Egyptian God Horus - The Sky God

The eye of Horus, or "wadjet" in ancient Egyptian, is the most widely used protection symbol in ancient Egypt. The moon and sun were his left and right eyes respectively.

Pharaohs were regarded as his reincarnation on Earth until death.

He is usually represented as a man with a falcon head, like the God Ra but wearing a red and white crown similar to the double crown of Egypt that the Pharaohs wore. This represented his eternal kingship over ancient Egypt.

He was seen as one of the most powerful gods. He replaced Osiris here on Earth when Osiris was murdered by the God Seth.

Sometimes he is thought of as the son of the gods Isis and Osiris, and sometimes as their sibling...

Horus is a little bit confusing since he has many different roles and forms, and also different parentage. Sometimes these forms came together as well!

So let's take it step-by-step, dividing and describing each form separately. We'll only concentrate on his main forms: Ra-Herakhty - A manifestation of the Sun God, an assimilation of Ra and Horus. He represents the morning sun.

This is the form he took when battling the God Seth for the throne of Egypt. And then when he emerged victoriously, he became...

Horus the Elder - In this case, Horus is not the son of Isis and Osiris as popularly known, but he is their brother. He is the fifth child of Geb and Nut (God of Air and Goddess of the Sky).

This title came about after defeating his brother and enemy Seth; Seth being the God of evil, darkness and chaos. How dramatic!

Horus the Younger - Now back again, he is the son of Isis and Osiris. After he avenged the murder of his father Osiris, he replaced him on Earth. He therefore got title of "hero" for this act.

As Horus the Child, a younger version of Horus the Younger, he was sometimes called the savior.

Horus's Function and Worship

As ruler and rightful heir of Egypt, Horus was reincarnated on Earth in the Pharaoh, until the Pharaoh's death. He is thus called Protector of Kings - And through these reincarnations, he is constantly renewing the kingdom of Egypt.

He is also thought of as Protector of the Dead. Like Ra, he steered the solar boat, taking the passengers safely from shore to shore.

He also originated the Opening of the Mouth ceremony. See Egyptian Afterlife. He sometimes would take the deceased by hand, as seen in this image from a tomb wall, and present him/her to Osiris for acceptance into eternal afterlife.

Other than on tomb walls and papyri, The Egyptian God Horus had a cult and the Temple of Edfu (one of my favorites!) dedicated to him.

His eye is also used in ancient Egyptian Math for fractions, as well as worn for protection.



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