Hathor/Sukhmet



HATHOR/SUKHMET The Fire of Set's Eye 

Pantheon

 * Stygian Pantheon

Regions of Worship

 * Stygia

Divine Relationships

 * Set (as Sukhmet she is Set's avenger)

Representation
As Hathor: She is a cow-headed woman with a vulture-crown (wings outspread), usually nude or in a transparent linen dress, with a pair of bulls horns supporting a solar disk above her head. She is a powerful sorceress and her breasts flow with the milk of kingship. Many pieces of Stygian artwork show the King of Stygia suckling at her breasts as her vulture crown looks down at the child.

As Sukhmet: She takes on the head of a red lioness with bull horns and she fights with cobras in her hands. As the blood-drinking Sukhmet she dresses in a red kilt. Once she becomes Sukhmet, she is virtually unstoppable, a vampire killer who drinks the blood of those she vanquishes. Once unleashed, the only way Set can keep her from slaying every last man, woman and child on the planet is to provide her with buckets of blood laced with wine. She drinks the wine-blood and calms down, becoming Hathor once again.

Gender representation: female

Symbolism

 * The Sesheset
 * Bull Horns
 * Cows
 * Lionesses

Sesheset: A tambourine-like instrument shaped like an ankh with small metal disks in the enlarged loop. The instrument is shaken and often has the horns of Hathor incorporated into the artwork.

Spheres of Power

 * Counterspells
 * Nature Magic
 * Love
 * Cosmetics
 * Femininity
 * Transformations
 * Poisons (as Hathor)
 * Vampires, witches and werewolves (Sukhmet).

Rituals & Beliefs
Hathor is a goddess of femininity, transformations and poisons, the sister and wife of Usir, the daughter of Kebb and Nuit. She is two goddesses rolled into one: Hathor and Sukhmet. She was the greatest goddess of the Giant-Kings and remains so with the Stygians. She is the symbol of the adoring wife and mother, so important to Stygian culture. She is the patron goddess of counterspells and nature magic. Her instruments are the sesheset (a type of Stygian tambourine) and the drums. She is the goddess of love and cosmetics.

She has seven handmaidens who are said to come to the bedside of every child when it is born to announce his fate, for these handmaidens know the future and the moment of death for every Stygian. Stygian divination spells often call upon the seven handmaidens of Hathor for this reason. They are shown as beautiful nude women with long-haired wigs playing seshesets and wearing the horns of Hathor.

Horned Hathor has a dual personality; when angered, she becomes the goddess of war and destruction, the horrible Sukhmet, the Fire of Set’s Eye. In this aspect she is a patron of vampires, witches and werewolves. She is Set’s horrifying avenger, the holy warrior of the ancient Serpent, a nefarious weapon used to destroy those Set deems unworthy of living.

Any person may come to a temple of Hathor and sleep on the roof in the hopes of a prophetic dream. The priestesses of Hathor await the roof-sleepers in the morning to interpret any dreams.

Implementation IC & In-Game
Vanilla Derketo religion.

More Information

 * Return to the Road of Kings (Conan RPG Book)
 * Faith and Fervour (Conan RPG Book)
 * Stygia - The Serpent of the South (Conan RPG Book)
 * Earth-616 and Related comics in the Marvel Comic Universe
 * Marvel 101 Season 1 72
 * Avengers Vol 1 112
 * Avengers Vol 1 114
 * All-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A to Z: Update Vol 1 4
 * Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z Vol 1 6
 * Thor & Hercules: Encyclopaedia Mythologica Vol 1 1
 * Heroic Age: Prince of Power Vol 1 2
 * Heroic Age: Prince of Power Vol 1 3
 * Heroic Age: Prince of Power Vol 1 4
 * Avengers: Roll Call Vol 1 1