If you missed my article on Tsukuyomi, you can find it here.
I have greatly enjoyed getting to know the Goddesses and Gods of the world better. Even the heroes within the myths as well. I remember being a kid in school and learning about the Egyptian and Greek deities and being absolutely fascinated. That fascination led to learning more about those divine beings and finding even more Gods and Goddesses in those histories. Then I found out the world has had so many of them. My mind was blown. Needless to say, the Egyptian and Greek pantheons hold a special place in my heart even though I connect better with the Celtic and Norse deities.
Before we get into learning about Horus, it should be pointed out that inside the Egyptian pantheon, there are two gods named Horus. There is Horus the Elder, also known as Horus the Great, and Horus the Younger, or Horus the Child. Horus the Elder is a sibling to Isis and Osiris and one of the five original Gods, whereas Horus the Child is Osiris and Isis’s child. Fun fact, I almost named my son Ares Osiris. Both are sky gods but today we will be talking about Horus the Child. Let’s get into it.
Horus is the god of the sky and kingship. He is a man with the head of a falcon. Horus is the lead God for all the avian deities in Egyptian mythology. Obviously, his parents are Isis, Mother Goddess of magic and healing, and Osiris, God of fertility, the dead, and vegetation. I will get into how Horus came to be in a minute. It’s interesting. His brother is Anubis, God of mummification and the afterlife. He is often depicted wearing the double crown of Egypt, signifying that Upper and Lower Egypt were united. You will also often see Horus as a child with his mother Isis and she is wearing Hathor’s headdress.
Horus’s symbol is the Eye of Horus, not to be confused with the Eye of Ra. The Eye of Horus is a protection symbol and is the left eye. The Eye of Ra looks exactly the same but because it is the right eye, it is a mirror image. Ra’s eye is the eye that sees everything and royal authority. I will show you the difference below.
Horus’s story starts with his parents. Osiris and Isis were given dominion over the Earth which pissed off Set, who is Isis and Osiris’s brother. To make matters worse, Set’s wife Nephthys, seduced Osiris and they, well, got down and dirty. This pushed Set over the edge. Like most people, he did not get mad at his wife, he got even angrier with Osiris. Set made a casket for Osiris, tricked him into it then trapped him. The casket ended up in a tree which then ended up in the palace of a King and Queen. When Isis found him, he was already dead. Isis asked Nephthys to guard him while she got the items needed to bring him back. Set got Osiris’s whereabouts from Nephthys and tore him apart and threw the pieces across the Earth. Nephthys and Isis found all his bits and pieces save for his manhood. Through magic, Isis was able to revive Osiris and become pregnant with his child (spoiler alert: It’s Horus). Unfortunately, because Osiris is not whole, he can no longer be among the living and so he became God of The Dead. Different than Anubis though.
Isis stayed and gave birth to Horus, living in hiding. She had scorpion bodyguards that went out with her at night. Isis, Neith, and Selket raised Horus and told him of his Uncle’s deeds. Horus grew and chose to avenge his father and take back the kingdom. Taking back the kingdom would take eighty years and cost him his left eye. In a sweet twist of irony, the trials cost Set his family jewels. Fitting as that was the only part of Osiris that could not be restored. It took eighty years because of the trials that Ra put Horus and Set through. Ultimately, Set was banished to the far deserts and Horus was given his father’s kingdom.
Have you enjoyed getting to know the Gods, Goddesses, and heroes that are portrayed in Smite? Who is your favorite character to play? Who would you like to see next? Let me know in the comments below. Until next week…
