No. 253Egyptian Traditions

Horus

𓅃 Ḥr

Falcon-headed god of the Egyptian sky, rightful kingship and the healing Eye

Horus (Heru, Har; Greek Hōros) is the falcon of the Egyptian sky, one of the oldest gods of the Nile, whose eyes were the sun and the moon. In the best-known myth he is the son of Isis and Osiris, who claims his murdered father's throne from Seth. He stands for rightful rule and the victory of order over disorder.

Devotees turned to him for protection and healing through the wedjat, the Eye of Horus, restored by Thoth as a sign of wholeness. From about 3100 BCE the king bore a Horus name. His great cult centre was Edfu (Behdet), where the Ptolemaic temple was built between 237 and 57 BCE. Modern Kemetic practitioners honour him today.

Horus
Temple of Horus at Edfu, Edfu, AG, EGY (48022435136), 2019-05-15 10:30. Wikimedia Commons (CC0), Warren LeMay from Cullowhee, NC, United States

How to recognise Horus

  1. Falcon headLook for a falcon's hooked beak, round lidded eye and the dark 'tear' mark below it, which is what identifies him rather than a human, eagle or ibis head.
  2. Man's bodyHe is usually a man in a full figure, standing, striding or seated on a throne, though he can also appear as a pure falcon.
  3. Double CrownThe white crown of Upper Egypt rises from the red crown of Lower Egypt, with a uraeus (royal cobra) at the front, showing the union of the Two Lands and his role as rightful king.
  4. Kilt and collarA short pleated shendyt kilt with a belt, a divine or royal wig and a broad beaded collar, with the torso otherwise bare, as in ancient statues of the falcon-headed god.
  5. Ankh and sceptreHe sometimes holds the ankh and a sceptre, signs of life and power.
  6. Wedjat eyeThe wedjat ('the one that is sound') is a human eye with falcon markings, a horizontal line from the outer corner, a vertical mark below the pupil and a curling diagonal line, and it stands for the healed eye.
  7. Winged sun diskAs Horus of Behdet he appears as a winged sun disk, and in some images the falcon-headed god wears a solar disk, showing his union with Re (Re-Horakhty).

Names and titles

  • Lord of the SkyHorus as lord of the sky and the soaring falcon whose eyes are sun and moon
  • Horus of the HorizonHarakhte, 'Horus of the Horizon', his solar form linked with Re
  • Heir to the Throne of OsirisIn the Contendings the Ennead declares Horus the rightful king after his father's death
  • The Eye Made WholeHis injured eye was restored by Thoth and became the wedjat, 'the one that is sound'
  • Falcon of the Two LandsHis Double Crown stands for the union of Upper and Lower Egypt

Feast days

  • Birth of Horus the Child of Isis25 December, every year

    A day that a modern reconstructed Kemetic calendar assigns to the birth of Horus, child of Isis. Its pairing with a December date comes from modern conversion. It is not a documented ancient Christmas.

    How it's celebrated. I found no detailed account of how this particular day is kept. Ancient sources mark Horus's birth elsewhere, among the five days added to the end of the year, and Plutarch links the child Harpocrates to the winter solstice. The Kemetic Reform calendar keeps the Birth of Horus at the year's end, so practice varies between communities.

    Sources: Senenmut: Ancient Egyptian Festival Calendar of Horus · UCL Digital Egypt: Festivals in the ancient Egyptian calendar · Kemetic Reform Calendar, Year 21

  • Feast of Ptah and Horus6 January, every year

    A day listed in a modern reconstructed Kemetic calendar as the feast of Ptah and Horus, in some versions Horus the Elder. It is a separate day from the birth of Horus in the same calendar.

    How it's celebrated. Little is recorded about how this feast is kept. Modern calendars list it as a short entry, and one adds the line that anything seen today will be good. Devotees who follow these calendars mark it in their own way, and I found no described rites or processions.

    Sources: Shadows of Egypt: Ancient Egyptian Festival Calendar · Teenwitch: January 6 holy day calendar · Senenmut: Ancient Egyptian Festival Calendar of Horus

Horus in the shop

Designs of Horus are being drawn: cute, vintage and a painted portrait.

Sources

  1. Britannica: Horus
  2. Egyptian Museum: Horus
  3. Harvard Art Museums: object 303839
  4. Metropolitan Museum of Art: object 547767
  5. Metropolitan Museum of Art: object 550997
  6. Freer Gallery of Art (Smithsonian): object F1907.388
  7. Metropolitan Museum of Art: object 546051
  8. Metropolitan Museum of Art: object 570708
  9. Royal Ontario Museum: Statuette of Striding Falcon-headed Horus
  10. Wikipedia: Horus
  11. Wikipedia: Harpocrates
  12. Wikipedia: Temple of Edfu
  13. University of Memphis: Edfu colour tour
  14. Kemetic Independent: Victory
  15. Kemetic Independent: Reunion feast
  16. Plutarch, Moralia (World Mythology: Isis, Osiris and Horus)
  17. Wikipedia: The Contendings of Horus and Seth
  18. The Collector: The Contendings of Horus and Seth
  19. Reconstructing Ancient Egypt: Calendar
  20. Wikipedia: Serekh
  21. Wikipedia: Horus name
  22. Archaeology magazine: Horus statue in Egypt
  23. British Museum: object X_4146
  24. Metropolitan Museum of Art: object 544887
  25. Metropolitan Museum of Art: object 553060
  26. Art Institute of Chicago: Statuette of a Lion-Headed God, Probably Horus of Buto
  27. Panhistoria: Ancient Egyptian Virtual Temple festival calendar
  28. New World Encyclopedia: Horus
  29. Kemet Experience: Niter Horus
  30. Metropolitan Museum of Art: object 329923
  31. History Collection: Forms of Horus

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