Horus was one of the most significant gods throughout Egyptian history. He was a sky god closely linked with kingship as well as healing and protection.
As a sky god, Horus was considered to contain the sun and the moon, often represented by his eyes, with his right eye being the sun and his left eye the moon. They traversed the sky with Horus in his falcon form.
He is one of the oldest known gods from ancient Egypt, with mentions of him in the earliest surviving texts. He is also depicted in the oldest known cult statue in existence, a golden falcon head that dates to 2300 BCE.
Horus seems to have been worshipped in many different places in multiple guises and then brought together as a single complex deity as Egypt united. Among other names, he was known as Harsomptus, Horus the Uniter. He is first known in the Old Kingdom as Horus of Nekhen, who seems to have been born in the city of Nekhen (Heirakonpolis in Greek). He was also known elsewhere as Horemakhet, Horus on the Horizon, and was closely associated with the sun, leading to his syncretization with Ra as Ra-Horakhty.
Horus and the Pharaoh
While the pharaoh was linked to many different gods, he was most consistently linked with Horus throughout Egyptian history. He was considered the divine protector of the pharaoh, and the pharaoh the mortal incarnation of Horus. Horus was sometimes the son of Osiris, and the pharaoh was recognized as Horus in life and Osiris in death.
Horus was sometimes depicted as a child, nursed by his mother, Isis, or his aunt, Nephthys, representing the gods nourishing the pharaoh on behalf of Egypt.
The most important name of the king was known as his Horus name, or serekh, and it was this name that was inscribed on his monument and tomb, marking him out for eternity. It was written in a palace-like frame topped with an image of Horus. Names include Aha, Horus the Fighter, and Nebra, Horus Lord of the Sun.
Ennead of Heliopolis
Horus was probably an independent god who was not directly linked to the Ennead of Heliopolis, but was incorporated into it as that creation myth became popular. The Ennead were mostly primordial deities that represented existence, and Horus was the ultimate manifestation of these primordial gods.
Atum, a sun god often called Atum-Ra, emerged from the waters of Nun. Atum then created Shu, air, and Tefnut, moisture. They, in turn, gave birth to the earth, Geb, and the sky, Nut. This pair is held apart by Shu to make space for existence, and gave birth to the principal deities, Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. In some versions of the story, Geb and Nut also gave birth to Horus, who is called Horus the Elder to distinguish him, but the relationship could be fluid.
According to the myth, Osiris, as the oldest son, was given kingship. His brother Seth was jealous, so he killed Osiris, hacking his body into pieces and distributing them across Egypt. Isis managed to gather the pieces of his body and, with the help of her sister Nephthys, used strong magic to bring him back to life. However, he was incomplete, because a fish ate his penis. Nevertheless, Isis was able to impregnate herself. But the incomplete Osiris was unable to return to the world of the living, so Isis created the underworld for him to rule, enabling life after death.
In due course, Isis gave birth to Horus, but had to raise him in secret among the weeds of the Delta to protect him from Seth. Horus is sometimes shown in art as an infant boy on a lotus flower with his mother. He often has the braid of a youth, sucks his thumb, and wears the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt. This version of Horus was often known as Harpocrates, or Horus the Child
The Contendings of Seth and Horus
In time, Horus grew strong enough to challenge Seth for power before a council of the other gods. They were undecided on who should rule, because while Horus was the clear heir, he was still very young. To resolve the dispute, Horus and Seth engaged in competitions known as the Contendings of Seth and Horus.
They engaged in various competitions, and Horus was often helped by his mother. At one point, Seth also destroyed Horus’ eye, which had to be magically restored by the goddess Hathor, who in some contexts appeared as the wife of Horus. This loss and restoration explain why the moon is not as bright as the sun.
In the end, the gods judged in favor of Horus, and he was made king of the black land along the Nile, while Seth was relegated to the red lands of the desert. Nevertheless, in iconography, Horus and Seth are often both depicted empowering the pharaoh.
The Eye of Horus
As well as representing the sun and moon, the Eye of Horus was also a protective symbol. Called the wedjat, it is seen in a variety of contexts and with a variety of different gods, but especially Isis and Hathor. It was used both for the living and the dead, to protect them in the afterlife. It was an extremely popular amulet.
This made Horus a protector, and he was also a healer. This may link back to a story of the young Horus being bitten by a snake while hiding in the Delta marshes. Isus immediately called for help to save her son, and Hathor and Thoth responded. They were also to save him, and Horus became known as the child who survived a mortal bite. In some way, this imbued him with healing powers.
In the Late Period, Horus was sometimes depicted stepping over crocodiles and holding dangerous venomous animals, reflecting his invulnerability and the protection he could offer.
The Greeks often associated Horus with Apollo, a sun god also associated with healing.
Appearance and Temples
Horus most often appeared as a falcon, or a man with the head of a falcon. He could be wearing the crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, aligning him with the pharaoh, or the sun disk, aligning him with Ra as Ra-Horakhty. From the Middle Kingdom, he was also sometimes depicted as a winged sun disk. This became a common image in Egyptian religious architecture.
Horus had many known temples in Egypt, but his most famous temple of Horus was at Edfu, built under the Ptolemies, which is one of Egypt’s best-preserved temples. Here, Hathor is the wife of Horus, and she travels from her temple at Dendera to visit Horus at Edfu for certain festivals, celebrating their sacred marriage.
The walls tell a different story of creation, with the primordial mound emerging from the seas of chaos, and Horus landed to initiate creation. The snake monster Apophis tried to impede creation. This filled Horus with fear, but a harpoon, a form of the god Ptah, came to the rescue. With Apophis defeated, creation was able to happen. The growing falcon created the sky dome, with its wings reaching from horizon to horizon, so the sun could begin its daily cycle. The temple at Edfu was then built on the site where creation began by the gods Thoth and Seshat.
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