 Most gods were depicted in several ways . Hathor could be a cow , cobra , lioness , or a woman with bovine horns or ears . By depicting a given god in different ways , the Egyptians expressed different aspects of its essential nature . The gods are depicted in a finite number of these symbolic forms , so that deities can often be distinguished from one another by their iconographies . These forms include men and women ( anthropomorphism ) , animals ( zoomorphism ) , and , more rarely , inanimate objects . Combinations of forms , such as gods with human bodies and animal heads , are common . New forms and increasingly complex combinations arose in the course of history . Some gods can only be distinguished from others if they are labeled in writing , as with Isis and Hathor . Because of the close connection between these goddesses , they could both wear the cow @-@ horn headdress that was originally Hathor 's alone . 
 Most gods <a href='uninflect' title='1'><mark>were</mark></a> depicted in several ways . Hathor could be a cow , cobra , lioness , or a woman with bovine horns or ears . By depicting a given god in different ways , the Egyptians expressed different aspects of its essential nature . The gods are depicted in a finite number of these symbolic forms , so that deities can often be distinguished from one another by their iconographies . These forms include men and women ( anthropomorphism ) , animals ( zoomorphism ) , and , more rarely , inanimate objects . Combinations of forms , such as gods with human bodies and animal heads , <a href='drop_aux' title='2'><mark>are</mark></a>common . New forms and increasingly complex combinations arose in the course of history . Some gods can only be distinguished from others if they are labeled in writing , as with Isis and Hathor . Because of the close connection between these goddesses , they could both wear the cow @-@ horn headdress <a href='null_relcl' title='3'><mark>that</mark></a>was originally Hathor 's alone . 
Most gods was depicted in several ways . Hathor could be a cow , cobra , lioness , or a woman w/ bovine horns or ears . By depicting a given god in different ways , the Egyptians expressed diff aspects of its essential nature . da gods r depicted in a finite number of dese symbolic forms , soo dat deities can often be distinguished from one another by their iconographies . These forms include men and women ( anthropomorphism ) , animals ( zoomorphism ) , and , more rarely , inanimate objects . Combinations of forms , such as gods with human bodies and animal heads , common . New forms and increasingly complex combinations arose in the course of history . Some gods can only b distinguished from others if they are labeled in writing , as wiwitsis and Hathor . Because of the close connection between these goddesses , they could both wear the cow @-@ horn headdress was originally Hathor 's alone .