Horus

Horus


 * Other Names:**

Heru, Har, Haru, Horos, Har-Wer, Hor, Hrw, Haroeris


 * Meaning of Name:**

“The Distant Face Above” or “The High One.” "Horus" was also the Egyptian word for “falcon.”


 * Hieroglyphics:**

or


 * Titles:**

//Harakhti// or //Horakhty// (“He Who Perches On the Horizon”)

//Har-pa-khered// ("Horus the Child")

//Har-Pa-Neb-Taui// (“Lord of the Two Lands”)

“Pharaoh of Pharaohs”

"Lord of the Ames Scepter"

"The One of Dappled Plumage"

"Lord of Heaven"

//Har-mau// (“The Uniter”)

//Har-nedj-itet// (“Avenger of His Father”)

//Har-em-akhet// (“Falcon of Gold”)


 * Family:**

Horus was thought to be the son of Osiris and Isis, and the father of Ihy, Imsety, Hapy, Duamutef, and Qebhsenuef. Occasionally Horus’s mother-wife was thought to be Hathor or Selket. Sometimes he was considered to be the son of Hat-Mehit and Banebdjedet, Nut and Geb, Sobek, Min, Montu, or Ra.

A very ancient deity, the worship of Horus predates that of even Osiris. Originally, there were at least two gods called Horus. One is the child of Nut and Geb, //Heru-ur// ("Horus the Elder," protector of Lower Egypt), and the other is the son of Isis and Osiris, //Harpokrates// ("Horus the Younger.") Over time, their stories and attributes came together. This has created some confusion among scholars. Horus was the god associated with the pharaoh, the living god. Weak as a child, Horus was nurtured by his mother Isis and grew into manhood. Horus eventually defeated his rival Set, avenged his murdered father Osiris, and became the great pharaoh of Egypt. An Egyptian proverb states "Although Horus hid and trembled in the marshes, he became the ruler of the earth in turn."

Horus was so important to the Egyptian religion that pharaohs were considered his human manifestation. “Horus-in-the-Nest" was a term used to designate the heirs to the throne. Young princes wore the Falcon Crown. Each pharaoh adopted a //Hr-nwb// (golden Horus name) when he took the throne, to connect himself with the god.

When the king died, the phrase used to announce his death was "The Falcon has flown to heaven." The pharaoh’s funeral ceremonies included the release of a live falcon to depict the dead king’s soul flying away to its home in heaven. The hieroglyphic for “god” and “pharaoh” was a falcon on a perch. As the prototype of the earthly king, there were as many Horus gods as there were rulers of Egypt, if not more.

Horus was pictured as a falcon, a sphinx, the Aten, a falcon-headed crocodile, a lion with the head of a falcon (a hieracosphinx), or as a falcon-headed man. Horus often wore the sun disk or Double Crown and on occasion the Atef Crown, Two Feathers Crown, or the White Crown. Horus often held the shen ring grasped in his talons. He was also shown as a falcon resting on the neck of the pharaoh, spreading his wings to either side of the pharaoh’s head and whispering guidance in his ear. Horus was described as being eight cubits - more than 13 feet (3.96 meters) - tall.

Small amulets of Horus, made of gold, bronze, hematite, wood, lapis lazuli, ivory, faience, carnelian, glass, chrysoprase, turquoise, and red jasper were very popular. Early hospitals at Alexandria were under the protection of Horus - Horus was thought to have become a doctor on account of the many illnesses he suffered as a child. Consequently, the Eye of Horus amulet was thought to have great healing powers, and to ward off the evil eye and protect against all sorts of illnesses.

Mythologicaly, the sun and the moon represented the two eyes of Horus. The speckled feathers of his breast were the stars and his wings the sky – with their downsweep producing the winds. Egyptian texts paint a dazzling picture of Horus: "when he opens his eyes he fills the universe with light, but when he shuts them darkness comes into being." Horus was thought to have reigned over earth for 300 years, before naming a human pharaoh his successor.

Horus was thought to be a war god and a hunter's god, since he was associated with the falcon. Horus was also the patron of young men and was often described as the perfect example of the dutiful son who grows up to become a just man. A symbol of Horus was the acacia tree. He was also associated with the planets Jupiter ("Horus Who Limits the Two Lands"), Mars ("Horus the Red"), and Saturn ("Horus, Bull of the Sky").

Horus was thought to have eyes the color of lapis lazuli (very dark blue.) When his rival Set tore out and buried his eyes, they sprouted and bloomed into blue lotuses or grapes. The growth of useful plants from the buried eyes of Horus is a parallel to the growth of barley and wheat from the body of his father, Osiris.


 * Feast** **and Holy Days:**

August 13th (Day of the Battle Between Horus and Set)

August 14th (Day of Peace Between Horus and Set)

August 17th (Rituals in the Temple of Horus)

August 19th (Procession of Horus)

August 20th (Healing of the Eye of Horus)

August 31st (Horus Receives the White Crown)

September 16th (Festival of Horus)

October 12th (Horus Receives the Black Land)

October 14th (Festival of Establishing Horus as King)

November 15th (Feast in the House of Horus)

December 25th (Birthday of Horus)

January 6th (Feast of Horus)

February 6th (Feast of Horus)

February 21st (Day of Counting the Parts of the Eye of Horus) March 15th (Offerings to Horus)

March 16th (Feast of Horus and His Companions)

April 1st (Month of Horus)

April 14th (Celebrations in the House of Horus)

April 15th (Festival of Horus)

May 29th (Horus Hears Prayers)

June 13th (Ceremony of Horus the Beloved)

June 29th (Holiday for the Followers of Horus)

July 15th (Holy Day of Horus)


 * Quotes from the** **Book of the Dead and other sources:**

Hymns of Horus


 * Egyptian Names Honoring This Deity:**

Nefer-hor ("Beautiful of Horus"), Ankhhor ("May Horus Live"), Hormose ("Born of Horus"), Menkauhor ("Eternal is the Ka of Horus"), Hor-Aha ("Horus the Fighter"), Horhotep ("Horus is Satisfied"), Hori ("Lord Horus"), Horemheb ("Horus in Jubilation")


 * Outside of Egypt:**

In the Roman period, some depictions of Horus show Horus as a mounted Roman warrior, a sort of knight, spearing a crocodile, who represented Set. Many scholars think that this was the basis for the many artistic renderings and stories of St. George and the dragon.

A connection between Jesus and Horus-Osiris is frequently raised by critics of the historicity of Jesus, who argue that he was a mythical figure. The death and resurrection of Horus-Osiris, and Horus' nature as both the son of Osiris and Osiris himself, appear to be a template for the idea that this occurred in Jesus. Author Gerald Massey discovered nearly two hundred instances of immediate correspondence between the mythical Egyptian material and the allegedly historical Christian writings about Jesus. An example is that the birth of Horus on December 25th was heralded by the rising of the morning-star Sopdet (Sirius); the birth of Jesus (also thought to be on Dec. 25th) was heralded by the rising of a “star in the East.”

Horus indeed was the archetypal Pagan Christ. In fact, according to a few more radical scholars, Jesus was copied from Horus wholesale, and made into a Jewish teacher. In particular, it is said that Horus is the basis for the elements assigned to the M Gospel (the bits in Matthew which are not in the Q Gospel or Mark) and the L Gospel (the bits in Luke which are not in the Q gospel or Mark), especially the infancy narratives.

Egyptian Deities - H