Egyptian God Of The Sun Horus

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The ancient Egyptian god of the sun, son of Osiris and Isis, represented as having the head of a hawk.

Sky god, god of light and goodness. The son of OSIRIS and ISIS, he avenged his father's murder by defeating Set, the god of evil and darkness.

Sun god. Falcon-god 'lord of the sky' and symbol of divine kingship.


When Osiris was treacherously done to death by Set his body was finally discovered by Isis. Assuming the form of a hawk, she settled on his belly where her warmth revived Osiris' sexual powers long enough to make her pregnant. The child that was born was Horus, the hawk-headed solar god of Memphis. Horus is often indistinguishable from the great Ra and is god of the sky as well as the sun; hawk being synonymous with sky. He was widely and faithfully worshipped; his images are universal and he has many names and aspects. Horus was secretly brought up in the Delta swamps about Buto until he was old enough to challenge Set, his uncle and father's murderer. The battles with Set were long, fierce and inconclusive. They were verbal as well as physical. At last judgement was given in a formal trial in Horus' favour. Some of the major aspects of Horus are given below:


Haroeris (Har Wer) 'Horus the elder' or 'Horus the great'. This aspect has several different names attached to it. Horkhenti Irti ('Horus who rules the two eyes') was his name in Letopolis. The two eyes where of course the sun and the moon. In Pharboethos he was called Hor Merti ('Two-eyed Horus'). Horus in this aspect is described as being in constant battle with Set. Even while struggling with his enemy Horus is called Hor Nubti ('Horus conqueror of Set').

Hor Behdetite This was the title of Horus at Edfu (Behtet); he is shown as a winged solar disc, a design placed over the porches of temples. This design also hovers over battlesfields, more like a hawk about to stoop than a vulture, and the prey is always the god Set.

Harakhty (Herakhty, Heraktes) 'Horus of the horizon'. At Heliopolis, centre of the sun cult, he was linked with Ra in the form Ra-Harakhty, whose symbol was the rising and setting sun.

Heru-Em-Akhet (Harmachis, Harmakis) 'Horus who is on the horizon'. This is the name of the great sphinx of King Kephren at Giza, symbol of resurrection. Thothmes IV justified his claim to the kingship by saying that the god Horus had promised him the throne in return for clearing away the sand which had piled up about the sphinx. Many and strange are the tall stories told to justify the seizing of supreme power, and you would have to go a long way to find a better, more imaginative one than this. It has the additional strength of being impossible to verify or disprove. Thothmes deserved the throne for his wit if nothing else.

Hor-Sa-Iset (Harsiesis) 'Horus, son of Isis'. This minor aspect of the god was to become the supreme Horus, avenger of Osiris. The cult began as one of falcon-worship near Buto.

Heru-Pa-Khret (Harpakhrad, Harpocrates) 'Horus the child'. Depicted as a baby at the breast, or as a naked and dimpled godling on his mother's knee, or as an infant boy with big, innocent eyes, engaged in sucking his finger. When the Greeks, who were sometimes too clever by half, saw this particular image they jumped to the unfounded conclusion that the infant was making a gesture of silence. Impressed by such a cleverness in one so young, they forthwith claimed him as the god of secrecy and discretion, if only stones could speak.

Har-End-Yotef (Harendotes) 'Horus father-protector'. This Horus grew up to be a skillful warrior called Hartomes ('Horus the spearman') and engaged in long and arduous war with the evil Set; until the gods judged he should regain his inheritance, after which he was known as:

Har-Pa-Neb-Taui 'Horus of two lands' and Heru-sam-taui (Harsomtus) 'Horus, uniter of the two lands'. In this aspect he is a youthful god who wears the double crown (pshkhent) if the two lands of Egypt, thus representing the claim of Horus to rule over his father's kingdom. The Pharaohs used the title 'living Horus' to strengthen their own personal claim ro both kingship and divinity.

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