This article is about the ancient Egyptian deity. For the Roman poet, see Horace. For other uses, see Horus (disambiguation).
Horus
Horus was often the ancient Egyptians' national tutelary deity. He was usually depicted as a falcon-headed man wearing the pschent, or a red and white crown, as a symbol of kingship over the entire kingdom of Egypt.
Name in hieroglyphs
Major cult center
Nekhen, Edfu[1]
Symbol
Eye of Horus
Personal information
Parents
Osiris and Isis, Osiris and Nephthys,[2] Hathor[3]
Siblings
Anubis,[a] Bastet[b]
Consort
Hathor, Isis, Serket[4] Nephthys[2]
Offspring
Ihy, Four Sons of Horus (Horus the Elder)
Equivalents
Greek equivalent
Apollo
Nubian equivalent
Mandulis
Horus, also known as Heru, Har, Her, or Hor[5] in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions, most notably as the god of kingship, healing, protection, the sun, and the sky. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history, and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists.[6] These various forms may be different manifestations of the same multi-layered deity in which certain attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple facets of reality.[7] He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a lanner falcon or peregrine falcon, or as a man with a falcon head.[8]
The earliest recorded form of Horus is the tutelary deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt, who is the first known national god, specifically related to the ruling pharaoh who in time came to be regarded as a manifestation of Horus in life and Osiris in death.[6] The most commonly encountered family relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris, and he plays a key role in the Osiris myth as Osiris's heir and the rival to Set, the murderer and brother of Osiris. In another tradition, Hathor is regarded as his mother and sometimes as his wife.[6]
Claudius Aelianus wrote that Egyptians called the god Apollo "Horus" in their own language.[9] However, Plutarch, elaborating further on the same tradition reported by the Greeks; specified that the one "Horus" whom the Egyptians equated with the Greek Apollo was in fact "Horus the Elder", who is distinct from Horus the son of Osiris and Isis (that would make him "the Younger").[10]
^Sims, Lesley (2000). "Gods & goddesses". A Visitor's Guide to Ancient Egypt. Saffron Hill, London: Usborne Publishing. p. 29. ISBN 0-7460-30673.
^ abLévai, Jessica (2007). Aspects of the Goddess Nephthys, Especially During the Graeco-Roman Period in Egypt. UMI. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
^Najovits, Simson R. (2003). Egypt, Trunk of the Tree, Vol. I: A Modern Survey of and Ancient Land. Algora Publishing. ISBN 978-0-87586-234-7. Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2021-11-17.
^Littleson, C. Scott (2005). Gods, Goddesses, and Mythology, Volume 4. Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 076147563X.
^ abc"The Oxford Guide: Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology", Edited by Donald B. Redford, Horus: by Edmund S. Meltzer, pp. 164–168, Berkley, 2003, ISBN 0-425-19096-X.
^"The Oxford Guide: Essential Guide to Egyptian Mythology", Edited by Donald B. Redford, p106 & p165, Berkley, 2003, ISBN 0-425-19096-X.
^Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. p. 202.
^"Aelian, Characteristics of Animals, 10.14". Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2021-02-20.
^"- Moralia, De Iside et Osiride (Isis and Osiris), 12. (356A)". Archived from the original on 2023-04-03. Retrieved 2022-08-16.
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regarded as a manifestation of Horus in life and Osiris in death. The most commonly encountered family relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris...
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over the centuries beginning with the Horus name. This name identified the figure as a representative of the god Horus. The Nebty name was the second part...
offspring of the goddess Isis and a form of Horus known as Horus the Elder. In the Pyramid Texts, the sons of Horus are said to assist the deceased king in...
him, but there are difficulties in connecting that name with contemporary Horus names, so some Egyptologists question the received throne sequence. Djoser...
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the mythological story of "The Contendings of Horus and Seth" which deals with the battles between Horus and Seth to see who will be the successor to the...
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the largest temple dedicated to Horus and Hathor of Dendera. It was the center of several festivals sacred to Horus. Each year, "Hathor travelled south...
the falcon, which symbolizes the deity Horus, atop his (or in some cases, her) serekh. The picture of the Horus name is made of two basic elements: A sitting...
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Horus Sa (also Horus Za, Sa and Za) was a possible early Egyptian pharaoh who may have reigned during the Second or Third Dynasty of Egypt. His existence...
was written in hieroglyphs and the Horus falcon, in reference to the sky god Horus, usually surmounted it. The Horus name is the first of five royal titles...
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