Happy un- Birthday Horus

If you happened to be assaulted by a recent Internet meme (courtesy of Youtube, you may be aware that December 25th is the birthday of Horus. This has been used to equate Horus with Jesus (in one of the worst bits of research I've seen in some time) and tries to turn an ancient Egyptian solar god into a Christian deity/Muslim saint.

But the question of "when was Horus' birthday" turns out to be a bit more complicated than what the meme suggests. The answer depends on "which flavor of the ancient Egyptian religion were you looking at" and "what time period" and finally "WHICH Horus." It turns out that there are a number of gods named Horus (including Horus the Elder) with different parents, and after 3,000 years of history and religious thought, the answers are often difficult to untangle.

But let me set the scene.

The Egyptians had three, not four seasons - Growth, Harvest, and Flood - kind of similar to Texas which has Spring tornado season, summer, and fall with an occasional hint of winter but not enough to really notice (Egypt is at the same latitude as Texas and Mexico.) Each season had 30 day months (four of them) and their workweek was 10 days long.

So right now, December 24 of 2016, we are in the "Fourth month of Akhet"', the season of inundation - the month called "ka-her-ka" (sustenance on sustenance) and survives in Coptic Christian as "khoiak". This was the time period when the corvee laborers on the public works projects (they would be paid in food and clothing - something that they would not get at home because most of farming Egypt came to a standstill when the fields flooded.) would be headed home and getting ready to start planting the fields. They would be focused on re-surveying the field boundaries and getting ready for planting.

And then there's the issue of "Whose story of Horus is it?"

The version we have of the Horus-Isis-Osiris myth comes from Plutarch, a Roman writer, who was writing (from other sources) the stories about Osiris and Isis. By the time he recorded this, the stories had been developing for over 2500 years (with various political and belief tweaks along the way) and may have suffered somewhat from the Hellenization policies of the Ptolemies.

There is a sort of "Master Egyptian Calendar" that you can look at which shows a December 25 birthdate for Horus - but doesn't show Set, Osiris, Nepthys, and Isis all born near the same days. The Solstice was a feast day for Isis, but a look at the other dates shows many different feasts and celebrations for them:

3 December 18 Set goes forth
6 December 21 Winter Solstice; Feast of Aset (Isis)
8 December 23 Festival of the Great Heat; Feast Day of Het-Hert (Hathor)
10 December 25 Birth of Heru (Horus) the child of Aset (Isis) ; Going forth of Wadjet singing in Heliopolis;Day of Elevating the Great Netjert (Goddess) in all Her names & manifestations
11 December 26 Feast of Neith; Birth of Sebek (Sobek)
13 December 28 Day of Sekhmet going forth to Letopolis
16 December 31 Feast of Sekhmet
17 January 1 Day of keeping the things of Wasir (Osiris) in the hands of Anpu (Anubis

...and they don't really indicate a coherent story. Notice that December 25th has at least three different festivals and the other don't mesh well with Horus. This indicates that December 25th as a birthday for Horus was more of a local festival that did not last throughout the history of Egypt.

Horus' actual birthday?

According to what became the dominant version of the Egyptian religion, it was during the epagomenal days (August 23 - August 9th

Happy un-birthday, Horus!

a reply to: Byrd

Nice post.

I do believe Jesus may have been an abstraction of Horus. Also with the many incarnations of this deity, it would be no surprise to me if Jesus was his contemporary form.

But I also remember reading somewhere that Horus/Jesus's birthday may have been mid September, around the masonic calender new year.

a reply to: Geki09

That's fantastic except it takes unbelievable mental-gymnastics to actually equate Jesus with Horus. It's like calling an apple a well built, fortified nuclear silo.

a reply to: Byrd

12/25 of 2 B.C. is when the Star of Bethlehem was over Bethlehem. The visit of the Magi from Babylon.

So, you can kind of call it the first Christmas.






April 3rd, 33 AD was the day of the cross.

originally posted by: Geki09
a reply to: Byrd

Nice post.

I do believe Jesus may have been an abstraction of Horus.

They're both very different.

Also with the many incarnations of this deity, it would be no surprise to me if Jesus was his contemporary form.

The Egyptians didn't believe in reincarnation - and Horus didn't die. He's a god and the son of a god and goddess.

Explains it pretty well here

originally posted by: infolurker
a reply to: Byrd

12/25 of 2 B.C. is when the Star of Bethlehem was over Bethlehem. .

The problem is that when something is far away, it's not over one small spot. In other words, when the Space Shuttle is "overhead" for me, it's actually overhead for Dallas-Ft Worth, Arlington, Mesquite, Plano, and a stretch of land that's around 500 square miles (about the size of a small country.)

The distance from Bethlehem to Jerusalem (two hours' walk if you're tired) is around 6 miles. Anything in the sky over Bethlehem is also over Jerusalem, Ramala, Gaza... in fact, all of Israel.

a reply to: Byrd

In regards to star of Bethlehem, I think it could be argued, that, to satisfy the purposes of the story, all that really matters is, how the magi percieved it, and what action it led them to take.


As for the OP, a great write up on a popular contemporary misconception, and I enjoyed reading about the details regarding the laborers on public works.
Now to dive into the links for further explorations
Thanks for sharing bud!

originally posted by: Geki09
I do believe Jesus may have been an abstraction of Horus. Also with the many incarnations of this deity, it would be no surprise to me if Jesus was his contemporary form.

But I also remember reading somewhere that Horus/Jesus's birthday may have been mid September, around the masonic calender new year.

I believe that the similarities that exist between Jesus and Horus are largely of a practical nature but adapted to environment. We celebrate the birth of Jesus in the northern Hemisphere close to the winter solstice because it is the Northern Hemisphere that became dominant in proliferating the story of Jesus and it was there that many of the liturgical calendar, and later secular calendars were formalised. If Horus was born at the time of inundation, much like the Winter Solstice, it would mean that the new agricultural cycle had begun. In northern Europe, the days getting longer meant Spring (new growth) was on the way, and in Egypt, the flood meant the same thing but differently. Wherever there is a dormant period, this continuous, yet broken cycle of "The King is dead, Long live the King" that is particular to agricultural societies.

a reply to: Byrd
Informative as always Byrd, particularly about the Egyptian calendar. Memes are indeed oversimplified in order to appease a mindset or belief. Jesus was certainly not 'based on Horus' as such, but perhaps they both stem from an earlier solstice myth, personified.

Either way merry, er, winter!

originally posted by: Anaana

originally posted by: Geki09
I do believe Jesus may have been an abstraction of Horus. Also with the many incarnations of this deity, it would be no surprise to me if Jesus was his contemporary form.

But I also remember reading somewhere that Horus/Jesus's birthday may have been mid September, around the masonic calender new year.

I believe that the similarities that exist between Jesus and Horus are largely of a practical nature

There aren't any.

Horus - son of married god and goddess
Jesus - son of god and mortal woman

Horus - mother is the goddess of magic
Jesus - mother is mortal

Horus - after birth, Isis and her sister hid him in a swamp
Jesus - adored by magi, grew up normally

Horus - deity father killed and dismembered by deity uncle, deity mother (Isis) finds the body parts, uses magic and reunites them and then conceives Horus from the deceased.
Jesus - deity father isn't killed/dismembered/etc

Horus - avenges his father in divine combat, defeating Set, declared lord of the Two Lands, one with living pharaohs, rules Earth.
Jesus - uhmmmm...

Horus - part of the combat is sexual (homosexual) in nature
Jesus - All Kinds Of Nope

Horus - rules humanity, has four sons (with various goddesses)
Jesus - uhmmmm ... has 13 followers including the betrayer. No kids that we know of

Horus - still alive
Jesus - crucified, buried, rose from the dead
Osiris - (father of Horus) killed, rose... from the dead, sort of. He's the god of the underworld

Horus - adheres to the principles of ma'at, established long before his birth. Is not the source of heavenly laws, etc
Jesus - sermon on the mount, etc.

a reply to: SargonThrall

And a festive Yule to you, too!

originally posted by: Byrd
They're both very different.

.

No, they are both fictional

a reply to: 3n19m470

The Bethlehem Star was probably Jupiter and when it reached its furthermost point of orbit (as viewed by the magi) and it started to move backwards, it led them to Bethlehem. Jesus was not in a manger by this time but living in a house.


Or the short version

originally posted by: Cinrad
a reply to: 3n19m470

The Bethlehem Star was probably Jupiter and when it reached its furthermost point of orbit (as viewed by the magi) and it started to move backwards, it led them to Bethlehem. Jesus was not in a manger by this time but living in a house.

The problem is that it Jupiter is "overhead" for the whole hemisphere.

In their rush to get out a video, these presenters forgot to do several things- the most important of which is ask "where on Earth is Jupiter overhead?" It's a planet. It doesn't move from its orbit. The "where" answer is "near the equator", around a thousand miles away from Bethlehem. And it's "overhead" for everyone along the equator.

The second problem is that they don't understand planet speed or retrograde motion. Jupiter appears to move backwards due to our position in orbit. It takes Jupiter about 4 months to move 10 degrees retrograde, changing position at about the width of a pencil lead (not a pencil... the lead)l each day.

So it doesn't "lead" anywhere.

Go outside and look at Jupiter for yourself (it's near the waning moon now and quite bright) and then watch how it changes over the next week. It's in retrograde now. You'll see how badly they've muffed the astronomy.

originally posted by: Byrd

There aren't any.

While I am not aware of any, I am not suitably well informed to presume to know all there is to know about either character, and the various stories associated with them. I also am well aware that perception, and what seems familiar, can imply connections sometimes that others are unable to perceive and I don't see any harm in considering why that perception may exist.

Either way, this thread was the first time I have seen Horus and Jesus compared in any way, Osiris and Jesus is the comparison that is made more commonly, I believe. I don't really understand what point you are making with your 'list' of things that they don't have in common, I presume therefore that you didn't understand the point that I was making...so confusion all round perhaps? Was Horus then not associated or celebrated with the flood?

originally posted by: Anaana
Either way, this thread was the first time I have seen Horus and Jesus compared in any way,

It was made quite popular by the film, Zeitgeist - which contained a lot of factual errors but that people found very compelling (and so adopted the errors as truth.)

I don't really understand what point you are making with your 'list' of things that they don't have in common, I presume therefore that you didn't understand the point that I was making...so confusion all round perhaps?

You remarked on the similarity of the gods and that they might have points in common. Other than "they're both male", the answer is "not a whole lot."

Was Horus then not associated or celebrated with the flood?

No, never was. Anuket, Satet, Hapi (later dynasties, particularly),, Nepthys (to a very minor degree), and Khnum who changes roles throughout history and in the last eras becomes merged with Re to become the national god of Egypt.

originally posted by: Byrd
It was made quite popular by the film, Zeitgeist - which contained a lot of factual errors but that people found very compelling (and so adopted the errors as truth.)

Oh right, I tell a lie then, I did begin watching that film several years ago when it was doing the rounds...clearly it didn't stick.

originally posted by: Byrd
You remarked on the similarity of the gods and that they might have points in common. Other than "they're both male", the answer is "not a whole lot."

There are similarities, not many admittedly, perhaps even just one, but they are there.

originally posted by: Byrd
No, never was. Anuket, Satet, Hapi (later dynasties, particularly),, Nepthys (to a very minor degree), and Khnum who changes roles throughout history and in the last eras becomes merged with Re to become the national god of Egypt.

Not really associated with any season in particular at all it seems, which is perhaps where I got confused in your OP with your description of the seasons etc, I assumed it was relevant. No matter, what both Horus and Jesus have in common is "divine" kingship - wouldn't you say?

originally posted by: Anaana
Not really associated with any season in particular at all it seems, which is perhaps where I got confused in your OP with your description of the seasons etc, I assumed it was relevant.

Because December 25th was celebrated somewhere at sometime as the birth of one deity called Horus (but not the official Horus of Egypt. This Horus may have been the Horus of Behedet.)

No matter, what both Horus and Jesus have in common is "divine" kingship - wouldn't you say?

Only if the Pope was declared to be Jesus and each succeeding pope was also declared as the divinity, Jesus. If I recall my Bible correctly, Jesus never proclaimed himself king.

When someone ascended to the throne of Egypt, they became Horus. They were worshiped as Horus and were considered divine. More similar to the Roman emperors (who were Jupiter incarnate.)

originally posted by: Byrd
Because December 25th was celebrated somewhere at sometime as the birth of one deity called Horus (but not the official Horus of Egypt. This Horus may have been the Horus of Behedet.)

And what is distinct about Horus of Behedet that makes December 25th significant?

originally posted by: Byrd
Only if the Pope was declared to be Jesus and each succeeding pope was also declared as the divinity, Jesus. If I recall my Bible correctly, Jesus never proclaimed himself king.

No, but he is, in the form of the Trinity, God made flesh, and indeed, on that basis, with apostolic succession, the pope presumes a similar 'divine' right of leadership ('king' after all being just another descriptive for leader).

Stories associated with Jesus do make claims of his belonging to royal blood lines, even if none of the gospel versions do. That this is more to do with how Christianity was introduced to regions that already had a system of divine king ship is perhaps more telling, but all the same, similarities exist, I believe, for somewhat practical reasons. Jesus offered a newer, more refined (or civilising) form of divine king ship.