Nerd Movie Reviews

The Eye Of Horus

The Eye of Horus is a very ancient symbol. It has been found on amulets dating back to 3000 BC, making it one of the oldest still-recognizable symbols used by mankind. Also known as the wadjet, the Eye of Horus signifies concepts related to healing: restoration of health, wealth, or property, and protection of same. To this day, the Eye of Horus is immediately recognizable and associated with ancient Egypt. It appears in video games, movies, and on novelty t shirts.

Who was Horus?

Horus was a very important god of ancient Egypt. Depicted with the head of a falcon, he is often identified with Ra, the sun god. His enemy, for much of Egyptian history, was considered to be the god Set. Set is depicted with the head of an unknown animal. What specific animal Set is supposed to be is a subject of speculation among scholars, who designate the unknown creature as “the Set animal”.

Egypt began as two big kingdoms: Upper Egypt in the south, and Lower Egypt in the north. Upper Egypt was “upper” because it is where the source of the Nile was, and the Nile flows downhill. So Lower Egypt in the north is “lower” because it is further down, vertically. The unification of Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt was symbolized by the reconciliation between Horus and Set. Horus and Set are reconciled, and by being reconciled, they unite Egypt.

Pharaonic Names

For a long time, the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt had many names. Beginning with three names, they gradually expanded over the millennia until they had five names. But even at the beginning, one of the royal names was the “Horus name”, or the name the Pharaoh took to associate him with Horus. As time went by, the Pharaoh was gradually considered to be a descendant or incarnation of Horus himself.

The Eye of Horus is famous because it’s more than just an ancient Egyptian symbol. In a way, the Eye of Horus stands for Egypt itself. The Eye of Horus comes from Horus, and Horus is the Pharaoh, and the Pharaoh is Egypt. Keep in mind that the dynasties of Egypt lasted from 3000 BC until the civilization was destroyed by the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. That means that Ancient Egypt lasted for three and a half millennia! To put that in perspective, Cleopatra (31 BC) lived closer in time to the moon landing (1969 AD) than she did to the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza (2500 BC). So when you wear an Eye of Horus t shirt, you’re bearing a symbol so old that it was already ancient when the Romans were building the Colosseum in 80 AD. It’s the perfect choice for a necklace, poster, or novelty t shirt.