Horus

• 1. Etymology And Origins

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  The name Horus appears in Egyptian hieroglyphs as with the original pronunciation reconstructed for Old and early Middle Egyptian. Later Middle Egyptian versions show a shift to , while Late Egyptian forms evolved further into . The word carries meanings such as "the distant one" or "one who is above, over." As the language changed over time, Coptic varieties recorded it as or . Ancient Greek adopted the term as Hōros, pronounced differently at that historical moment. Surviving theophoric names like Siese meaning "son of Isis" and Harsiese meaning "Horus, Son of Isis" preserve these linguistic roots. The earliest recorded form of Horus served as the tutelary deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt. This specific city became the first known national god associated with the ruling pharaoh. Over time, the pharaoh came to be regarded as a manifestation of Horus during life and Osiris in death.

• 2. Pharaonic Kingship

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  The Pyramid Texts describe the nature of the pharaoh in different characters as both Horus and Osiris. A painted limestone relief from the Louvre museum shows Ramesses II receiving life directly from Horus. The pharaoh was identified directly with Horus, who represented kingship itself and acted as a protector of the ruler. He was also seen as the son of Ra, who ruled and regulated nature just as the pharaoh ruled and regulated society. New incarnations of Horus succeeded the deceased pharaoh on earth in the form of new rulers. The lineage of Horus may have been a means to explain and justify pharaonic power through cosmic forces. By identifying Horus as the offspring of Atum's children, then identifying him with Atum himself, the Pharaoh gained theological dominion over all the world. Egyptian tradition indicates that Egypt was united at the beginning of its history when an Upper Egyptian kingdom conquered Lower Egypt. The Upper Egyptian rulers called themselves "followers of Horus," making Horus the tutelary deity of the unified polity and its kings. Archaeological evidence suggests that before even Upper Egypt had a single ruler, two major cities were Nekhen and Nagada. The rulers of Nekhen are generally believed to have unified Upper Egypt under their sway.

• 3. Osirian Family Mythology

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  In one tale, Horus was born after his mother Isis retrieved all the dismembered body parts of her murdered husband Osiris. Her husband's penis was thrown into the Nile and eaten by a catfish or Medjed according to some tellings. Older Egyptian accounts state that the penis of Osiris survived this event. Plutarch's account describes how Isis used magic powers to resurrect Osiris and fashion a phallus to conceive her son. After becoming pregnant, Isis fled to the Nile Delta marshlands to hide from her brother Set. Set had jealously killed Osiris and wanted to kill their unborn son. There in the marshes, Isis bore a divine son named Horus. Another form of Horus exists as the brother of Osiris and Isis by Nut and Geb together with Nephthys and Set. This elder Horus is called Heru-ur in contrast to the younger Horus known as Heru-pa-khered. The Greeks later adopted the name Harpocrates for this child form. A gold statuette from the Twenty-Second Dynasty shows Pharaoh Osorkon II flanked by Horus on the left and Isis on the right.

• 4. The Contendings Of Horus And Seth

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  According to The Contendings of Horus and Seth, Set tried to prove his dominance by seducing Horus and then having sexual intercourse with him. Horus placed his hand between his thighs and caught Set's semen before throwing it into the river. Horus or Isis spread his semen on some lettuce which was Set's favorite food. When Set ate the lettuce, they went to the gods to try to settle the argument over the rule of Egypt. The gods first listened to Set's claim but his semen answered from the river, invalidating his claim. Then the gods listened to Horus's claim and his semen answered from inside Set. Set still refused to relent after over eighty years of fighting and challenges. Horus and Set challenged each other to a boat race where they raced in boats made of stone. Horus had an edge because his boat was made of wood painted to resemble stone rather than true stone. Set's heavy stone boat sank while Horus's wooden one did not. Horus won the race and Set stepped down to officially give Horus the throne of Egypt. Upon becoming king, Horus gave offerings to his deceased father Osiris, thus reviving and sustaining him in the afterlife.

• 5. Divergent Forms And Manifestations

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  Heru-ur, also known as Heru-wer, Haroeris or Horus the Elder was the mature representation of the god Horus worshipped at Letopolis in Lower Egypt. His titles include "foremost of the two eyes" referring to the sun and moon as well as the Wadjet-eye. Plutarch mentions three additional parentage traditions that supposedly existed for Heru-ur during the Ptolemaic period. One tradition states he was born on the second of the five intercalary days at the end of the year. Another assigns different fathers to Nut's children with Osiris and Heru-ur attributed to Nut and Ra. Heru-ur was sometimes depicted fully as a falcon or given the title Kemwer meaning "the great black one." He was also shown as a Hieracosphinx with a falcon-headed lion body. Heru-pa-khered represented Horus the child as a youth wearing a lock of hair while sucking his finger. This form usually wore the united crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt representing its earliest light. As early as the third millennium BCE, Ancient Egyptian texts such as the Pyramid Texts referenced the birth, youth, and adulthood of the god Horus. His image as a child deity was not firmly established until the first millennium BCE when theologians began associating child gods with adult gods.

• 6. Worship And Ritual Practice

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  The Festival of Victory took place annually at the Temple of Horus at Edfu during the second month of the Season of the Emergence. The ceremonies included the performance of a sacred drama which commemorated the victory of Horus over Set. The main actor in this drama was the king of Egypt himself who played the role of Horus. His adversary was a hippopotamus playing the role of Set. In the course of the ritual, the king would strike the hippopotamus with a harpoon. The destruction of the hippopotamus by the king commemorated the defeat of Set by Horus and legitimized the king. It is unlikely that the king attended the Festival of Victory every year; in many cases he was probably represented by a priest. A real hippopotamus was likely used only occasionally since it was often represented by a model instead. Macrobius mentions another annual festival dedicated to Horus occurring on the winter solstice in his Chronicon. Epiphanius of Salamis also mentions a winter solstice festival of Horus in his Panarion though no native Egyptian sources attest to this specific celebration.

• 7. Modern Cultural Depictions

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  William R. Cooper's 1877 book and Acharya S's self-published 2008 book suggest there are many similarities between the story of Horus and Jesus though this outlook remains very controversial. Declan Hannigan portrays Horus in the Marvel Cinematic Universe television series Moon Knight released in 2022. A group of underworld warrior deities appear in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian when Kahmunrah summons an army of Horus warriors. These warriors carry spears ready to attack while joining Kahmunrah's fight to take over the world. Horus serves as a Warrior class God in the multiplayer online battle arena game Smite with the title "The Rightful Heir." In Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles trilogy, main character Carter hosts the spirit of Horus when he is released in the British Museum. Horus speaks to Carter throughout the trilogy offering him advice and wisdom. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau portrayed Horus in the fantasy action film Gods of Egypt where he helps a mortal named Bek stop his uncle Set. Enki Bilal wrote and illustrated a 1980 science fiction graphic novel called La Foire aux immortels featuring Horus. Total War: Pharaoh released in 2023 allows players to pray to Horus increasing movement speed and immunity to attrition for their armies.