Horus

Horus (called Heru, Har, Her, or Hor in Ancient Egyptian) was a major deity in ancient Egypt, worshipped from the late prehistoric period through the Ptolemaic and Roman eras. He served many roles, most notably as god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and the sky. Egyptologists recognize several distinct forms of Horus in historical records, but these may be complementary facets of a single, complex god, reflecting how the Egyptians understood multiple layers of reality. He was usually shown as a falcon—likely a lanner or peregrine—or as a man with a falcon head.

The earliest known form of Horus was the patron deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt, and he became the first national god, closely tied to the pharaoh. The king was seen as a living manifestation of Horus, and after death, as Osiris. The most common family story describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris, playing a key role in the Osiris myth as Osiris's heir and rival to Set, Osiris's brother and murderer.

In another tradition, Hathor is his mother or wife. Under interpretatio romana, the writer Claudius Aelianus said Egyptians called the god Apollo "Horus" in their language. Plutarch clarified that the Horus equated with Apollo was actually "Horus the Elder," a primordial form distinct from Horus and Harpocrates.

Etymology

The name Horus comes from the Egyptian hieroglyph ḥr.w, meaning "falcon." Its original pronunciation was likely /ˈħaːɾuw/ in Old Egyptian, shifting to /ˈħaːɾəʔ/ in later Middle Egyptian, and /ˈħoːɾ(ə)/ in Late Egyptian. It may also have meant "the distant one" or "one who is above." In Coptic, it appeared as /hɔr/ or /ħoːɾ/ (Ϩⲱⲣ), and in Greek as Ὧρος (Hō̂ros). The name survives in theophoric forms like Siese ("son of Isis") and Harsiese ("Horus, Son of Isis"). Horakhti, or "Horus of the Two Horizons," personified the sun on the horizon.

Horus and the pharaoh

The pharaoh was directly identified with Horus, who embodied kingship and protected the ruler. The pharaoh was also seen as the son of Ra, governing nature as the pharaoh governed society. The Pyramid Texts (around 2400–2300 BCE) describe the pharaoh as both Horus in life and Osiris in death, with new pharaohs succeeding as new incarnations of Horus. This lineage, stemming from the children of Atum, may have justified pharaonic power by linking Horus to cosmic forces and ultimately to Atum himself.

Origin mythology

In one origin myth, Horus was born after Isis gathered the dismembered parts of her husband Osiris, except his penis, which was eaten by a catfish (or, in some versions, a crab). Older Egyptian accounts say the penis survived. Plutarch wrote that Isis used magic to resurrect Osiris and fashion a phallus to conceive Horus.

Pregnant, she fled to the Nile Delta marshes to hide from Set, who had killed Osiris and would want to kill the child. There she bore Horus. Another form of Horus, called Heru-ur (or Horus the Elder), is the brother of Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, and Set, born of Nut and Geb. This elder Horus contrasts with the younger Horus, Heru-pa-khered (later Harpocrates).

Sky god

As a sky god, Horus was said to contain the sun and moon. Egyptians believed his right eye was the sun and his left the moon, and that he flew across the sky as a falcon. The moon's dimness was explained in The Contendings of Horus and Seth, where Horus and Set battled for Egypt. The gods eventually sided with Horus, who became known as "Horus the Great" or "Horus the Elder." In the struggle, Set lost a testicle, and Horus's eye was gouged out.

Horus was sometimes shown as a naked boy with a finger in his mouth, sitting on a lotus with his mother. As a youth, he was called Neferhor ("Good Horus"). The Eye of Horus is an ancient symbol of protection and royal power, often seen on images of his mother, Isis.