HORUS (Her)- The falcon-headed god, the kings of Egypt associated themselves with
Horus. Horus was among the most important gods of Egypt. He is now believed
to be a mixture of the original deities called "Horus the Child"
and "Horus the Elder." The worship of the two gods became confused
early in egyptian history and the two gods merged.
As Horus the Child, Horus is the son of Isis and Osiris. He is represented in this form as a young boy with a sidelock of hair, sucking on his finger. The Golden Dawn attributed Silence to him, apparently because the finger sucking is indicative of a "shh" gesture. Other images showed the child at his mother's breast, suckling, which may have inspired the countless images of the Madonna and Christ-Child.
As Horus the Elder, he was the patron deity of Upper (Southern) Egypt. Early traditions view him as the twin brother of Seth (the patron of Lower Egypt), but he became the conquerer of Seth when Upper Egypt conquered Lower Egypt and formed the united kingdom of Egypt. He was depicted as a falcon-headed man, sometimes wearing the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt.
Horus (the elder) had numerous wives and children, and his 'four sons' were grouped together and generally said to be born of Isis. The four were known as: Duamutef, Imsety, Hapi and Qebehsenuef. They were born from a lotus flower and were solar gods associated with the creation. They were retrieved from the waters of Nun by Sobek on the orders of Ra. It was believed that Anubis gave them the funerary duties of mummification, the Opening of the Mouth, the burial of Osiris and all men. Horus later made them protectors of the four cardinal points. In the Hall of Ma'at they sat on a lotus flower in front of Osiris. Most commonly, however, they were remembered as the protectors of the internal organs of the deceased. Each son protected an organ, and each son was protected by a goddess.
the UDJAT EYE (the Eye of Horus)
This eye is a symbol of the god Horus as both the son of Osiris and
Isis and as the sun-god. Egyptian myths state that Horus lost one of his
eyes in his war with Seth to avenge the death of his father. Seth tore
the eye into pieces, but Thoth (the god of wisdom and magic) put it back
together and gave it back to Horus. Horus, in turn, gave the eye to his
murdered father Osiris, thereby bringing him back to life.
The reverence shown to parents is one of the virtues symbolized by the udjat, and the amulet could be used as a substitute for any of the offerings an eldest son was supposed to provide daily at his father's tomb. It was believed to ward of sickness and capable of bringing the dead to life. The eye was also placed in the wrappings of the mummies over the incision where the embalmers removed the internal organs. Damaging the body in any way was considered bad luck for the deceased, and the Egyptians hoped to protect it by placing the amulet over the cut.
Usually, it is the right eye shown as the udjat, although the left is not uncommon. This is probably because of another myth that say that the sun and the moon were the right (sun) and left (moon) eyes of the sky god and the sun is seen as more powerful.
