Edfu

Aswan Governorate

Egypt

March 2, 2020

Halfway betweem Luxor and Aswan, on the west bank of the Nile, lies the Temple of Edfu.  The temple is dedicated to the falcon-headed god Horus and his wife, the goddess Hathor.

Here is the story of Horus:

Horus, the falcon-headed god, is a familiar ancient Egyptian god. He has become one of the most used symbols of Egypt, seen on Egyptian airplanes, and on hotels and restaurants throughout the land.

Horus is the sone of Osiris and Isis, the divine child of the holy family triad.  He is one of the many gods associated with the falcon.  His name mans "he who is above" and "he who is distant."

The falcon had been worshiped from earliest times as a cosmic deity whose body represents the heavens and whose eyes represent the sun and the moon. Horus is depicted as a falcon wearing a crown with a cobra or the Double Crown of Egypt. The hooded cobra, which the gods and pharaohs wore on their foreheads, symbolizes light and royalty. It is there to protect the person from harm.

When Horus was an infant, his father was killed by Osiris' brother Seth. To keep her son from being harmed, Isis hid Horus in the marshland of the Nile, where she protected him from the poisonous snakes, scorpions, crocodiles, and wild animals. 

As Horus grew up, he learned to ward off danger and became strong enough to fight Seth and claim his rightful inheritance, the throne of Egypt. As a result, Horus is associated with the title of kingship, the personification of divine and regal power. Kings believed they were descended from Horus, who was the first divine king.