Horus

Pantheon: Egyptian
Titles: God of the East, God on the Horizon, Horus the Younger, Protector of His Father, Horus the Child, Horus the Son of Isis, Horus the Lancer, He Who is Above, Lord of the Sky, The One on High
Alternate Names/Spellings: Behdety, Harendotes, Har-en-yotet, Harpopkrates, Harseisis, Hartomes, Her-Pest, Heru, Heru of Hor, Heru-p-khart, Horakhty, Hor- Nubti, Hor-sa-isit, Panebtawy, Sa Aset
Gender: Male

Horus is the god of prohecy, protection, retribution, revenge, success, and the sun. He is the son of Isis and Osiris, magically conceived after Osiris' death. Horus' sacred animals are bears, bulls, crocodiles, falcons, hawks, horses, mongeese, lions, shrews, sphinxes, and wolves. All red stones are sacred to him, especially rubies, and his sacred herb is Horehound. He was originally worshiped in the Nile Delta, and is the synthesis of several earlier hawk deities. Horus is identified with the living Pharoah. His opposite (and nemesis) is Seth. The ancient Egyptians believed that the sun was Horus' right eye, and the moon was his left. The stars are the speckles on his chest.

In art, Horus usually appears as either a falcon with a crown or as a falcon-headed man. He also sometimes carries weapons or with his talons grasping the back of an oryx to signify his trimph against Seth. Horus may also appear as a falcon-headed crocodile.
As Horus the Child he often appears as a child suckling the breast of Isis, or as a nude boy with the lock of youth and wearing the double crown of Egypt. He is usually also sucking his thumb or otherwise touching his lips.

During Pre-Dynastic times, Horus appeared as a solar disc with wings.

Hor-em-akhet / Harmachis: "Horus in the Horizon"
Horakhty: "Horus of the Two Horizons"
Panebtawy: "Lord of the Two Lands"

Back to Deities Page