Hilary Wilson on… Milk

Hathor, one of the oldest and most beloved of Egyptian deities, wore a crown of cow’s horns supporting the solar disc, marking her ancient association with the animal which, in many cultures, epitomises motherhood. The cow form of Hathor was recognised both as the protector of mothers and infants, especially during pregnancy and childbirth, and as a funerary deity, who eased the passage of rebirth into the afterlife. The child Horus was said to have been nursed by the Hathor cow while in hiding in the marshes of Chemmis. According to one version of the myth, when Horus was severely injured in his battle with Seth, it was Hathor who healed his damaged eye by salving it with milk. In the roy