Horus - The God of Kingship

"Horus", is a prominent deity in the Egyptian pantheon. Even though you are not familiar with the Egyptian culture and religious beliefs, it is likely that you might have some knowledge about this god, or at least have heard his name. Horus represents many aspects, most notably, as the god of kingship and the sky. He was most often depicted as a full falcon, or as a man with a falcon head.

There are stories that identify Horus-as a member of the Great Ennead. In brief, the Great Ennead is identified as a group of powerful gods who create and govern the world. Often, the great ennead is believed to be formed by the union of nine gods. But some texts, identify Horus-as the 10th member of the great ennead.

Understandably, the ancient Egyptians viewed the falcon as a supreme animal, since falcons usually fly at a higher altitude than a normal bird, and are excellent predators with immense speed. These aspects of the bird have played a crucial role in personifying the sky god as a falcon. The name of the god, which is "Horus", in ancient Egyptian language is believed to have the meaning "falcon". Other interpretations are, "the distant one", or "one who is above and over".

As for the archaeological findings, it could be seen that Horus has been considered a local god in many areas in Egypt. The earliest records of Horus, mention the god-as the national god of Nekhen in Upper Egypt. The pharaoh was considered the manifestation of the god, and so it was believed that the god himself rules the nation to prosper. It is because of this reason that some sculptures of pharaohs have a falcon clinging onto the pharaoh’s head with wings wrapped around his head.

A pharaoh dies or falls out of power, simply because the god flies away from the pharaoh’s body, and thereby ceasing his powers. He will then choose a successor for the throne and would wrap his wings around his head.

Horus is often considered the son of the two most powerful gods Osiris and Isis. He is also Osiris's heir, and plays a crucial role in Osiris's myth. As for the myth, after Osiris got crowned as the king of gods, his brother Seth desired the throne. So he murdered Osiris and became the king of gods. To protect her son from Seth, Isis hid him in a dense forest in the lower part of Egypt. This part of lower Egypt, in which Horus was born and raised by his mother Isis, is known as The Nest of Horus.

The ancient text portrays Horus as a vulnerable child and his mother Isis-as a devoted mother. There were many times that Horus was hunted by the agents of Seth, disguised as snakes. Once Horus got bitten by one of these deadly snakes, he was cured by his mother’s magical powers. Some pyramid texts also mention Isis seeking the assistance of other powerful gods such as Ra and Geb, to save her child from Seth. Horus had very bright eyes which have similar brightness to the sun. As he grew older, the brightness increased.

After Horus came out of age, he challenged his uncle Seth for the throne. Authors not only describe the fight as violent but also as a contest between the two gods which was judged by the Great Ennead. Some texts claim that the judge in this trial was Geb, who is the father of Osiris-and Seth, and also the god who held the throne before Osiris.

Other texts claim that it was Ra, who is the creator god, and the primary ruler of gods. The battle spanned eight years and was composed of many contests set by the ennead. But eventually the gods sided with Horus and proclaimed him as the king of gods. After this victory, Horus was known-as "Horus the Great" or in some translations as "Horus the Elder".

The most significant event of the battle is that Seth managed to tear out Horus’s left eye. Isis, with the help of god Thoth, healed and replaced the eye, but it reduced its luminance. Thereafter, the left eye became the moon. The healing period of the eye represents the different phases of the moon.

It is believed during the daytime the god flies across the sky with his right eye open, and illuminates the world with his bright eye, which we see as the sun. During the night, the god flies across the sky with his left eye open, which we see as the moon. So basically, Egyptians identified the left eye of Horus as the moon, and the right eye of the god as the sun.

The left eye which was removed from Horus is recognized as "The Eye of Horus", which symbolizes well-being, healing, and protection. This is because the eye had the power of Horus combined with the healing powers of Isis and the wisdom of Thoth. During the New Kingdom, the Eye of Horus was known as the "wedjat" or "udjat", which has the meaning "whole", "completed", or "uninjured" eye.

Some scholars believe that wedjat refers to Horus’s right eye, the eye which Seth did not harm. Horus offered the wedjat to his father Osiris, so that he could regain his life.

It could be seen, that Horus was identified differently, in different regions of Egypt. He is sometimes identified by the name Heru-ur or Herwer, which has the meaning "Horus the Elder". In these identifications, the believers recognize Horus as the son of Geb-and Nut, thereby placing him as one of the oldest gods in the Egyptian pantheon. When Horus is recognized by his child aspects he is identified as Harpocrates, which has the meaning Horus the Younger or Horus the child. Harpocrates is represented in the form of a youth wearing a lock of hair on the right of his head, while sucking his finger.

A lock of hair in ancient Egypt symbolizes youth. Harpocrates is believed to represent the rising sun which Egyptians identified as the newborn sun, rising each day at dawn. Even as a child, Harpocrates was still recognized to be associated with kingship. This is concluded by the fact that in most depictions of the god, he wears the united crowns of Egypt, the crown of Upper Egypt, and the crown of Lower Egypt. "Horemakhet", which has the meaning Horus in the Horizon is another version of Horus which is related with the dawn and the early morning sun.

Horemakhet is depicted as a Hieracosphinx, which is a hybrid with a head of a hawk and the body of a lion. It was believed that he was the inspiration for the Great Sphinx of Giza.

One of the primary gods that Horus is often confused with is the god Ra, who is the creator god, who is also depicted as a god with a falcon head. The main difference between the two gods, is that Ra is a creator god with his domain being all of the sky, earth, and underworld.

But Horus is considered only as a sky god. Horus is often identified as a descendant of Ra. Some even argue that since Ra-is one of the oldest gods in the Egyptian god pantheon, he was often merged with other gods to emphasize the power of the god. Others argue that Ra had many animal avatars. Falcon is one of the many but mostly known avatar of the sun god.

So it is believed that Horus is Ra himself but in his falcon form. In these beliefs, Ra did not step done from his throne, and continued to rule as the king of gods. It is in these lines of belief that Ra is seen as the equivalent of Zeus. Another variation believes that Ra and Horus are separate deities, but when Ra takes the falcon form, Ra and Horus get merged, and so get identified as "Ra-Horakhty" which means "Ra who is Horus of the Two Horizons".

The most well-known celebration of Horus is the Festival of Victory. As for historical records, the festival of victory was celebrated at the Temple of Horus at Edfu. One of the main events in the festival is the sacred drama which celebrates the victory of Horus over Seth. The pharaoh himself will take part in the drama and would play the role of Horus. A hippopotamus was placed to play the role of Seth. The pharaoh would strike the hippopotamus with a harpoon to symbolize the defeat of Seth and the rise of Horus as the new king of gods.

Many scholars argue that the role of Horus is done by the high priest and not the pharaoh and the hippopotamus is probably a model. Yet many of the rituals related to Horus are not known since ancient Egyptians believed that the rituals are too sacred that they should be done in secret. Given the association with kingship, Horus is one of the most important deities in the Egyptian pantheon.

Because Seth is also associated with intelligence and skill, some pharaohs have been inclined to view Seth as their patron deity. But the majority of the pharaohs have worshiped Horus as the patron god since he is associated with the birthright. When healing his eye, Horus absorbed some healing powers of his mother Isis, and wisdom from god Thoth which makes him an ideal leader.