Introduction
Hathor is the goddess of love, joy, motherhood, and music, one of the most widely worshipped deities in Egyptian religion, and daughter of the sun god Ra.
Family
- Father: Ra
- Siblings: Bastet, Ma'at, Sekhmet
The Eye of Ra Unleashed
As "the Eye of Ra," Hathor was sent by her father to punish humanity for plotting rebellion against him, transforming into the fierce lioness Sekhmet and rampaging until Ra, regretting the scale of destruction, tricked her into drinking beer dyed red like blood; intoxicated, she fell asleep and awoke calmed, returning to her gentler Hathor aspect. This myth, recorded in the New Kingdom text known as The Destruction of Mankind, encapsulates the dual, dangerous-and-benevolent nature ascribed to several Egyptian goddesses closely linked to Hathor, including Sekhmet and Bastet.
Ancient Egyptian religion spanned three millennia and many regional cult centers, so parentage, roles and even gender pairings for a given deity often differ between the Heliopolitan, Hermopolitan, Memphite and Theban theological systems; the account above follows the most widely attested classical version.