This week I chose to share ancient Egyptian music. For some odd reason, I had an extreme fascination with ancient Egyptian music when I was young. I would sit and listen to entire compilations of Egyptian songs and would watch videos of Egyptian history. 

The first song in this hour-long compilation is called Hathor. Hathor is an Egyptian goddess that was often depicted/seen as a cow; representing motherhood, fertility, agriculture, and love. 

Since this song is part of a compilation, I couldn’t find the specific instruments used in this exact recording. This song has a very steady, 4/4-like tempo to it. All of the instruments follow the same sort of melody with the one sort of horn-like instrument having pop-out solos. It sounds like the very beginning of the song opens with a set of hand drums and a zither-like instrument.

I have always had such a strong connection with this one specific song, and I’ve listened to it for probably ten years now. I had never done the research on what the title of the song meant/was. I think I can finally understand why it has always felt so powerful to me. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GI6dOS5ncFc&t=2292s (first song, “Hathor”)