Drawing together temple art, myths, rituals and poetry, Hathor Rising reveals a rich tradition of feminine divinity. It explores how the sexual polarity of Hathor and the sun god manifests in the Pharaoh's life' as well as Hathor's connection with Isis and the moon cults. The serpent cult was given a new impetus by Hatshepsut, the innovative female Pharaoh whose remarkable reign, early in the 15th century BC, laid the foundations for the cultural splendour of New Kingdom Egypt. Ecstatic, musical, heart-centred -- the serpent tradition was interrupted only by the reign of Akhenaten who suppressed much of the serpent cult in favour of a trinitarian father god.