onal winged solar disc which came to represent Horus of Behdet/Edfu. An inscribed block from the mortuary temple of the 5th Dynasty (end of the Old Kingdom) ruler Sahura (2487-2475 BCE) found in the Abusir (located at a couple of km north of Saqqara) includes a full winged disc above his names and titles, with the phrase 'Horus of Behdet' written beside it.
The south entrance to the New Kingdom temple of Montu built by Amenhotep III (18th dynasty) in Karnak has a large winged sun disk with uraeus over it. As does the Temple of Ramesses III (20th dynasty) at Medinet Habu in Thebes, though in colour without the uraeus. The New Kingdom temple of Horus at Edfu has a series of six winged disks in its entrance all with different attributes. I'll be damned if I can find any visual examples of earlier examples like the one mentioned above from Memphis.
Djoser/Netjerykhet (c2620-2600 BCE)
Djoser is one of the most important kings of the Old Kingdom (actually the 3rd dynasty links the old kingdom to the pre-dynastic period) and of the whole long history of Egypt, he was responsible for the first pyramids. He ruled during the start of the 3rd Dynasty, his son was the architect Imhotep. His tomb is in Saqqara (Step Pyramid II).
The relief to the right is from his tomb in Saqqara. We can see the serekh containing his name by his crown. More interestingly above him, clutching an ankh in its claws, is a beautifully rendered hawk. This motif is seen on several other similar reliefs in the tomb. Next to the hawk is an Anubis (Anpu) style dog.
Khafre (6.5' tall diorite 2500 BCE)Khafre was the Pharoah who built the second pyramid (Pyramid of Chephren) and the Sphinx on the Giza plateau in Egypt (2576-2551 BCE, 4th Dynasty). This statue was found in the valley temple in Giza. Horus did not rule directly, but incarnated in a human being and ruled through this human who then became a half-god or a Per-o (or pharaoh).
Heru sma taui (2133-1991 BCE)
This polychrome wooden statuette represents the god Horus, with the head of a falcon and the body of a man, in the striding stance typical of royal iconography. It is from Dynasty 11. As the personification of the god who made the sky he was called Heru (“he who is above”). The forms of Horus mentioned in Egyptian texts are numerous. Here we have Heru sma taui (“Horus, the uniter of the South and North”). 24.4cm inheight it comes from Herakleopolis (O.K. Tomb).
Instantly recognizable, the Udjat Eye (also wedjat, uzat) remained one of the most popular amuletic symbols from the Old Kingdom to Roman times. Although Egyptians designed countless variations on the theme over this 2500 year period, the basic design remained constant: the eye of the God Horus, drawn as a human eye with a cosmetic line extending from the outer corner of the eye, an enhanced eyebrow line, and a stylized marking below the eye evoking the cheek of a falcon.
The amulets to the right are 1.4cm from the Old Kingdom (2686-2181 BCE) from a royal tomb in Saqqara and 5.6cm from the 18th Dynasty of the New Kingdom (1410-1293 BCE) from Thebes.
The Egyptian word udjat means “sound”, “whole”, or “undamaged” and the eye was reputed for its great healing and protective power. But it has many meanings, including “The strength of the monarch, the concept of kingship, protection against Seth [chaos], royal purification agent, wine, and offerings at the festival of the waxing moon.”
In a myth Seth gouged out Horus' left eye during the fight over who should be king. Hathor or Thoth (depending on which version) intervened and healed the eye with gazelle milk (Hathor) or royal saliva (Thoth). The eye thus became a symbol of miraculous healing. The plucked and then restored left eye symbolized the moon, with the phases of the moon reflecting the damaged, plucked, healing, and healed conditions of the eye over time. Despite this udjat eyes can be left or right or even a pair.
This large bronze statuette (22cm) from the New Kingdom (probably Dynasty 18, 1570-1200 BCE) represents the falcon god, ‘lord of the sky', elemental Horus, and primordial symbol