PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

• Introduction
• Isis or Hathor?
• Isis or Ma'at?

• Sekhmet or Tefnut?
• Check Your Answers
• Related Articles

About the Goddesses

Many people know that the ancient Egyptian goddess Hathor was associated with a cow. She would often be portrayed as having the head of a cow; for example, on the handles of mirrors and on the tops of columns in temples.

Hathor was also often portrayed as a woman wearing a headdress that consisted of a pair of horns surrounding a sun disk, as shown in the drawing to the right. Because of the cow horns, many people assume that this headdress always indicates that the goddess pictured is Hathor.

However, other goddesses could wear the horns and sun disk, including Sekhmet, Tefnut, and Isis.

The drawing to the right could represent either Hathor or Isis. It does not contain enough information to specifically link it to one or the other.

Hathor

The most reliable way to identify which of these goddesses appears in a particular image is to look for the goddess' name in hieroglyphics. Typically, her name will appear somewhere near her head.

Hathor's name means "House of Horus", and her name is written as a square (representing a house) with a falcon (representing Horus) inside.

Isis is a queen, and therefore a throne is used as the symbol for writing her name.

In both cases, the symbol could be facing either to the right or to the left. It depends on how the rest of the image is drawn.

Isis

Test Yourself

Now that you know how each goddess' name is written in hieroglyphics, see if you can correctly identify which one appears in each of these illustrations.

Question #1

This popular image comes from the tomb of Queen Nefertari and shows the queen being escorted by a goddess. Some people have identified the goddess in this image as Hathor because of the headdress with horns, while others have identified it as Isis.

Now that you know how Hathor's and Isis' names are written in hieroglyphics, study the writing on the wall next to the goddess and see if you can identify which one it actually is.

If necessary, click on the image to see it in more detail. (Note: after you click on it, your browser might try to fit the entire picture on the screen. To see still more detail, click on the displayed image with your mouse and it should zoom in further.)

See the bottom of this article for the answer.

Question #2

Here too we have a goddess wearing the sun disk headdress. This image comes from a funerary scene in which a row of deities sits in judgment of the deceased person.

This image provides two clues to the identity of this goddess. Can you find both clues?

Click on the image to get a closer look at the detail. (Note: after you click on it, your browser might try to fit the entire picture on the screen. To see still more detail, click on the displayed image with your mouse and it should zoom in further.)

See the bottom of this article for the answer.

Isis

Maat

Nut

Question #3

Now that you have some clues on how to identify a winged goddess, study this image to determine which goddess it represents.

Click on the image if you need to see a closeup for further detail.

See the bottom of this article for the answer.

Question #4

Here is another winged goddess, this one from a painting on a coffin. Can you identify her?

Click on the image if you need to see a closeup for further detail.

See the bottom of this article for the answer.

Tefnut

The key is to look at the headdress. In images of Tefnut, the headdress contains two Uraeus (cobra heads); whereas in images of Sekhmet there is only one. On images of Sekhmet, the Uraeus may sometimes include a tail.

Also, Sekhmet is typically shown with rounded ears, whereas Tefnut's are pointed.

Sekhmet

Question #5

This popular image appears on many web sites. Some identify it as Sekhmet, while others identify it as Tefnut. Can you determine which one is correct?

If necessary, click on the image to see it in more detail.

See the bottom of this article for the answer.

The correct answer is "Hathor". The first clue is Hathor's name in the very upper right-hand corner, with the falcon's head facing in the same direction as the goddess' head. In hieroglyphics, a symbol can be written facing either to the right or to the left, depending on the context.

The second clue is the cow's head on the handle of the mirror being held by the goddess.

The correct answer is "Sekhmet". The goddess in this illustration has only one cobra head on her headdress. Tefnut would have had two.

If this image had included a tail for the cobra, it still would have been Sekhmet. There need to be two heads in order for it to be Tefnut.

Also note the rounded ear, another clue that this is Sekhmet. Tefnut's ear would have been pointed.

• The Goddesses Of Ancient Egypt. Lists many of the goddesses of the ancient Egyptian pantheon, with descriptions of their roles.
• Two-Dimensional Ancient Egyptian Art. Explanation of the artistic style employed by ancient Egyptians and the reasons for it.
• Ancient Egyptian Art: An Introduction. Offers an explanation of some of the more popular images from ancient Egyptian art.
• Symbols From The Middle East. Pictures and history of many familiar symbols whose origins lie in the spiritual traditions of the Middle East.

• Poems Inspired By Middle Eastern History & Culture. Several poems inspired by the ancient legends from the Middle East.
• Reviews of Books About Ancient Cultures. Books about Egypt and Sumer.
• Making an Egyptian Pharaonic Costume. Instructions by Arabella.
• How to Make a Cleopatra-Style Headdress. Via crochet, instructions by Shira.
• What Is Pharaonic Dance? An introduction.