Horus, an Egyptian God

Horus was closely identified with the king of Egypt from the beginning of the Dynastic period in 3100 B.C. He was the god of both the sun and sky. The majority of what he was known for and was related to was his falcon- headed piece that rested on his head. He was best known for his eyes or therefore lack of eyes. Osiris, Iris, and Horus made up the Trinity of the pantheon. Osiris was Horus's father and he was the God of agriculture and vegetation. He was depicted with a green face to represent fertility. It was said that after the murder of his mother Iris the goddess of life, death and fertility, was murdered that Horus and Horus's Uncle but often referred to as his brother Set fought over the reign of the throne in Egypt. Which led in the loss of Horus's left eye, although it is also said in a different myth that Set gouged both of Horus's eyes out. Later, it became know that Horus looked to the sun as one of his eyes while looking at the moon for his other eye. This resulted in him being known as the god of both the sky and sun. It has always been taken from some of Horus's writing, that it was Horus himself he killed his mother by cutting her head off. The loss of Horus's eye was later found as a sign of protection in Egypt, which developed its own symbol called the Eye of Horus. His eyes became a source of healing which was used as an amulet symbolizing strength and perfection. The basic look of Horus was identified as a man's body with a falcon head. He became depicted as a falcon because of his eye with the sun and his overlooking eye from the sky, which eventually led to his name Heru which means "the distant one."

Horus was great for many reasons but possibly one of the biggest reasons was his way of uniting Egypt and bestowing divinity upon the Pharaoh.

Horus had many names throughout his life. Many of them were known well while others are more of a shock to people. He was also know as a religion god, his cult survived so long that overtime it evolved and overtime Horus picked up many names from it. The best known name for Horus his Greek name Horus which in Egyptian language was spelt differently Heru/ Har. Heru/ Har are the key elements to the other names that Horus later took on. Because Horus exists in some myths as a child and others as an adult, Horus took on both names of "Horus the Younger" and "Horus the Elder." Another name popular for Horus was Nekheny which means falcon. It was said that Nekheny might have been another falcon- God worshipped in the city Nekhen, the city of the hawk. While Horus was in the form of Nekheny, he was also given the name Kemuer, which means the great black one. Horus was worshipped in Upper Egypt which later because his Patron.

Horus's name as Horus means "He who is above."

Due from the art that was found of Horus it was clear that Horus was indeed intended to be a child. He was pictured naked with a particular hairstyle called the "Side-lock of youth." Horus had always survived the most dangerous hazards while growing up. He became looked upon for inspiration for a ritual that would help many youths overcome illnesses or even scorpion and snake bites. Horus would also be found as a child sitting in his mother's lap on top of a lotus. As a youth, Horus was referred to as Neferhor meaning, "The Good Horus."

Later in life in the 3000 B.C., when Horus and Set were fighting for ruler over Egypt it was said that the reason for the moon being weaker than the sun was recorded. While brutally fighting for leader of Egypt, Horus ripped one of Set's testicles off. While Set gouged out Horus's left eye. Since the left eye was looked at as the moon, the moon grew weaker in light and could not compare to the brightness of the sun. Though when there was a full moon, Horus was blinded in both his eyes and able to see nothing. Most of the time he would attack his friends thinking that they were enemies. Though it was a brutal battle, neither Horus or Set became victorious over Egypt.

Because of this, it was up to the Gods to decide who would be the ruler of Egypt. So Both Horus and Set had to prove their dominance over the other by placing their semen in their others body. For Set, this was easy or so he thought. Set was a homosexual therefore; he would first seduce Horus and then have intercourse with him. However, before Set could inseminate Horus. Horus grabbed Set's semen and through it into the river. Later, Horus would place his own semen on a piece of lettuce. Set loved lettuce, Egyptians thought lettuce as phallic. Set would eat the lettuce unknowing of the semen placed on it. Horus and Set would go before the Gods. Set would tell of his story of dominating Horus, but the Gods would hear the semen calling from the river. Horus would be allowed to tell his story of dominance over Set. Horus's semen would be found inside of Set and Horus would be named ruler of Egypt.

Perhaps one of the most famous scenes of Horus stems from the representation of the falcon perched upon a throne behind the head of King Khafre, who was the builder of the second pyramid at Giza.

There were temples in many cities of Egypt. However, one of the main shrines was Edfu. The temple of Horus is one of the best preserves in Egypt and is second to Karmak in size.