Seated Horus Statue
The name Horus is Greek. In Ancient Egypt he was known as "Heru"
(sometimes Hor or Har), which is translated as "the distant one" or "the
one on high"(from the preposition "hr" meaning "upon" or "above"). He
was considered to be a celestial falcon, and so his name could be a
specific reference to the flight of the falcon, but could also be seen
as a more general solar reference. It is thought that the worship of
Horus was brought into Egypt during the predynastic period.
Horus, Heru, Hor
He seems to have begun as a god of war and a sky god who was married to
Hathor, but soon became considered as the opponent of Set, the son of
Ra, and later the son of Osiris. However, the situation is confused by
the fact that there were many Hawk gods in ancient Egypt and a number of
them shared the name Horus (or more specifically Har, Heru or Hor).
Furthermore, the gods Ra, Montu and Sokar could all take the form of a
falcon. Each "Horus" had his own cult center and mythology, but over
time they merged and were absorbed by the most popular Horus, Horus
Behedet (Horus of Edfu).
He was the protector and patron of the pharaoh. As Horus was associated
with Upper Egypt (as Heru-ur in Nekhen) and Lower Egypt (as Horus
Behedet or Horus of Edfu) he was the perfect choice for a unified
country and it seems that he was considered to be the royal god even
before unification took place. The Pharaoh was often considered to be
the embodiment of Horus while alive (and Osiris once he was deceased).
The Turin Canon, describes the Predynastic rulers of Egypt as "the
Followers of Horus", and the majority of Pharaohs had an image of Horus
at the top of their serekh (a stylised palace facade in which one of the
king´s names was written).
This statue is a beautiful depiction of Horus. Crafted of cold cast resin and hand painted. L: 3.5" x W: 2.5" x H: 7"