Horus

Introduction
Horus is the common name given to the many falcon gods worshipped
in various cults throughout Egypt. His worship was originally brought in
from outside tribes who settled in Egypt. He was quickly absorbed into
the state religion, as a son of Ra, but soon after became known as the
son of Osiris. For this reason, versions of Horus can be categorized into
two groups, solar and Osirian.

Depictions
Horus is most commonly depicted as a falcon headed man, but has
many other forms as well. Some of his other forms include a falcon, a
bull, a falcon headed lion, and a sphinx. Interestingly, when depicted
as a falcon, he is most commonly drawn on a pharaoh’s shoulder,
wings spread and whispering wise advise into the pharaoh’s ear. His
most common symbol is the “Wedjat”, or the “Eye of Horus”. The
Wedjat is said to provide protection and royal power. Some other
symbols of his include weaponry, iron, a winged disk, and the double
crown.

Roles
What ties Horus together other than his appearance is that in all of his
forms he was seen as the prince of the gods, and was regarded as the
patron to the current ruler. In fact, in later times the pharaoh was
viewed as the earthly incarnation of Horus, and some pharaohs even
took his name. Other common roles he played were god of the sky, of
war, of hunting, of law, of young men, and in his solar forms, god of the
sun as well. He is also hailed as the defeater of Set and the unifier of
Upper and Lower Egypt. Curiously, he is also the father of the four gods
who are charged with protecting the organs after life, and whose heads
can be seen on canopic jars.

Mythology
Horus is most commonly known as the son of Isis and Osiris, and is
heavily represented in the similarly entitled myth, “Isis and Osiris”. In
the myth, Seth cuts Osiris, his brother, into pieces and scatters them
across Egypt. Isis then collects all the pieces—save for his penis—and
mummifies him. She then conceives, and fearing that Set will harm her
baby, goes into hiding on the island Chemmis. Horus gows up
disguised as a mortal, but when he finally learns of his identity, he
does battle with the evil Set and vanquishes him from Egypt, thus
avenging his father’s death. What is most peculiar is that at the time of
Horus’s conception, not only was his father dead, but he had no penis.
This magical conception, along with his status as the vanquisher of evil
cause many historians to liken him to Jesus Christ.

Bibliography
McDevitt, A. (2010, August 28). Horus. Retrieved December 2010, from
Ancient Egypt: The Mythology:
http://www.egyptianmyths.net/horus.htm

McDevitt is a college student who studies Egyptian history. This

website was first posted as part of an assignment, on which she got an
A+. Initially, the site was based on middle school handouts, but as
McDevitt progressed through college, she updated and added to the
site based on her notes. The site provides much detail as to Horus’s
many forms, depictions, and symbols, and offers some insight into his
mythology.

Meltzer, E. (2003). Horus. In D. Redford, The Oxford Guide: Essential

Guide to Egyptian Mythology. Berkeley.

Meltzer is a renowned Egyptologist who now works for Glyphdoctors,

an online school of Egyptology. In the past, he studied and worked
under legendary Donald Redford, and worked at the Akhenaten Temple
Project. This passage provides long quotations of direct translations
from the original myth of Isis and Osiris. It also includes some
commentary and analysis of Horus’s mythology, and likens him to
Jesus Christ.
Tour Egypt. (2010). The Gods of Ancient Egypt. Retrieved December
2010, from Horus: http://www.touregypt.net/godsofegypt/horus.htm

This website is very obviously trying to sell tours of Egypt, and even
though the author of this page is unnamed, the abundance of scholarly
articles on the website as well as the pages corroboration with our
other sources indicate that the information is valid. The page is not
very detailed, but does offer information as to Horus’s historical
origins, as well as his worship.