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Bronze statuette of Isis nursing Horus (E12548). Late Period (664-332
B.C.).
The son
of Osiris and Isis,
Horus became the ruler of Egypt after Osiris'
death. In order to win the throne, Horus had to do battle against
his uncle, the god Seth. Seth
was defeated and was relegated to the role of ruler of the chaotic
desert lands surrounding Egypt. As a divine ruler, Horus had associations
with the living pharaoh. Sometimes depicted as a falcon or a man
with a falcon head, Horus was also seen as a sun sky. As the child
of Isis, Horus was also worshipped
in the form of Harpocrates (Horus-the-child) and is often shown
as a child nursing at the breast of Isis.
In the Late Period images of Horus the child were placed on small
plaques called "cippi," which were used to ward off evil and provide
cures from illnesses and snake bites. |
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