The most important Egyptian hawk god, whose name (Egyptian Ḥrw, ‘the remote’) and form indicate his function as sky god. Any trace of his origins is lost in the mists of prehistory. The best-known H. god of historical times is H. Behedeti (Bḥdtj) from Edfu in Upper Egypt, however, there is evidence of a Lower Egyptian origin. H. soon assimilated other hawk gods and was closely linked with the sun god. H. is also regarded as the morning sun; his name is an appellative in the sense of ‘ruler/highest/sublime’ (e.g. in Haracht…
Horus(588 words)
Cite this page
Felber, Heinz (Leipzig), “Horus”, in: Brill’s New Pauly, Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar, Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. Consulted online on 28 June 2022 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e517950>
First published online: 2006
First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510
▲ Back to top ▲