We are delving into African mythology and understanding how myths have shaped African society. African mythology is a captivating and complex subject, with a rich history and a wealth of traditional stories and legends. Mythology is an erudite for ebullient discussions, sparks critical thinking, stirs the imagination, and imbues us.
“Myths are clues to the spiritual potentialities of the human life,” explains scholar Joseph Campbell near the beginning of the celebrated PBS series Joseph Campbell on The Power of Myth with Bill Moyers. His definition of myth, rather than being that myths are examples of the search for life’s meaning, is that myths are the ongoing search for “the experience of life.” According to Campbell, what myths—all myths—tell us is that the meaning of life is the experience of life: “Eternity isn’t some later time, eternity isn’t a long time. Eternity has nothing to do with time! It is that dimension of here and now in which thinking and time cut out … This is it. If you don’t get it here, you won’t get it anywhere. The experience of eternity right here and now is the function of life.”
Ancient Egypt taps into the power of the mind’s eye. With its soaring pyramids, sacred tombs, complex hieroglyphs, ancient temple walls, legends of exotic pharaohs, and colorful pantheon of gods, it is easy to be captivated by the landscape of a culture that richly and deeply stirs the imagination.
Horus, the helper of Ra and symbol for the Pharaoh, is often seen in the form of a falcon. Hence why Horus, is called the falcon god, and the helper of Ra and symbolized the powers of the Pharaoh during most of Egyptian history. After avenging the death of his father, Osiris, Horus inherited the right to rule over the land of Egypt and went on to become one of the most important gods in the Egyptian pantheon.
There are mentions of Horus going back to the beginning of Egyptian history, and he is depicted in the oldest known cult statue in existence. The most common form in which Horus appears in iconography is the falcon. Sometimes, and especially from the Middle Kingdom (c. 1975-1640 BCE) onward, Horus is shown as a winged sun disk, representing the Horus of Behdet, a town in the Nile Delta and an important cult center of the falcon god. This is one of the most widespread images in Egyptian religious architecture, and there are thousands of examples in museums and monuments.
According to Egyptian mythology, Horus was the son of Isis and Osiris, the goddess of love and the god of the dead respectively. He was directly linked with Egyptian kingship since the earliest times when his image appeared in some rectangular devices known as serekhs. Serekhs were emblems of the earliest pharaohs and showed the falcon god perched on the facade of a palace enclosure. This implied a direct association between Horus and the kings, and indeed the “Horus name” was one of the many titles of the king. As well as being characterized by a Horus name, the king was typically depicted with a form of the falcon hovering above his head.
One of the longest and most convoluted mythological tales from ancient Egypt tells the story of how Horus and Seth fought for the right to inherit Osiris’ throne after the god of the dead was murdered… by his brother Seth. As in many other classical epic narratives, it starts in media res. That is, we do not learn the circumstances of Osiris’ demise from the papyrus, as it has already happened. What we do learn is that the main Egyptian gods have been assembled to find a suitable successor, and everything points to Horus, Osiris’ son, being the one true heir was said to be too young to rule. This makes the Ennead doubt, and when the chaotic god Seth makes his claim for the throne of Egypt on account of Osiris being his brother, the Ennead realizes there is no easy way to determine who should be king. Any group of nine can be defined by the Greek word “ennead”, but in the case of ancient Egypt, the term refers to the Heliopolitan Ennead, a group of nine gods and goddesses who were considered the most important within the Egyptian pantheon. Heliopolis was the city of the sun, and their cosmogony reflects how the sun-gods, Horus first and Atum-Ra later, became the most prominent figures in the pantheon.
At first, the Ennead was inclined to give the throne to Horus, while Ra wanted to benefit Seth with kingship. They decided to call another god, named Banedjem, to settle the dispute, but not wanting to anger either Ra or the Ennead, Banedjem pleaded incompetence. He recommended, however, that they contact the ancient goddess Neith. As she had been around since before Egyptian history began, she would surely know what to do. A letter is sent to Neith, and her response comes after a few weeks: Horus should be the king. This infuriated Ra, as he began to complain that Horus could not be king just yet because he was too young and inexperienced. Seth was also angered, as he claimed that being the brother of Osiris it was only right that he received his crown. However, Isis, Horus’ mother, scolded the other gods for being undecided. It was unthinkable that Seth, who was responsible for Osiris’ death, could inherit his throne. This certainly was a compelling argument, but Ra was not prepared to concede just yet and complained that Isis’ opinion was not impartial and that if they were to have a fair trial, it had to be held on an island in the middle of the Nile so that the jury could decide without outside pressure.
All the gods, then, went to the island. And so did Isis, as she managed to bribe the ferryman into letting her cross in disguise. She had transformed herself into a beautiful young girl and immediately made Seth fall in love with her. She told the god of chaos a story that she had been married to a wealthy man and had a son with him, only for the man to die. Their son, from that moment, took care of the cattle. Sometime later, a man came to the farm and settled there, thanks to the woman’s kindness. Taking advantage of such kindness, the man claimed ownership over the land and the cattle. At this point in the story, the disguised Isis asks Seth his opinion on the topic. He replies in indignation, that the cattle should never be given to the foreigner if the late owner’s son is alive. Isis then transforms herself into a kite and flies to where Ra was to tell him about Seth’s admission. Ra did not want to award Horus the throne of Osiris, but he had no choice under the circumstances. As a last resort, he convinces the Ennead that the outcome of the trial should be decided by Horus and Seth themselves.
The myth of Horus is a complex and coherent narrative starring supernatural beings, and it seeks to explain the origin of some things from everyday life. Since it was decided that the two gods would hold a competition, and the victor would receive Osiris’ kingship, the form of the competition was left for the competitors to decide. They each came up with several contests in which they thought they had an advantage over the opponent. For instance, Seth, who was commonly associated with the dangerous hippopotamus, proposed at one time that they should transform themselves into hippopotami and dive into the Nile. The one who could hold their breath longer would be the victor. Of course, Seth would have easily won, but Horus’ mother, Isis, came to the rescue by thrusting a copper spear into Seth. Eventually, Horus was proclaimed the winner and the rightful heir to the throne of Egypt. This is why most Pharaohs in Egyptian history have a “Horus name” and use the image of the falcon god in almost every piece of art that has survived. Each living king in ancient Egypt was considered the embodiment of Horus (and had a first “Horus name” in the official titulary); upon death, he (or “she”) became Osiris, with his successor enthroned as the new Horus.
But how was Horus proclaimed the rightful heir to the throne? Because, of course, Seth had an advantage over Horus in hippo form. This is why Isis takes action to save Horus from Seth, making a harpoon out of copper and spearing Seth while submerged, forcing him to go back to the surface. The trial gets annulled, and Horus and Seth continue engaging in different competitions to know who deserves the kingship of Osiris. Needless to say, Seth was not very happy with the way Isis interfered in the trial, so in a fit of anger he gouged Horus’ eyes out of his face. Isis manages to cure his eyes with milk. This conduct was considered foul play by the Ennead and by Ra, who was finally prepared to make a decision that would benefit Horus.
The infamous lettuce scene started the very night of Horus’ victory. Happy to have found a replacement for Osiris, the gods decided to throw a party, inviting everyone in Egypt. As there were so many gods invited, some of them had to share the tents, including Horus and Seth. The latter took advantage of this arrangement by stealthily making his way towards Horus’ bunk when everyone was asleep Seth ejaculated on Horus’ body. But Horus had sensed the presence of Seth (and his intentions) and caught his semen in one hand, not letting it touch his body. When he told his mother about this, Isis quickly cut off his hand and threw it in the Nile. Meanwhile, she proceeded to collect her son’s semen and went to ask the gods’ gardener which of the vegetables he was growing were Seth’s favorite. The gardener pointed to the lettuce, and that was where Isis deposited Horus’ semen.
Later that day, after a delicious meal of fresh lettuce, Seth stood up in the middle of the room where every god was gathered in celebration and he claimed that he had an announcement to make. He then told everyone in attendance that he had “done the male’s work” on Horus and that this fact was proof enough that Seth would make a better king than Horus. But when he “called” his seed, it replied from the middle of the river, not from Horus’ body as he had expected. Instead, when Isis stepped in to call her son’s semen out, it replied from Seth’s forehead. Thus it was apparent to everyone there that Seth had the “male’s work” done to him. It had become clear that Horus was the victor in that contest.
The contending of Horus and Seth did not end there. The trials continued for some time until eventually, the Ennead decided to ask the man himself, Osiris. The gods sent a letter to the Underworld, to which Osiris replied that it was Horus who deserved his throne. And so it was done. Horus became king and the sole God responsible for restoring cosmic order in the land of Egypt, and everyone rejoiced.
Conflicts and reconciliations look at interpretations of the contending in terms of what they reveal about myths and rituals in Ancient Egypt. According to Carl Jung’s writings on Egyptian myth, Horus is variously said to represent light, humanity, the dawn of consciousness, and the perfected self. In Jung’s Memories, Dreams and Reflections, an autobiography, Jung reflected on his experience in Africa and the myth of Horus, which made an impression on him. “The myth of Horus is the story of the newly risen divine light. It would have been told after the deliverance out of the primordial darkness of prehistoric times through culture, that is to say through the revelation of consciousness. Thus the journey from the interior of Africa to Egypt became for me like a drama of the birth of light, which was intimately connected with, my psychology. I had wanted to know how Africa would affect me, and I had found out .”
Deep and meaningful travel experiences tend to have a profound effect on us. The Temple of Horus also known as the Edfu Temple, is an incredibly well-preserved monument with its roof intact, it is also one of the most atmospheric of ancient buildings. As the second largest temple – after the Karnak Temple – as well as the fountain of knowledge about Ancient Egyptian beliefs on a visit to the temple, you are greeted with the fantastic site of its vast entryway, adorned with stunning reliefs of falcons. Ask us about our Egypt itinerary for more.
Getting There: Visit our African Homecoming page — a page dedicated to African history, Africa’s great civilizations, people, places, history, culture, and traditions and uncover the untold stories of the diverse and vast African continent. Encompassing a wide range of experiences, the page is inspired by our travelers who are cultural ambassadors, erudite for ebullient discussions, gluttons for authentic cultural experiences and stories, with an inveterate passion for travel. We’re always here to take the guesswork out of your travel experiences to the African continent – experiences that shift perspectives and fuel imagination.
