Symbols: sistrum, menet necklace
Ihy was the child of the cow-goddess Hathor. He was depicted as a young naked boy wearing the sidelock of youth, and usually carrying a sistrum or menet necklace. Ihy's name means "sistrum-player" or "musician" and he was the personification of the jubilation experienced while playing Hathor's divine musical instruments.
At Hathor's temple in Dendara, Caesar Augustus built a mammisi, or birthing house. On the walls of the mammisi are scenes celebrating Ihy's conception and birth. In the Coffin Texts and the Book of the Dead, Ihy was called the "lord of bread" and said to be "in charge of beer." This has been interpreted to mean that Ihy was connected to religious offering and ritual celebrations of Hathor.
