Statuette of Hathor Nebethetepet

© 2008 Musée du Louvre / Georges Poncet

Late period, 664-332 BC
Bronze
H.: 18.5 cm; W.: 3.5 cm; D.: 7 cm
Department of Egyptian Antiquities, Musée du Louvre
(E 7979)

Hathor, the goddess of erotic drives, is shown here in her incarnation as Nebethetepet, whose name could be interpreted as “the mistress of satisfaction” On her head the goddess wears a sistrum—the two bows evoke the joined hands of the god Atum and allude to the female genitals, while the back-and-forth motion of the rods recalls the culmination of desire in the sex act. Hathor is also the incarnation adopted by Re when doing battle with the Apophis serpent, who becomes fascinated (in the literal and etymological sense of the term) with her erotic power, losing his own hypnotic power and thereby losing the battle.

PDF Download