Silver Seal, 900 BCE - 700 CE
This cartouche shaped seal is inscribed with a text. The text contains the names of the goddesses Hathor and Isis. In myth there were two gods named Horus. The King...
This cartouche shaped seal is inscribed with a text. The text contains the names of the goddesses Hathor and Isis. In myth there were two gods named Horus. The King was the living incarnation of both of these gods. Over time the two were intermingled. By the Ptolemaic period(332BC) Hathor and Isis were viewed as one goddess. The symbol at the right is Hathor's name and consist of a falcon inside a square, the sign for house. The Egyptian form of Hathor's name was Hewether, which means "house of Horus." This symbol is followed by a tree, since the sycamore tree was sacred to this goddess. The next symbol is a throne. The two similar small signs depict loaves of bread. Phonetically, this spells Aset, the name of Isis. The sign below the two loaves of bread is an egg. Lastly, is the sign for Nefer, which means "beautiful"or "perfect." The text says, "Hathor-Isis is beautiful (or perfect)."