From The Alpha and the Omega - Volume III
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © July 20, 2002, all rights reserved "Volume III - Gods/Goddesses of Ancient Egypt"

HERU (Hor, Horus, Heru-Khuiti)

To return to the Cancer Decan (Heru-Khuiti netjer of the twelfth month Cancer named Mesori), Taurus Decan (Heru (Horus) netjer of the tenth month Taurus named Payni), Lepus Decan (hawk figure with the Double Crown), Eye Decan (Ra-Heru-Khuti), Corvus Decan (Isis, the rising star-goddess nursing Horus, the rising sun-god), Denderah Decan 8 - Grand Temple Decan 13 (Deity), Denderah Decan 23 - Grand Temple Decan 34 (Deity), Denderah Decan 24 - Grand Temple Decan 33 (two of deity sons of Horus), Denderah Decan 10 - Grand Temple Decan 11 (Deity), Denderah Decan 12 - Grand Temple Decan 9 (Double Crown of Horus), Denderah Decan 13 - Grand Temple Decan 8 (one of the deity sons of Horus), Denderah Decan 29 - Grand Temple Decan 28 (Deity Hor-pa-kraat - Horus Child), Denderah Decan 30 - Grand Temple Decan 27 (Deity), Denderah Decan 14 - Grand Temple Decan 7 (one of the deity sons of Horus), Denderah Decan 15 - Grand Temple Decan 6 (one of the deity sons of Horus), Denderah Decan 31 - Grand Temple Decan 26 (Deity), Denderah Decan 33 - Grand Temple Decan 24 (one of the deity sons of Horus), Denderah Decan 16 - Grand Temple Decan 5 (Horus connection), Denderah Decan 18 - Grand Temple Decan 3 (Horus connection), Denderah Decan 35 - Grand Temple Decan 22 (one of the deity sons of Horus), Denderah Decan 36 - Grand Temple Decan 21 (one of the deity sons of Horus), Mihos (war-god associated with Horus and Nefertem), Horus' four sons (Imsety (Amset), Hapy, Duamutef and Qebehsenuef), Nefertum (dwelled with Re through his connection to the sun and Horus so they became as one), Pakhet (associated with Heru), or List of Netjeru.

    Horus the ancient Egyptian god of the sun (solar god of Memphis), the son of Osiris and Isis, was represented as having the head of a hawk or falcon, which was synonymous with the sky, and was secretly brought up in the Delta swamps about Buto till he could challenge Set his uncle and father's murderer.    After Osiris was done in by Set, Isis changed into a hawk and revived Osiris long enough for him to impregnate her.    The child was Horus.
    The hieroglyph for a hawk or falcon is .
    His main center of worship was in Iuna/Heliopolis/Cairo.    Other temple sites were in Nebet/Ombi/Kom Ombo, Djeba/Apollinopolis Magna/Edfu, Nekhen/Hierakonpolis, Gesy/Apollinopolis Parva/Qus, Iunet/Tentyris/Dendera, Men'at-khufu/el-Minya.

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    Heru or Horus is usually depicted as wearing the Double Crown (Pshent, the unified white and red crown) or combination of the upper and lower crown headdress with the little curly item coming from it.    He is also hawk-headed and carries a spear or waas scepter in his left hand.
      Grand Temple Decan 9 and 31 seen above is a male figure with a hawk head with scepter.    The Double Crown (Pshent, the unified white and red crown) or Horus combo crown can also be found on Grand Temple Decan 3, 9, and 31.

• The netjer of the tenth month of Taurus was Heru (Horus), at Ramesseum: Horus (Konti), at Edfu: Horus (Hor-kent-kati), note Chuntchat mentioned above is similar to Kent-Kati.     The above image can clearly be seen on the Grand Temple Decan 3, 9, and 31.
  • At Hut-Heryib/Athribis they worshipped a form of Horus called Khnety-Khety.
• The netjer of the twelfth month of Cancer was Heru-Khuiti, at Ramesseum: Horus (Hor-m-kut), at Edfu: Horus (Hor-ra-m-kut).     The above image has similarities to the images seen below on Denderah Decan 21 - Grand Temple Decan 36 Sah (Ma'at-Heru) giving a connection to Ra and shown as a male figure with a hawk head wearing a circular Cobra on his head which forms a sun disk crown flanked by uraeus.    Also see Grand Temple Decan 8 and 36.
   
  • Khuit (akhuti) means "of the Horizons," from the word Akhet.
  • Harakhty (Herakhty, Herakles) "Horus of the horizon" at the Heliopolis sun cult he was Ra-Harakhty.
  • Hor Behdetite - Horus at Edfu (Behtet).
  • Heru-Em-Akhet (Harmachis, Harmakis, Horem-akhet) "Horus who is on the horizon," the name of the great Sphinx of Kephren at Gizeh, symbol of resurrection.

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    As seen on Grand Temple Decan 11, Grand Temple Decan 13, Grand Temple Decan 26, Grand Temple Decan 27 and Grand Temple Decan 34
its deity is called     Hor (Heru, Maat Heru), as we see in Denderah Decan 8 has 3 stars in front of it as seen above.
    The hieroglyph for Hawk or Falcon is .

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    All of the names of Horus come from the following three names:

• "Horus the Elder," or "Heru-Wer."
  • The falcon, soaring with outstretched wings of Predynastic times seen as the sky-god, became the symbol of the winged disc which was one of the many forms of Horus.    This became the royal insignia, and refers to the form of him as "Horus the Elder."
  • The Elder was known as (Her-ur, Aroueris).
  • Haroeris (Har Wer) "Horus the elder" or "Horus the great," Horkhenti Irti (Khenty-irty) in Letopolis; in Pharboethos it was Hor Merti; Hor Nubti.
• "Horus son of Isis," or "Heru-sa-Aset, which is the Greek Harsiese, seen at Harpocrates.
  • Hor-Sa-Iset (Gr. Harsiese, Harsiesis) "Horus, son of Isis."
  • As seen on Denderah Decan 29 - Grand Temple Decan 28 its deity is called Hor, Hor-pa-kraat (Horus the Child) - Heru, Hoor-par-kraat, was the son of Isis and Osiris, and seen as a young boy with a child’s sidelock of hair, sucking his finger.    His silence developed the common "shhh" gesture.
• "Living Horus," the form which embodies the ruling king, or rather his spirit or ka.
  •     Horus (Her) "the Child," a Falcon image as seen on the Grand Temple Decan 3, 9, and 31, as going into adulthood was known as Her-nedj-tef-ef "Horus, Avenger of His Father," and eventually defeated Set around 3000 B.C. and conquered Upper and Lower Egypt.
  • Har-End-Yotef (Harendotes) "Horus father protector," also called Heru-Behdety.
  • Har-Pa-Neb-Taui "Horus of the two lands" and Heru-sam-taui (Harsomtus) "Horus, uniter of the two lands."

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Horus had four sons: Duamutef, Qebehsenuef, Imsety (Amset) and Hapy
four sons rising out of a lotus.
    The four mummiform Sons of Horus were believed to be the sons of Horus, either Horus of Khem (Letopolis), Horus the Son of Isis or Horus the Elder), deities who protected the canopic jars that held internal organs of the deceased.    From the First Intermediate Period until the end of the 18^th Dynasty, the stoppers of the canopic jars were shaped like the face of the deceased.    After this time, the stoppers started to be depicted as the four Sons of Horus.    These four gods, Friends of the King - Imsety, Hapy, Duamutef, and Qebehsenuef, the children of Horus of Khem - they tie the rope-ladder for this King, they make firm the wooden ladder for this King, they cause the King to mount up to Khepera when he comes into being in the eastern side of the sky. -- Pyramid Text 2078
    As seen on Denderah Decan 18 - Grand Temple Decan 3 its deity is called     Khenet Khaset ou Isis, ou les 4 fils d’Horus, also Khentet-Khast, or Isis or the Children of Horus (ou les enfants d'Horus).
    The four deities - Imsety, human headed protector of the liver, Hapy, baboon headed protector of the lungs, Duamutef, jackal headed protector of the stomach and Qebehsenuef, falcon headed protector of the intestines - were thought to have come out of a water lily that rose from the waters of Nun.    The four mummiform gods were rescued by the crocodile god Sobek, by the orders of Ra, and Anubis gave them funerary duties.    They also attend the judgement of the deceased in the Halls of Ma'ati where they stand before Osiris on a half opened blue water lily.
    Originally it was believed that the Canopic jars were found only in Canopus (known as Pikuat to the ancient Egyptians), and were attributed to a Greek hero, Canopus (Kanopos), who was thought to have been buried there.    Jean-François Champollion's experimented on one of the jars and found that one held an internal organ; probably a heart, liver or spleen.    This proved that the jars were linked to the funerary cult of ancient Egypt, and not to worship of a god-hero, personified as these jars.    Champollion was the first to conclude that the four heads on the Canopic jars were four symbolic spirits.    He believed the stoppers to be the heads of a woman, a baboon, a hawk and a jackal.    He was very close to the truth, despite not being able to read the hieroglyphs on the jars.    The very earliest canopic equipment consisted of simple chests, or even a specially built cavity in the wall, where wrapped visceral bundles were placed.    We find the first possible canopic installations at Saqqara in tombs of the 2^nd Dynasty, but proven canopic burials date from the 4^th dynasty reign of Senfru.    By the end of the 4^th Dynasty, organs were sometimes placed inside simple stone or pottery jars, with flat or domed lids.    The earliest examples of canopic jars come from the 4^th dynasty tomb of Queen Meresankh III at Giza, from the reign of Menkaura.    While the First Intermediate Period was a time of Chaos in Egyptian history, it was during this time that the lid of canopic jars started to take on the form of a human head instead of a flat or domed shape.    Also, the wrapped bundles of viscera placed in the jars were now sometimes adorned with cartonnage masks with human faces.
    The four gods were also related to the sky, they were "behind the Constellation of the Thigh (the Great Bear), in the northern sky."    The Children of Horus were related to the Decans, which were Kher-Khept-Kenmut (Grand Temple Decan 3), Ha-tchat (Grand Temple Decan 4) and Pehui-Tchat (Grand Temple Decan 5).    It was also noted that the constellations of the Great and Little Bears resembled the "adzes" used in portrayals of the ceremony of the "Opening of the Mouth," performed on the mummy of the dead king to give it life.    The Great Bear (Egyptian constellation of the "Thigh") was associated with the Four Sons of Horus and each was place at one of the cardinal points, and seems in some way to have generated the force that turned the sky.
    They were part of the Seven Spirits (the other three being Maa-atef, Kheribeqef, and Heru-khenti-en-ariti) who made up a group appointed by Anubis.    These Seven Spirits (or Seven Shining Ones) were believed to have protected the dead body of Osiris.    The positioning for protection of the deceased (emulating the protection of the dead Osiris) was already well established by the Middle Kingdom.

    As seen on Senmut's Tomb the hieroglyph for Horus Birth Child is .

• Duamutef
  • 
  • On Denderah Decan 24 - Grand Temple Decan 33, Denderah Decan 13 - Grand Temple Decan 8, Denderah Decan 33 - Grand Temple Decan 24 and Denderah Decan 36 - Grand Temple Decan 21
    we find it's deity name was     Douamoutef, Duamutef or Tuametef (Thmoomathph), one of the sons of Horus, seen as a mummified man with a head of a jackal.    Protector of the stomach, and protected by the goddess Neith.
  • Duamutef (Tuamutef), the jackal headed deity, was shown as having a body wrapped up like a mummy.    He was believed to protect the stomach, along with the goddess Nit, which was placed in the canopic jar, near the sarcophagus, on the east cardinal point.    His name means "he who praises his mother" or "a star is his mother".    The Egyptians seem to sometimes confuse the jackal headed god with the falcon headed god, and so there are some images and canopic jars showing Duamutef with a falcon head.    In the Speech of Duamutef, he saith, "I am thy son Horus, who loveth thee.    I come to avenge thee, O my father Osiris, upon him that did evil unto thee.    I have set him under thy feet for ever and for ever, permanently, permanently, O Osiris Ani, whose word is truth, whose word is truth." -- The Book of the Dead.
  • Return to Horus' four sons.
• Qebehsenuef
  • 
  • On Denderah Decan 12 - Grand Temple Decan 9, Denderah Decan 14 - Grand Temple Decan 7 and Denderah Decan 35 - Grand Temple Decan 22
    its deity is called     Qebehsenouef (Qebhsennuf), Qebhsenuef (Kabexnuf, Qebsneuef), also seen as Qebh-Sennuf, a son of Horus, seen as a mummified man with a head of a falcon.    Protector of intestines and protected by the goddess Serket.
  • Qebehsenuef (Qebsenuf, Kebehsenuef, Kebhsenuf, Kabexnuf) the falcon headed god, was depicted as having a body wrapped up like a mummy.    He was thought to be protector of the intestines, along with the goddess Serqet.    The intestines were placed in the canopic jar, near the sarcophagus, on the west cardinal point.    His name means "he who refreshes [with water] his brothers."    The Egyptians seem to sometimes confuse the jackal headed god with the falcon headed god, and so there are some images and canopic jars showing Qebehsenuef with a jackal head.    In the Speech of Qebehsenuef who saith, "I am thy son, O Osiris Ani, whose word is truth.    I come to protect thee.    I have collected thy bones and I have gathered together thy members.    [I have brought thy heart, and I have placed it upon its throne within thy body.    I make thy house to flourish after thee, O thou who livest for ever.]" -- The Book of the Dead.
  • Return to Horus' four sons.
• Imsety
  • 
  • See Amset (Imsety, Mestha, Ameshet) son of Horus, seen as a mummified man, protected the liver of the deceased, protected by the goddess Isis.
  • On Denderah Decan 04-Grand Temple Decan 17, its deity is called Amset (Mestha).
  • On Denderah Decan 15-Grand Temple Decan 6 its deity is called Amset Hapy?, Mestha-Hapi.
  • Imsety (Amset, Imset, Amsit, Mesta, Mestha, Ameshet) was a human headed god, who was depicted as having a body wrapped up like a mummy.    Imsety was thought to protect the liver, along with the goddess Isis, which was placed in the canopic jar, near the sarcophagus, on the south cardinal point.    In the Speech of Imsety, "I am Imsety, thy son, O Osiris Ani, whose word is truth.    I come to protect thee.    I will make thy house to flourish, permanently, even as Ptah hath commanded me, and as Ra himself hath commanded." -- The Book of the Dead.     The mention of "male and female" before listing the Sons of Horus has made the below verse ambiguous, especially with the way the name of this deity was written.    Some believe that because of the feminine t ending to the name, that this means that the deity was female.    "My face is washed by the gods, male and female; Imset, Hapy, Duamutef, and Qebehsenuef are at my right side..." -- Pyramid Text 601.    Hans Bonnett, in Reallexikon Der Ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte, wrote that prior to the New Kingdom, this deity was painted yellow (women were generally painted this colour) and didn't have a beard.    Bonnett says that originally, a pair of deities may have been hiding under the name Imsety, due to the feminine dual form (ty) of the name.    The name was then taken to be the name of one female deity.    But during the New Kingdom, this goddess was changed to a god, so as to be a Son of Horus.    Others believe that this is weak evidence, and that the Pyramid Text mentioned does not lend much support to this theory.    As to the colour theory, this is believed risky.    Although men were generally coloured red-brown, indicating a tan from outdoork work, Richard Wilkinson, in Symbol and Magic in Egyptian Art, writes that elderly men could be painted yellow as they tended to no longer work outdoors.
  • Return to Horus' four sons.
• Hapy
  • 
  • 
  • See Hapi (Hapy, Ahephi), a funery god, one of the sons of Horus who looked after the human viscera after embalming.    The jars used for preservation are called Canopic jars.    The ape-headed god was guardian of the lungs and assisted by the goddess Nephythys.
  • Hapy was a baboon headed deity, who was shown as having a body wrapped up like a mummy and was believed to be the protector of the lungs, along with the goddess Nephthys.    The lungs were placed in the canopic jar, near the sarcophagus, on the north cardinal point.    His name probably means "Runner," and may be related to boating as the determinative in his name is used in words such as "oar."    The original name probably meant "The Two Geese," which would suggest that there may have been two gods.    Hans Bonnett believes that there was originally a male and a female deity, the female goddess disappeared, and left the male Hapy as the son of Horus, but the evidence for this is weak.    In the Speech of Hapy, "I am Hapy, thy son, O Osiris Ani, whose word is truth.    I come to protect thee.    I bind together thy head and the members of thy body.    I smite down for thee thine enemies under thee.    I give unto thee thy head for ever and for ever, O Osiris Ani, whose word is truth, whose word is truth in peace." -- The Book of the Dead.
  • Return to Horus' four sons.

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    This file was created on June 18, 2005, and updated on May 30, 2006.

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