Jonathan Kieran

Among the many ancient Egyptian deities who made their way out of the country and around the Levant, as well as the rest of the Mediterranean Basin, the goddess Hathor was certainly one of the most cleverly marketed. As Divine Doyenne of booze, beauty, eroticism, music, revelry, and pleasure, let’s be honest: what was there not to like for ancient people under the stress of being … er … ancient people?

But I am not so certain that this artifact/amulet discovered in Israel should be identified automatically as a depiction of Hathor. Other goddesses of the Nile also found significant popularity beyond their native borders, and this piece could just as well depict Isis, Mut, or a number of other heavenly protectresses. For starters, Hathor is not depicted here with her her traditional cow-horn and sun-disc headdress, as the article implies, nor with the telltale cow ears splayed outward in her typical frontal depictions on amulets. Moreover, her hands seem to be reaching toward her breasts, which could indicate that she is clasping the tet-symbol, a hallmark far more appropriate to Isis in her capacity as goddess of motherhood and protection.

Isis has lost a great deal of publicity since the rise of ISIS (or ISIL) ideological factions in the past twenty years, and that’s a shame, because Isis was, after all, the most popular religious/magical export of ancient Egypt, by far. And it gives me no pleasure to say so, but the Israeli Antiquities Authority has hardly boasted the most encouraging track-record when it comes to the authentic identification of ancient relics, homespun and otherwise. (See OSSUARY, JAMES).

I say it’s Isis, but it could be an early, now-ossified attempt at the Gingerbread Man, for all we know.

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