Cows are divine and their slaughter is a sin, as is eating beef. Considered sacred life-givers, they provide milk and dung, which is used by millions of Indians as fuel, fertilizer and insecticide.
| EGYPTIAN | Bat/Bata | Cow-Goddess of fertility. Depicted as cow, or woman with ears and horns of a cow. |
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| EGYPTIAN | Hathor | Goddess of Sky, Queen of Heaven, Goddess of Fertility, Patron of Women and Marriage, Goddess of Love and Beauty. Depicted as star-studded cow or woman with cow's head. |
| EGYPTIAN | Hesat | Cow-Goddess. Ancient Egyptians referred to milk as the "beer of Hesat." |
| EGYPTIAN | Sechat-Hor | Cow-Goddess |
| EGYPTIAN | Sentait | Another Cow-Goddess. |
| GALLIC | Damona | Divine cow. |
| GREEK | Io | Zeus's lover--was turned into a cow for her own protection from his jealous wife Hera. |
| HINDU | Nandini | Offspring of Surabhi, the Cow of Plenty. Cows are divine and their slaughter is a sin, as is eating beef. Considered sacred life-givers, they provide milk and dung, which is used by millions of Indians as fuel, fertilizer and insecticide. |
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| NORSE | Audhumbla | Primeval cow licked a melting block of ice at the beginning of time and caused a man to appear. |