Bat (goddess)

For other uses, see Bat (disambiguation).
Bat became the emblem on a sistrum, related to Hathor and which appears on the top of columns of her main temple of Denderah
This painted terracotta Naqada figure of a woman is interpreted as representing Bat, c. 3500–3400 B.C. - Brooklyn Museum

Bat is a cow goddess in Egyptian mythology who was depicted as a human face with cow ears and horns or as a woman. Evidence of the worship of Bat exists from the earliest records of the religious practices in ancient Egypt. By the time of the Middle Kingdom, after the unification of Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt, her identity and attributes were subsumed within that of the goddess Hathor,[1] a similar goddess worshipped in another nome. The imagery of Bat persisted throughout the history of ancient Egypt on the sistrum, a sacred instrument that remained associated with religious practices.

  1. ^ Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, p.172 Thames & Hudson. 2003. ISBN 0-500-05120-8