Hathor at
Denderah is specially designated as the lying-in chamber, or sacred house
of birth. An inscription dating from the Roman period, on the outer
eastern wall of this building reads: "Life! the female Horus, the
youthful, the daughter of a hak (regent, Brugsch), Isis, the great, the
mother of the Ra=god, is born in Tentyra in the 'night of the child in its
cradle,' at the west side of the temple of Hat-seses (the great temple of
Hathor)." It is, moreover, stated that "Horus, in female form, is the
princess, the powerful, the heiress to the throne and the daughter of an
heir to the throne."

In another inscription, on the south wall of the small temple of Isis, the
birth of Isis is described thus: "On this beautiful day, 'of the night of
the child in its cradle,' on the great festival during which the world is
re-adjusted, or balanced (sekhek en ta), the bringing forth of Isis takes
place in the interior or centre of Anet (Tentyra) by the goddess Ap, the
great, in the chamber of Ap, in the form of a dark red female person, the
Khnum ankh, the lovely. Her mother, Nut, exclaimed at the sight of her:
behold, (As is) I have become a mother. Thence the origin of the name
Isis.... The south, towards the place of rising of the sun's disk, has
been given over to her, and the north, towards.... She is, namely, the
mistress of both sides of Egypt, with her son Horus and her brother
Osiris."

On the east side of the wall of the terrace at Denderah a similar
inscription reads: "Uar-kher-ta is the name of this locality. The name of
the place of the cradle of Isis is named Adut, which is the house where
the 'accouchement' of Nut, the goddess of heaven, takes place. It is here
that, at the time of the 'night of the child in its cradle,' the
god-mother is brought into the world, in the form of a dark female, named
Khnum-ankhet, the lady of love and the queen of the gods and goddesses. On
seeing her, her mother exclaimed: As, is _i. e._ lo, or behold, I have
become a mother! Thence the origin of her name Isis.... She is the lady of
the temple of Egypt with her son Horus and brother Osiris, now and forever
into eternity." The most instructive account of the festival which has
come under my notice is the following, contained in another inscription in
the temple at Denderah.

"The fourth day, supplementary to the year (of 360 days, _i. e._ the 364th
day) is the beautiful day of the 'night of the child in its cradle' and is
a great