HATHOR AND THE STARGATE NOVELS
 Picking up where the movie left off, Bill McCay's "StarGate" novels provide an excellent continuation of the film universe and draws its inspiration from the Egyptian myths of Hathor. More of her mythological character is preserved in the context of a redefined, science fiction drama.
For the movie, the events that followed after the first Abydos mission are expected, flowing into a logical course of action and reaction, and the reader is presented with an epic science fiction drama. Here, the world we see is not perfect. The US government wants a piece of the pie - the mineral returned from Abydos - to advance weapon and technology research by a quantum leap; the Abydans just want to be left alone and there is a new threat from the stars: Hathor. Her appearance makes matters worse between the Earth people and Abydans.
Compared to the television series, McCay's rendition of this goddess is more faithful to mythology because he has done his research. He looked into all the myths pertaining to this Egyptian goddess and revised her so that she can work as an antagonist in the Stargate universe. He preserved as much of what she was, prior to her "imprisonment," into the story; this is demonstrated when he adapts the "Story of Ra" into her history.
With this myth, it has been reinterpreted with science fiction concepts in mind. In the first novel, "Resistance," the line "From Ra's Eye, Hathor was created" receives an interesting update because Ra's Eye is a spaceship and Hathor commanded it as she wiped out an entire race (the people of Ombos) to earn her reputation. Because they were rebelling, she was used (by Ra) as a weapon of vengeance.
Prior to being entombed, much of the first half of the novel reflects Hathor's origins. Even in chapter two, some hint of the first myth is mentioned when she was poisoned. Interestingly, no mention was made of whom the rebel was serving. It is assumed that the rebel was an Omban but there is a possibility that the rebel was serving Ra in order to "sedate" Hathor. She was unstoppable in her razing of the uprising.
When she made her escape to go lay in the golden sarcophagus to heal her, her fate was to remain in there forever, possibly ordained by Ra, in order to sedate her. It's a twist on the myth, "Story of Ra" - but in the sequel, "A Distant Goddess," the god Thoth had to traverse harsh terrain (a planet with no atmosphere and cratered everywhere) to reach Hathor.
However, unlike it, there was no Ra to calm her rage and the River Nile to heal her. She awoke to become Sekhmet, a force of vengeance, again. With Ra dead and his empire in feudal disarray (i.e. each of the 'gods' are fighting for power), this is a ripe time for Sekhmet's appearance.
Her release was like unleashing a Pandora's Box. There were more evil things about her than good. By that definition, Hathor is reminiscent of Robert Louis Stevenson's "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," because the myths define Hathor and Sekhmet as the same entity, capable of doing extreme good or evil. For this entity known as Hathor, both names are necessary parts of the character.
In the last two novels of the five-book set, "Reconnaissance" and "Resistance," this becomes confusing and it will be discussed in the final article. While Hathor is introduced to be cunning and gentle, she is absolutely ruthless. Two examples demonstrate this:
In "Resistance," Hathor played out her mythological role, parading around nude and spreading joy to all who beheld her lithe body. When she undressed before Sebek, another Egyptian god, and danced before him, her motives were not of a benevolent goddess. Before Sebek knew it, he was down on the ground and beheaded. Hathor showed that she was going to lead Ra's empire and anyone who denied her right would face a similar punishment.
Classical mythology often speaks of the gods walking amongst us, and when Hathor poses as Faizah in "Retaliation," that is her disguised, human, form; throughout the novel she was much more like the traditional goddess of love. She spread joy amongst her "worshippers"; nearly all the soldiers and Abydans were clamoring to be with her. Faizah was easy-going, sexy, and sweet. She also possessed knowledge (a quick learner) and helped translate the hieroglyphics in the ship, Ra's Eye. Then, in an important scene, when sand raiders were ambushing Daniel and her; the ruthlessness of having an elephantine foot crush the head of the raider showed that she was also someone else.
To summarize, the novels' rendition of Hathor is perfect in marrying science fiction with mythology. As introduced in the first few pages of "Rebellion," the trilogy has been about the science fiction history behind the myths. This revised history is appropriate for the Stargate universe that is presented in the books. Much like hearing a story for the first time in a neolithic period, over a campfire, it becomes redefined over time.
While Bill McCay is incorrect in making this deity a goddess of lust, he is edging away from the truth by incorporating antagonistic elements into the character. As a villain, lust should replace love. Also, because she was previously known as Sekhmet, the goddess of vengeance, Hathor assumes the dual-role instead of having two characters plague the Stargate team.
By this method, the novel is faithful to the movie because the Hathor is presented much the same way Ra was - both were powerful entities that pretended to be gods in order to dominate the people and satisfy their needs to rule.
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