| “ | As long as I stand guard over the graves of the pharaohs of old, the False Pharaoh can never again set foot in Egypt. This place is our home, not its. | „ |
| ~ Horus. |
Horus is a falcon-headed sun god in Egyptian mythology and the son of Osiris. He would soon become the great prince of Egypt.
Overview[]
The Pharaoh of Egypt was also thought to be the human personification of Horus or his son, and was responsible for maintaining Ma'at, or balance, in Egypt. When the pharaoh died, he became the embodiment of Osiris. The "eye of Horus" symbol in Egyptian art represents healing.
History[]
Birth of a Prince[]
As Horus the Younger he was the son of the gods Osiris and Isis, as Horus the elder, Osiris and Isis were his siblings, along with Geb and Nut being his parents. Horus was told by his mother, Isis, to protect the people of Egypt from Set, the god of the desert, who had killed Horus' father, Osiris. Horus had many battles with Set, not only to avenge his father, but to choose the rightful ruler of Egypt. In these battles, Horus came to be associated with Lower Egypt, and became its patron.
Conflicts with Set[]
Set is depicted as trying to prove his dominance by seducing Horus and then having sexual intercourse with him. However, Horus places his hand between his thighs and catches Set's semen, then subsequently throws it in the river so that he may not be said to have been inseminated by Set. Horus (or Isis herself in some versions) then deliberately spreads his own semen on some lettuce, which was Set's favorite food. After Set had eaten the lettuce, they went to the gods to try to settle the argument over the rule of Egypt. The gods first listened to Set's claim of dominance over Horus, and call his semen forth, but it answered from the river, invalidating his claim. Then, the gods listened to Horus' claim of having dominated Set, and call his semen forth, and it answered from inside Set.
However, Set still refused to relent, and the other gods were getting tired from over eighty years of fighting and challenges. Horus and Set challenged each other to a boat race, where they each raced in a boat made of stone. Horus and Set agreed, and the race started. But Horus had an edge: his boat was made of wood painted to resemble stone, rather than true stone. Set's boat, being made of heavy stone, sank, but Horus' did not. Horus then won the race, and Set stepped down and officially gave Horus the throne of Egypt. After the New Kingdom, Set was still considered lord of the desert and its oases.
Fresh Beginnings[]
Horus, now the Egyptian King of the Gods, would marry Hathor, the goddess of love, beauty, music, and joy. And from their union she bore Ihy, the god of childhood and musical joy. The marriage of the two was a happy one, with the two monarchs and their son being worshipped as an Egyptian family triad at the small town of Dendera.
Horus is also claimed to be the father of the four cardinal gods of the canopic jars, Imset, Duamutef, Hapy, and Qebehsenuef. The mother(s) of these four are unknown, but it is speculated that Serket, the goddess of poisonous animals, and/or Nephthys, goddess of death and dusk, are possible candidates. In addition, Horus received a seat among the Council of Godheads, particularly being part of the chieftain gods or the prime heads of the council itself, sitting alongside the likes of Zeus, Odin, and Indra. He took this position after Ra was growing senile in his old age and was no longer fit to be part of the council.
Exodus and the Ten Plagues[]
What role Horus and the rest of the Egyptian pantheon had in the enslavement and persecution of the early Hebrews remains unknown. Some say the Egyptian gods tried to prevent the rise of Israel and the future birth of the Messiah, who might replace them as the sole deity of Egypt and the rest of the world. Others believe that several figures where behind the atrocities against the Hebrews, the miracles Jannes and Jambres as well as the hardening of pharaoh's heart, such as Abezethibou, Apophis or Nyarlathotep.
Despite this, YHWH, the Supreme God and patron of the Hebrews, saw the Egyptian gods as responsible for standing in the way of His elect, the prophet Moses, as well as His divine plan. Thus, YHWH punished them accordingly with the Ten Plagues, targeting the powers and undermining the authorities of the pantheon. One can argue that the final plague, the death of the first borns, was targeted at both the Pharaoh and Horus, who were seen as the firstborns given the right to the throne, with the Pharaoh losing his son. The gods of Egypt, despite their strength, were powerless and received the judgments of YHWH, Horus included.
Losing Egypt[]
Despite the plagues, Horus would be continued to be worshipped by the Egyptians, and later on also by the Greeks and Romans, until the rise of Christianity in the 4th and 5th centuries. During which many of the Greek, Roman and Egyptian gods started to lose their worshippers in favour of monotheism. Horus was among these deities, according to some rumours there was still the occasional worship of a divine falcon during the early Islamic period in Egypt. Eventually the monotheistic religions replaced the cult of the old gods fully.
Horus has continued to be active in the modern world, having gotten directly in trouble with the Federal Bureau of Control, a clandestine secret organization tasked with the containment, study, and control of supernatural phenomena. Horus broke into a FBC-facility to rescue the goddess Heqet, who was held captive and designated as OoP-5224 by the organisation, at the request of her consort Khnum.