Home › Glossary › Letter H

Hathor

Mythology
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

Want to hear it? Click the Listen button to hear the browser speak the word using text-to-speech!

The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Cow-headed goddess of love, music, joy, motherhood, and the afterlife

Detailed Definition
Hathor, “Mistress of the West,” welcomed the dead into the afterlife and inspired celebration. She could also manifest as the destructive Eye of Ra. In poetry, she embodies feminine radiance, emotional depth, and the union of ecstasy and sorrow—often invoked in odes to love, art, and the comforting presence of the divine feminine.
Example
Example in poetry:
Hathor, cow-headed goddess of love, music, and the sky; Poets call Hathor “Lady of the Sycamore” and “Mistress of Turquoise”; Her sistrum drives away evil and invites joy; In Dendera, her temple glows with celestial hymns; Hathor welcomes the dead as “Lady of the West”; Verse celebrates her as both nurturing mother and fierce protector.
Additional Notes
Hathor is a multifaceted goddess of love, music, motherhood, and the afterlife, often depicted as a cow or woman with cow horns and sun disk—her joyful yet protective nature offers poets a symbol of divine femininity, emotional abundance, or the bridge between life and death.
Also Known As
Hathor the Sky Goddess Mistress of Heaven
Skip to main content