Horus, the Egyptian Falcon GodAll About Horus: An Egyptian Copy of Christ? Summary of the Osiris-Isis-Horus Myth The Birth and Flight of Horus The Battle Between Horus and Seth The Horus Gods and Forms Zeitgeist on Horus Zeitgeists Bogus Sources Astro-Theology and the Bible The Celtic or Irish Cross Scholarly Sources on Horus and Egyptian religion Further Links Horus, the Egyptian Falcon-god, is lord of the sky and a symbol of divine kingship. His name (Har in Egyptian) probably means the high, the far-off, the distant one and is connected with Hry (one who is above/over). The name appears on Egyptian hieroglyphs in the royal protocol at the very beginning of dynastic civilization (c. 3000 BC). Hierglyphs for the Egyptian Falcon-god Horus or Har, lord of the sky The roles, local cult foundations, and titles or epithets of Horus are sometimes correlated with distinct or preferred forms in iconography: for example, the falcon or falcon-headed man, the winged disk, the child with a sidelock of hair (sometimes in his mothers arms). Egyptologists therefore often speak of distinct Horuses or Horus-gods (see Oxford Encyclopedia, vol 2, Horus p. 119ff; and Hart, Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian gods and goddesses, Horus p. 70ff). In ancient Egypt several gods are known by this name, but the most important was the son of Osiris and Isis, identified as king of Egypt. To repeat what I summarized elsewhere: Osiris is the oldest son of Geb (earth personified) and Nout or Nut (mother of the gods and goddess of the sky), the husband of Isis, whose myth was one of the best known and whose cult was one of the most widespread in pharaonic Egypt. The mythology of Osiris is not preserved completely from an early date, but the essentials are related by Plutarch in On Isis and Osiris (De Iside et Osiride). With the rise of the full-blown Osiris-Isis-Horus myth, the living king was identified as an earthly Horus and the dead king (his father/predecessor) as Osiris. When the king died, he became Osiris, and Horus is his royal heir and successor. The most common geneology of Horus is as the son of Osiris and Isis, making a tenth on the family tree of the Heliopolitan Ennead. But the full picture is more complex: Hathor (herself identified with Isis) also appears as the mother of Horus; Horus the Elder (Haroeris) can appear in the Heliopolitan family tree as a brother of Osiris and son of Geb and Nut, thus an uncle of Horus in his more usual manifestations. Therefore, Horus and Seth are sometimes described as nephew and uncle, sometimes as brothers. In a battle over the throne of Egypt, Horus fought with Seth, and despite losing an eye, was successful in avenging the death of his father Osiris, becoming his legitimate successor. The textual and mythological materials relating to Horus are extremely rich, comprising hymns, mortuary texts, ritual texts, dramatic/theological texts, stories, the Old Coptic and Greek so-called magical papyri, and the most complete ancient exposition of the Osiris narrative, Plutarchs De Iside et Osiride (in Latin translation). In characteristic Egyptian fashion, many of the hymns, mortuary, and ritual texts incorporated substantial narrative material or are taken from narrative, although they are not comprehensive, consecutive myths per se. In addition to Plutarchs account in Greek, the most substantial sources for the Osiris-Isis-Horus cycle include the following (see Oxford Encyclopedia, vol 2, Horus p. 121ff): the Memphite Theology or Shabaqo Stone (generally dated as late as the New Kingdom, c. 1540-1070 BC); the Mystery Play of the Succession; the Pyramid Texts (from the late Old Kingdom, c. 2575-2150 BC); the Coffin Texts, especially Spell 148; the Great Osiris hymn in the Louvre; the Late Egyptian Contendings of Horus and Seth; the Metternich Stela and other cippus texts; the Ptolemaic Myth of Horus at Edfu (also known as the Triumph of Horus); These texts take us with a number of variations and contrasting perspectives, from the conception and birth of Horus, through his childhood hidden in the marshes, his protection by Isis, his conflict with Seth and his followers, and his succession as legitimate king. The Myth [or Triumph] of Horus is preserved in the Temple of Edfu, inscribed on the inner faces of the east and west enclosure walls. Previously no complete translation of the various texts which compose it appeared in any language, though the actual texts and reliefs have since been long published by Naville, Textes relatifs au Mythe dHorus recueillis dans le Temple dEdfou (Geneva, 1870), then in the magnificent edition of Chassinat, Le Temple dEdfou (Cairo, 1928-1934), and later in scholarly and popular works by Dieter Kurth, e.g. The Temple of Edfu: a guide by an ancient Egyptian priest (Cairo, 2004). The myth comprises five texts (see Blackman / Lloyd, Gods, Priests, and Men, p. 255ff, in articles by H.W. Fairman), which are: The Legend of the Winged Disk. The chief actors are Horus of Behdet and Seth. Re and Thoth provide a running commentary and numerous somewhat tedious puns which detract from the flow and interest of the narrative. The language is stilted and formal, and somewhat restricted in vocabulary and forms of expression. The story of a fight between Horus, son of Isis (who is assisted by Horus of Behdet), and Seth. This portion follows immediately after A. A dramatized version of the exploits of Horus which was enacted at his festival (not worded in the form of a connected story). After texts referring to the ten harpoons with which Horus attacked his enemy, come songs by the Royal Children and by the princesses of Upper and Lower Egypt together with the women of Mendes (Pe and Dep), and finally two versions of the dismemberment of Seth and the distribution of the parts of his body among various gods and cities. Seth, son of Nut, assumes the form of a red hippopotamus and goes to Elephantine. Horus, son of Isis, pursues him and overtakes him near Edfu, and after the ensuing fight Seth flees northward and Horus assumes the office of his father. Horus is mentioned as lord of Lower Egypt, living at Memphis, and Seth as lord of Upper Egypt, living in Shas-hetep. Horus and Seth fight, the one in the form of a youth, the other as a red donkey. Horus finally triumphs and cuts off the leg of Seth. This story is written in a pronounced Late-Egyptian idiom. Summary of the Osiris-Isis-Horus Myth In ancient Egyptian tradition, at least as preserved to us, the Osiris-Isis-Horus myth was never recounted as a coherent whole; rather, it served as a source of allusions for a large number of religious texts. It was a sequence of scenes that was unmistakably rooted in the mortuary cult. The only texts that furnish us with a continuous narrative are written in Greek, by Diodorus (1st century BC) and especially by Plutarch (c. 46 - 120 AD). But in their care about a single, meaningful, stimulating story these authors seem to have strayed from the Egyptian form of the myth. The myth has both a prehistory and a starting point. The prehistory is not narrated in the Egyptian texts, yet it is necessary for all that follows (see Jan Assman, Death and Salvation in Ancient Egypt, p. 23). Hierglyphs for Egyptian god Osiris, king of the underworld (dead)
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 10:14:58 +0000
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