HORUS

Horus is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities. He was worshipped from at least the
late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Different forms of Horus
are recorded in history and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists.[1] These various
forms may possibly be different perceptions of the same multi-layered deity in which certain
attributes or syncretic relationships are emphasized, not necessarily in opposition but
complementary to one another, consistent with how the Ancient Egyptians viewed the multiple
facets of reality.[2] He was most often depicted as a falcon, most likely a lanner falcon or peregrine
falcon, or as a man with a falcon head.[3]

The earliest recorded form of Horus is the tutelary deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt, who is the first
known national god, specifically related to the king who in time came to be regarded as a
manifestation of Horus in life and Osiris in death.[1] The most commonly encountered family
relationship describes Horus as the son of Isis and Osiris, and he plays a key role in the Osiris myth
as Osiris's heir and the rival to Set, the murderer of Osiris. In another tradition Hathor is regarded
as his mother and sometimes as his wife.[1] Horus served many functions, most notably being a
god of the sky, war and hunting.

Horus, Egyptian Hor, Har, Her, or Heru, in ancient Egyptian religion, a god in the form of a falcon
whose right eye was the sun or morning star, representing power and quintessence, and whose
left eye was the moon or evening star, representing healing. Falcon cults, which were in evidence
from late predynastic times, were widespread in Egypt.

Horus appeared as a local god in many places and under different names and epithets—for
instance, as Harmakhis (Har-em-akhet, “Horus in the Horizon”), Harpocrates (Har-pe-khrad,
“Horus the Child”), Harsiesis (Har-si-Ese, “Horus, Son of Isis”), Harakhte (“Horus of the Horizon,”
closely associated with the sun god Re), and, at Kawm Umbū (Kom Ombo), as Haroeris (Harwer,
“Horus the Elder”).

At Nekhen (Greek: Hierakonpolis), however, the conception arose that the reigning king was a
manifestation of Horus, and, after Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt had been united by the kings
from Nekhen, this notion became a generally accepted dogma. The most important of an Egyptian
king’s names (the number of which grew from three in early dynastic times to five later) was his
Horus name—i.e., the name that identified him with Horus. This name appeared on monuments
and tombs in a rectangular frame called a serekh.

In addition to being characterized by a Horus name, the king was typically depicted with a
hovering form of Horus above his head. Sometimes Horus is shown as a winged sun disk,
representing the Horus of Behdet, a town in the Nile River delta where the falcon-god enjoyed a
cult.

From the 1st dynasty (c. 2925–2775 bce) onward, Horus and the god Seth were presented as
perpetual antagonists who were reconciled in the harmony of Upper and Lower Egypt. In the myth
of Osiris, who became prominent about 2350 bce, Horus was the son of Osiris and Isis and was
the nephew of Seth, Osiris’s brother. When Seth murdered Osiris and contested Horus’s heritage
(the royal throne of Egypt), Horus became Seth’s enemy. Horus eventually defeated Seth, thus
avenging his father and assuming the rule. In the fight, Horus’s left eye (i.e., the moon) was
damaged—this being a mythical explanation of the moon’s phases—and was healed by the god
Thoth. The figure of the restored eye (the wedjat eye) became a powerful amulet. Horus is also
associated (sometimes as son, sometimes as partner) with the ancient cow-goddess Hathor, who
is often depicted with cow’s horns, sometimes with cow’s ears.
In the Ptolemaic period the vanquishing of Seth became a symbol of Egypt triumphing over its
occupiers. At Idfū, where rebellions frequently interrupted work on the temple, a ritual drama
depicting Horus as pharaoh spearing Seth in the guise of a hippopotamus was periodically
enacted.

Horus was later identified by the Greeks with Apollo, and the town of Idfū was called Apollinopolis
(“Apollo’s Town”) during the Greco-Roman period.

Eye of Horus
Eye of Horus, in ancient Egypt, symbol representing protection, health, and restoration.

According to Egyptian myth, Horus lost his left eye in a struggle with Seth. The eye was magically
restored by Hathor, and this restoration came to symbolize the process of making whole and
healing. For this reason, the symbol was often used in amulets.

Bathala
The Supreme Being and Creator of the Universe

Philippine Mythology, Bathalang Maykapal, or Bathala for short, was the Supreme God of the
ancient Tagalogs and King of the Diwata. All of these beliefs were soon changed after the
Spaniards set foot on the islands. Spanish missionaries used Bathala as a way for them to convert
the Tagalogs into Christianity by associating him with the Christian God. They also did this to the
other deities by replacing them with saints. Since then, the name "Bathala" was used to refer to
the Christian God and is still used by Filipinos today, and God is even addressed as ''Poong
(Panginoon, meaning "Lord") Maykapal". Bathala's Northern Luzon counterparts are Kabunian and
Lumawig; his Southern Luzon counterpart is Gugurang; and his Visayan counterparts are Abba
Kan-Laon, and Kaptan. Bathala also means God.

Residence

Bathala was among the first entities of the Earth; along with Amihan, the North Wind, and Aman
Sinaya, the sea goddess. It is said that the three deities were created from the collision of the Sky
and the Sea. They then decided to divide the world into realms for each of them to rule upon;
Bathala reigned over the Sky, Aman Sinaya reigned over the Sea, and Amihan took over the realm
in between. Bathala and the other gods and goddesses were said to have lived in a kingdom
above the skies, called Kalualhatian (Sky World). The Tagalogs used to think that anitos, which are
small ancient wooden idols from the Philippines, were his ministers on Earth. His main enemies
are the lizard god, Bakonawa, who is ruler of Kasanaan (the Underworld) and his evil spawns of
darkness, such as the aswang and manananggal.

Legend has it that Bathala fell in love with a mortal woman when he was visiting the Earth. They
got married and had three children: Apolaki, Mayari, and Tala. Many years passed, and the three
grew up to become mighty demigods; the time had finally come for them to take their rightful
place in Kaluwalhatian, or the Sky World. There was a big feast in Kaluwalhatian, with both gods
and humans joining in the festivities. After the feast, the ceremony of initiation began. Bathala
came out of the crowd and summoned his children to stand in front of him. He then appointed
them each with a task. Apolaki was appointed “God of War” and “Guardian of the Sun." Mayari
was appointed as the be “Goddess of the Moon”. Tala was appointed “Goddess of the Stars”. The
three children of Bathala soon became known among the greatest of deities in the Sky World.
Bathala’s Creation of the Islands and People
In the beginning when the Earth was still young, the gods Bathala, Aman Sinaya, and Amihan were
the only beings that existed. Bathala was god of the Sky (Langit) and Aman Sinaya was goddess
of the Sea (Linaw). The two had been fierce rivals for a long time. Every day, they would try to
outdo each other; Bathala using his lighting bolts and thunder, and Aman Sinaya using her waves
and typhoons.

One day, Aman Sinaya decided to send her Storm|tempests into the Sky to cause a wild
commotion. In order to stop her, Bathala threw giant boulders that came from atop of the
mountains. It created thousands of islands onto the surface of the Sea (which became to be the
Philippine archipelago). Amihan, the North Wind in the middle of the two realms, decided to stop
the battle once and for all by taking the form of a bird. He then flew back and fourth between
them. This made the Sky and the Sea closer than it was before. At the point where the two realms
met, both gods agreed to end the fight and become friends.

As a sign of friendship, Bathala planted a seed underneath the ocean floor. It soon grew into a
bamboo reed, sticking out of the edge of the Sea. Amihan had gazed upon it one day and heard
voices, coming from inside the bamboo. “Oh, North Wind! North Wind! Please let us out.”, the
voices said. He pecked the reed once, then twice. When all of a sudden, the bamboo cracked and
slit open. Inside were two human beings; one was a male and the other was a female. Amihan
named the man, Malakas (“strong”), and the woman, Maganda (“beautiful”). He then flew them
onto one of the islands where they settled, built a house, and had millions of offsprings that
populated the Earth.

Then, it finally came when the children were too numerous for Malakas and Maganda to control.
One day, they were ordered to work in the fields, but instead, they did nothing. When the parents
arrived home, they noticed that their instructions weren’t followed. Asking for some guidance,
they prayed to the great god, Bathala, and he came to them and said, “Let your anger be shown
to everyone and it shall make them into what they are meant to be.” So out of their anger, they
grabbed spoon ladles and began to give blows to everyone.

All the children started running away. Some hid under the bamboo tables and became slaves. A
few of them went inside the burning cauldron and turned into the Aetas of the islands. Others
climbed up the rooftop and became the datus of the villages. While some climbed on top of the
trees and were believed to have become the commoners. Those who fled to the mountains turned
into hunters and the ones who ran to the seashore turned into fishermen.