Hathor was represented as half cow half woman. To understand why we must look at the three things Hathor represented these being love, music, and beauty. After naming these three traits we realize we must see our selves as an Ancient Egyptian to understand. Music was a very feminine trait in those days and so was love and beauty. Many Ancient Egyptians were farmers and raised cows along with other livestock. Cows are female and are easlily recongnized by the people of Egypt. Assoiating these traits with a cow-woman Egyptians could more easily relate with her.
There are several things associated with the goddess Hathor (hieroglyphs: Hwt Hr): the sun-disk, cow horns, the "Hathor pillar", the sistrum (a type of rattle) and several more.She is shown as a human-headed goddess with the sun disk and cow horns on her head, or as a female head with cow ears, or as a cow-headed goddess, or in the form of a complete cow. In various parts of Egypt she was considered to be a sky-goddess, a tree-goddess, goddess of women, or the goddess of the necropolis (city of tombs).The links below take you to images of some of the items associated with Hathor:
Hathor is the ancient Egyptian deity considered as the cow-goddess or sky-goddess.
Hathor is an Egyptian goddess -- so she is normally drawn with the head of a woman... Yet, she is also drawn with the head of a cow.. so either way she would be considered a female..
Hathor was the goddess of denderah and also known as the mother of the pharoah.She was also known as the ears of a cow.
The ancient Egyptian deity that was considered the cow-goddess is Hathor.
The cow represented Hathor. Hathor was the goddess of cows, music, and motherhood.
Hathor is often depicted with the head of a cow.
Her circular crown symbolizes the sun, for she is the sky goddess.
Hathor wearing her headdress, a pair of cow horns with a sun disk and snake.
The goddess Hathor (hieroglyphs: Hwt Hr) was sometimes depicted as a celestial cow, sometimes as a symbolic pillar with a woman's face, or a woman's face with cow's ears, or as a human with a cow's head, or with a human head and wearing cow's horns and the sun disk on her head (often with the addition of the uraeus).She was worshipped in different forms in different places: in Memphis she was a tree goddess, in Thebes and Gebelein she was a goddess of the dead, but more often she was a goddess of women and a sky goddess. She was also considered to be associated with music, dancing and fertility.Both the cow horns and solar disk refer to her role as sky goddess. She may (at least in part) have very ancient origins as a cow goddess representing the sky - so the sun-god Horus was thought to "live" within her as the sun lives in the sky. Her name means "mansion of Horus".
Hathor was a goddess. Depicted as a cow; woman with cow ears, or horns and sun disc on head, or falcon on perch on head. Her association(s)/role include mother (especially of king) love; fertility; sexuality; music; dance; alcohol; sky; Byblos; turquoise; faience.
Bastet, who was portrayed with a cat head more often than not. Hathor is also said to have been a, or the goddess of love.