Since Horus was considered the sky, he was also considered to contain the Sun and Moon. Egyptians believed that the Sun was his right eye and the Moon his left and that they traversed the sky when he, a falcon, flew across it.

As the title image shows, Horus is usually depicted as a falcon. But now, the brilliant Marie Grillot shows us a unique image of this deity.

The infant Horus is often pictured on stelae in the act of trampling two crocodiles and holding dangerous animals in his hands. The water poured on these objects, by flowing across their surface covered with magic spells, gained the power of healing whoever drank it from the stings of scorpions and the bites of snakes.

Stele of Horus: the magic that heals

via égyptophile

These “magical” steles, representing Horus on crocodiles, found in many museums, are generally dated from the Late Period to the end of the Roman era. “Called ‘Cippus of Horus’, they are usually carved from a hard, black stone, their upper edge is rounded, and they can be briefly described as follows: on the front of the stele, Horus as a child (Harpocrates) is presented in relief. It is standing on two crocodiles, and he holds snakes, scorpions, a lion and a horned animal (ibex?), all these representations being associated with Seth, the god of evil. On the head of Horus is a god,’ The ancient,’ who resembles the god Bes and, with Horus, thus represent the ancient god who perpetually regains his youth and strength,” specifies Wallis Budge in “Amulets & Magic”.

Their size seems to have yet to meet any specific criteria, whether made of soapstone, schist, greywacke, basalt, or sometimes limestone, copper alloy, wood, or even anhydrite.

Their iconography, as described by Wallis Budge, may vary somewhat, but their highly balanced composition remains. As a child, Horus is represented in the centre, frontally, in high relief; his chubby body is naked. He still wears the side braid from childhood, and often, a uraeus adorns his forehead. In the middle of the arch, just above his head, is the face of a leonine god, grimacing and bearded, comparable to Bes. However, the threatening species that Horus masters with his hands and feet may differ. They are generally “strong and dangerous desert animals (scorpions, snakes, lion, oryx) held by the tail or by their horns. This motif shows the domination of Horus over these powerful animals and the dangers they can represent,” indicates the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York (presentation notice of the MMA stele 20.2.23).

Their lateral edges are occupied by sacred emblems, such as the lotus of the god Nefertum on the right and a papyrus stem surmounted by a falcon on the left. These elements are sometimes based on the Oak sign, symbolizing eternity.

These steles are inscribed with magical formulas which, to release their healing power, had to be “either immersed in water that the patient drank, thus imbuing themselves with the virtues of the magical texts and the image, or rubbed on the site of the injury.”

Thus, in “Amulets of Ancient Egypt”, Carol Andrews recalls: “We know that they were installed in the precincts of the temples so that water could be poured over them to absorb the magic of their scenes and formulas; “once drunk, the water offered prophylactic protection against the creatures in question or perhaps healed those already bitten or stung.” Thus, “Drinking the water that had been left to flow on the stele was to the benefit of the protection that Isis exercised over her son and brought healing”.

In “Animals and Pharaohs”, Florence Maruejol contextualizes their use thus: “Often worn out, the so-called steles of Horus on the crocodiles were manipulated by magicians who tried to cure their patients”…

For protection—and perhaps of a “preventive” nature—they were also present in chapels at the start of desert tracks (filled with dangers) and had a special place in homes. We have even found them in collective baths, where the humid environment was certainly conducive to the frequentation of snakes.

They all refer to an episode in the legend of Horus: “Son of Isis and Osiris, the child was raised by his mother in a remote place, the marshes of the Delta, to escape the vengeance of the god Seth who had put his father to death. But, one fine day, young Horus was bitten by a venomous animal: he owed his survival only to the magical practices of his mother, Isis and the god Thoth, who knew the most secret formulas. This miraculous healing was, in a way, a model for all Egyptians and left them a little hope for desperate cases,” explains Christiane Ziegler in “Ancient Egypt at the Louvre” (E 10777).

Ancient Egyptian medicine combined scientific knowledge with healing magic. In “The Egyptian Museum in Cairo”, Abeer El-Shahawy recalls that: “magic, prayer and medicine complemented each other in ancient Egypt and people in need, in danger, suffering from illness or disease and illness prayed in front of such stelae.

There are also “miniature steles” that one could carry with oneself. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which has several examples, indicates that these small models were considered “an amulet for magical protection rather than transmitting magic to the water poured over them for drinking”.

In his reference study on “The ‘healing’ statues in ancient Egypt”, Pierre Lacau indicates that: “The typical stele of Horus on the crocodiles must therefore be considered as a true repertoire of ‘amulets’ and ‘formulas’ which the Egyptians could have at their disposal against bites; it is an arsenal or a codex containing the most varied weapons or remedies. We can, therefore, understand the extraordinary popularity that it was able to enjoy. All the provinces of Egypt have it used… They could be dedicated in temples, kept at home, or carried on one’s person like an amulet…

These steles testify to the force that magic exerted on the ancient Egyptians. They also reflect the fervour of the power granted to the “Medou-Neter,” the hieroglyphs, which in this specific case turn out to be, according to their etymology, sacred or divine writings.

Marie Grillot

Sources:

Pierre Lacau, “Healing” statues in ancient Egypt, Monuments and memories of the Eugène Piot Foundation, 1921, 25-1-2 pp. 189-210 https://www.persee.fr/doc/piot_1148-6023_1921_num_25_1_1824

Wallis Budge, Amulets & Magic, London 1930
Georges Posener, Dictionary of Egyptian Civilization, Fernand Hazan, 1959
Jocelyne Berlandini, A stele of Horus on the crocodiles of the superior of the priests of Sekhmet, Padiimennebnesouttaouy, Cahiers de Karnak VI 1973-1977, Cairo, 1980 https://www.academia.edu/3736548/Une_stèle_dHorus_sur_les_crocodiles_du_supérieur_des_prêtres_de_Sekhmet_Padiimennebnesouttaouy Carol Andrews, Amulets of Ancient Egypt, British Museum Press, London, 1994 https://archive.org/details/AmuletsOfAncientEgypt_201707 https://umranica.wikido.xyz/repo/e/ea/Amulets_of_ancient_Egypt.pdf

Guillemette Andreu, Marie-Hélène Rutschowscaya, Christiane Ziegler, Ancient Egypt at the Louvre, Hachette, 1997
Francesco Tiradritti, Treasures of Egypt – The wonders of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Gründ, 1999
Abeer El-Shahawy, The Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Matḥaf al-Miṣrī, American Univ in Cairo Press, 2005
Magical stela or cippus of Horus, Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, entry no. 20.2.23 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/545766?searchField=All&sortBy=Relevance&ft=horus+stelae&offset=0&rpp=20&pos=12 Miniature cippus of Horus (magical stela), Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, entry no. 23.6.19 https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/570346 Cippus of Horus on the Crocodiles, Brooklyn Museum – accession number 60.73 https://www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/3684 Stele of Horus, Louvre, E 20008 https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010006108 Healing statue, Louvre, E 10777 https://collections.louvre.fr/ark:/53355/cl010034902 Cippus, protective magic stela, British Museum, EA60958 https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/Y_EA60958

Posted 16th January 2015 by Marie Grillot

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