Circa: 1450 BC to 1070 BC
Dimensions: 5" (12.7cm) high
Style: New Kingdom
This elegantly-carved head represents the Egyptian goddess Hathor – also known as Mehturt – who was one of the longest- worshipped deities in the Egyptian pantheon. Like most Egyptian gods, she went through various incarnations from a “cow goddess” flanking Narmer (who unified Egypt in the 31st century BC) on his eponymous palette, through to being the wife of Ra (the sun god), the wife of Thoth (god of the moon and/or a heavenly mediator) and the mother of Horus (the god of the sky). However, she never lost her primary role, which was goddess of the Milky Way, representative of milk spilling from the udders of a heavenly cow.
As the Milky Way, she was believed to encircle the sky – and thus her son, Horus – although she was worshipped for much longer than her offspring, who was replaced by the sun god, Ra. Her significance was mainly economic, for the Milky Way was believed to be a heavenly version of the terrestrial Nile, which could not flood without her assistance. As three quarters of Egypt’s population was directly reliant upon the Nile, a failure to flood spelled disaster; thus her social importance never declined. Expectant mothers also worshipped Hathor, as she was seen as a herald of imminent birth, and she was also seen as a protector for those in desertic areas. It is also interesting to note the parallels between Egypt and other parts of the ancient world who also revered bulls and cows; the Neolithic site of Catal Huyuk was but one of many who became invested with “tauromaquia”, while zebus constituted much of the economy of various Near Eastern and Central Asian countries.