Horus was a egyptian deity considered the god of the heavens, a popular figure in the religiosity of the Egyptians in antiquity. It was represented as a falcon, and it is believed that the cult of it emerged in the Dynastic period. In Egyptian mythology, he was presented as the son of Osiris and Isis.
His name in Egyptian was Hor, translated as “the distant one,” and he was a deity closely associated with Egyptian royalty. The Egyptians related Horus to war, and Egyptian mythology narrates the battles that this god fought with Set, his great enemy. He managed to regain the throne that Set had usurped from his father.
Read too: What were the ten plagues of Egypt?
Summary about Horus
Horus was an Egyptian deity, considered the god of the heavens.
He was presented in Egyptian myths as the son of Osiris and Isis, two important gods in the Egyptian pantheon.
It was represented as a falcon, and its cult dates back to the Dynastic period.
He had strong associations with Egyptian royalty and warfare.
Set was his great enemy, and with him he fought battles to regain the throne that had belonged to his father.
Who is Horus?
Horus is a god present in the mythology and religiosity of the Egyptians in antiquity. It was known to the Egyptians as O god of heaven. He was an extremely popular deity among the Egyptians, being considered the main deity in the form of a bird, represented by a hawk.
The name Horus is traditionally associated with the deity who is known as son of Isis It is osiris, although another Egyptian deity is known by the name Horus. However, this other deity also called Horus is presented as the brother of Osiris and Isis. It is believed that these are two distinct deities, since Horus, god of the heavens and son of Osiris and Isis, was called by the Egyptians Hor, while the other Horus was known as Harwer or Haroeris.
What did the god Horus mean to the Egyptians?
The name Horus is the Latinized version of the way the Egyptians called this deity. This deity was closely associated with the Sun and Moon and was consideredThe the protector of royalty, associating directly with the pharaoh. The Egyptians also regarded him as the defender of order and the one who united the two Egyptian kingdoms.
“Horus” can be translated as “the distant one”, which can be understood as a reference to the fact that the heavens were his domain. By its association with Egyptian royalty, it was common for pharaohs to claim to be the incarnation of this god. The Egyptians also prayed to Horus in cases of war, and his association with war comes from the battles he waged against his great enemy, Set.
Horus' connection with the Sun made him closely associated with Ra., the Sun god of Egyptian religiosity. This strong association of the two deities gave rise to another deity that emerged through the fusion of these two gods: Rá-Harakhte.
See too: Zeus — the sky god for the ancient Greeks
Myth about the death of Osiris and the origin of Horus
It is believed that the cult of Horus was consolidated in the Dynastic period, although there were deities with falcon earlier in Egyptian religiosity, which suggests the possibility that the cult may be older. The cult of Horus extended to the period of Roman domination in Egypt.
In the case of mythology, the myths claim that Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis, and its birth was the result of a story worthy of an epic. It all started with the reign of Osiris and Isis over Egypt. Osiris was considered a great pharaoh, fair and responsible, for bringing prosperity to Egypt, in addition to having brought fundamental knowledge to humanity.
Therefore, Osiris was very loved by the population, being an extremely popular pharaoh. Osiris' success displeased Set, who harbored a strong envy of everything his brother owned. Once, Nephthys, wife of Set, decided to disguise herself as Isis and lie down with Osiris. This event made Set's envy turned to hatred.
Osiris had been deceived by Nephthys, and the relationship of the two Anubis was born. Set decided he would kill his brother and came up with a plan to do so. Set then killed his brother and placed his body in a sarcophagus, throwing it in rthe Nile.
Meanwhile, Isis, wife of Osiris, missed her husband, starting a search for him that would end in Phoenicia, where Osiris' body was found. Isis brought Osiris' body back to Egypt, where she would prepare, along with Nephthys, a ritual to resurrect him. Set, in turn, was faster and, taking advantage of an oversight by Isis and Nephthys, dismembered the body of Osiris.
Osiris' body was cut into several parts, and these parts were scattered throughout Egyptian territory. Isis he went in search of all parts of your husband's body so that he could revive him. Isis found all parts of Osiris except the reproductive organ. With that, she performed a ritual to resurrect her husband, and during that ritual, she became pregnant with Osiris.
Isis' pregnancy gave rise to Horus. Osiris could not remain in the world of the living because he was missing a part of his body. With that, Osiris took up residence in the afterlife, becoming god of the dead. Horus and Isis, on the other hand, had to spend years in hiding, because Set had seized the opportunity to usurp the throne of Osiris. and proceeded to use his power to pursue them.
Know more: Why did the ancient Egyptians mummify the dead?
Fights between Horus and Set
Horus spent years of his childhood hiding from Set, fearing that his father's usurper would kill him. After becoming an adult, Horus led his and his father's cause The a court of the gods, where he denounced Set. Most of the gods sided with Horus, but Ra considered that Horus was too young to assume the throne and demanded that he and Set put up a fight to decide who would take the throne.
The struggles between Horus and Set lasted over 80 years and they were marked by wounds on both sides, although Egyptian myths emphasize that Horus emerged victorious in these battles. The situation was only resolved when Isis managed to deceive Set, causing him to confess to having usurped the throne of Osiris. This caused Set to be dethroned and banished to the desert, and so Horus took the throne he had been from your father.
eye of horus
When talking about Horus in Egyptian religiosity, the importance of the eye of Horus must also be highlighted, one of the great symbols of this god and of all egyptian religiosity in Aseniority. The eye of Horus was called by the Egyptians wedjat, considered a very important amulet.
The Egyptians believed that the wedjat could protect them from any harm, in addition to guaranteeing the cure of diseases. This symbol was easily found in temples, but it was also used by the Egyptians in their funerals and other religious rituals. The origin of this symbol is related to the myth involving Horus and Set.
O wedjat it was the eye that Horus had lost during one of the battles fought against Set. The Egyptians believed that this eye would be related to the Moon and also believed that the wound in the eye of Horus would have been healed by Thoth's intervention.
Cult of Horus in Egyptian religiosity
The cult of Horus was very popular in Egyptian religiosity and, as mentioned, began in the Dynastic period. There were numerous temples dedicated to this deity in Egypt.,and these temples were managed by priests who dedicated their lives to this god. The priests of Horus were all men.
The main temples to Horus were located in the Nile delta, region where he was born. These temples were places that received the faithful so that they could fulfill their requests and leave their offerings. Inside these temples were sanctuaries that could be attended only by the high priest. Festivals to Horus were often held, and statues of this god were also common.
By Daniel Neves Silva
History teacher