The sand stone querries were at Gabel el Selsela in Upper Egypt (between Quena and Aswan). They were found at the site of Deir El Bahari under the stone debris between the temples of Hatshepsut and Mentohotep nb Hpt ra

The statue:

It represents goddess Hathor in the form of a cow upon her head is the solar disk between her two horns and two feathers as sign of identification with god Amen-Re who was the supreme god in the New Kingdom. On both sides of the statue we can see the mw sign or the water sign which is sign of the primeval ocean. Over the sign there are representations of papyrus and lotus flowers as a sign of the primeval island upon which all gods and goddesses grew. Hathor here appears feeding young Thutmosis III with her milk, being fed on her mild he will acquire the power and qualities of the goddess. The same king after death would be under her protection. Also the king is represented under her chin for protection.

This group statue stood originally in the shrine which is now just behind the statue against the wall. The ceiling of the shrine is vaulted blue roof decorated with yellow stars. Directly under the sky there is the xkrw sign edge of straw mats which is a plant motif.

On the back of the wall, right in the middle, the main scene begins with the winged solar disk (Horus of Behdet) as sign of protection followed by the coronation mane of Thutmosis III (mn xpr ra). Then we have king Thutmosis III represented with the nms headdress with the ureas on the forehead, a collar, starched kilt and step left leg forward. He is doing two things at the same time burning incense and pouring libation in front of god Amen-Re. In his raised left arm there is an incense burner while in his right hand he is pouring libations which is divided into two channels this show that Thutmosis III is grsping Upper and Lower Egypt in his hand. Over his head there is his birth name and coronation name.

sA ra DHwty ms: born of the moon

nswbity mn xpr ra: stable is the existence of Re

God Amen-Re is seated on a low back throne. He is represented with his traditional features; the two feathers on his crown, the upward beard, holding the wAs scepter and the anx sign.

The scenes on the left side (from inside to outside) shows Thutmosis III in front of goddess Hathor in the form of beautiful lady wearing a long tight dress and over her head the solar disk and the two horns. In the middle there is a chapel and inside it a figure of a cow goddess Hathor and under her chin we can see a pharaoh. This scene is identical with the statue in front of us because we can see a pharaoh suckling. After that we can see Thutmosis III standing in front of a heap of offering s (both solid and liquid offering s followed by his wife Merit Re or beloved of Re)

The scenes on the right side are the same except that Thutmosis III is followed by his two daughters instead of his wife

n.b: the statue of the sacred cow itself bears the name of Thutmosis’ successor Amenhotep II whose cartouche is inscribed on the neck.