In our blog entry, “The Greatest Story Ever Sold” we posted a picture that has raised some very unflattering comments from our dear friend, Paige, both on our own blog and on Hunt For Truth‘s blog. Her comments: “Stop getting your information from Bill Maher he is a comic not a historian. Zeitgeist is where he got his info and its a load of bull shit with no regard for historical accuracy.” and “They stayed with the propaganda sites. Jesus never existed is as well a respected an opinion with historians as is Julius Caesar never existed. And their Horus story is a joke.” and “someone needs to look at the conspiracy sites and think they are real sites for information. your view of history is not widely shared by real historians. Forget widely shared its not shared at all” and “there are almost none who agree with you. The Horus stories you put up are simply a fraud. As to Jesus he has more evidence of his existence than Alexander the Great”. Just as a reminder, we post the offending picture below:
Now, if you read the actual article we posted, you will notice that we told no story of Horus at all. We mention only a few words concerning the stories of antiquity as they relate to the story of a deceased Jew, “The stories were generally accepted by the superstitious populace who added to the Jesus stories other long believed supernatural sagas such as a virgin giving birth, miracle healings and the resurrection of the dead.“ The flack we received for the article came from the pitcher alone, not from anything we wrote.
Anyway, we felt it necessary to justify our using this picture to support our article, so we’ll take it point by point down the list as detailed in the chart above. The references we will provide will come from well known Egyptology experts. While we prefer books, we’ll use the Web even though the references aren’t as complete as can be found in published volumes.
Born of a Virgin
One thing to remember, the ancient Egyptians didn’t use words like “virgin.” Isis, though the “wife” of Osiris, did not have sex with him and so should be considered to be what we call a virgin. The myths concerning Osiris, Isis and Horus were not recorded so as to be some kind of premonition of Jesus. It just worked out that way if you look up all the Horus/Jesus sites on the web (and there are many, many of them. Some exerting claims some debunking claims. We’ve stayed far away from them in constructing our article here).
First, from the book “Legends of the Gods,” with translations by E.A. Wallis Budge:
The Pyramid Texts say that Nephthys was with her that “Isis came, Nephthys came, the one on the right side, the other on the left side, one in the form of a Hat bird, the other in the form of a Tchert bird, and they found Osiris thrown on the ground in Netat by his brother Set.” The late form of the legend goes on to say that Isis fanned the body with her feathers, and produced air, and that at length she caused the inert members of Osiris to move, and drew from him his essence, wherefrom she produced her child Horus.
This from a website called Egyptian Myths:
The falcon-headed god, the kings of Egypt associated themselves with Horus. Horus was among the most important gods of Egypt, particularly because the Pharaoh was supposed to be his earthly embodiment. Kings would eventually take the name of Horus as one of their own. At the same time, the Pharaohs were the followers of Re and so Horus became associated with the sun as well. To the people this solar deity became identified as the son of Osiris. Attempts to resolve the conflicts between these different gods in different parts of Egypt resulted in at least fifteen distinct forms of Horus. They can be divided fairly easily into two groups, solar and Osirian, based on the parentage of the particular form of Horus. If he is said to be the son of Isis, he is Osirian; otherwise he is a solar deity. The solar Horus was called the son of Atum, or Re, or Geb and Nut variously.
As Harsiesis, he is “Horus, the son of Isis“. Horus was conceived magically by Isis following the murder of his father, Osiris. Horus was raised by his mother on the floating island of Chemmis near Buto. He was in constant danger from his evil uncle Seth but his mother protected him and he survived.
Basically, the story goes as follows. Set killed Osiris, which prompted Isis to desire a child to replace her dead hubby. Set had chopped up Osiris’ body and spread most of it across the desert. Set threw the penis into the Nile where a catfish ate it. Isis, being the great goddess she was, gathered up the parts of Osiris and uttered Words of Power (the most common form of Egyptian magic) which reconnected the body parts. Since she didn’t have his penis, she made one of gold and attached it to Osiris’ body. Uttering more Words of Power, the penis supernaturally sprayed sperm from which Isis was impregnated. Horus, the Falcon God of the Sky was the issue of her womb.
Now, this is not the story of the virgin birth found in the gospels. But if you have eyes and understanding, and can put 1+1 together to get 2, you can see how the story of the birth of Horus approximates that of Jesus. Both women never had a child before. Both women were impregnated supernaturally by God. Both women gave birth to a being considered to be the “son” of God.
Had 12 Disciples
From a site calledTranscripts:
In the seventh hour of the Book of Amduat, Horus is depicted as on his throne with 12 ‘star Gods’ in front of him, regarding this hour, Budge remarks:
‘On the right of the Boat of AFU-RA and facing it, are HORUS, and the twelve Gods of the hours, who protect the tombs of Osiris, and assist RA in his journey…’
Thus the twelve followers of Horus are also protectors of Osiris, and ‘helpers’ of Ra, who aid him in his journey across the sky. Baedeker also made the same inference in regards to the seventh hour, in elucidating:
‘Horus, before whom are the twelve star-gods who conduct the Sun at night…
From Wiki.Answers.Com:
According to the ancient Egyptians, Horus the sky god had twelve followers, one for each sign of the zodiac. Some say that the twelve tribes of Israel were formulated on the twelve signs of the zodiac, and that this led to the twelve disciples of Jesus.
The number 12 was especially significant to the ancients because of the 12 signs of the Zodiac. (The 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 apostles of Jesus) Once again, it isn’t that these followers of Horus weren’t called disciples or apostles – it was the fact that they numbered 12.
Healed the Sick and Injured
From Tour Egypt:
As the object of popular veneration throughout Egypt, Horus was often represented by amulets depicting him either in the form of a falcon or as a falcon-headed man, in both cases often wearing the Double Crown of Egypt. His widespread worship is also seen in the many healing plaques, or cippi, which aimed to utilize his power. The cippi of Horus were a common manifestation of the importance of Horus in healing rituals and popular ritual practice.
Also from Tour Egypt:
In connection with the god Horus and his forms as the god of the rising sun and the symbol and personification of Light must be mentioned a comparatively numerous class of small rounded stelae on convex bases, on front of which are sculptured in relief figures of the god Horus standing upon two crocodiles. These curious and interesting objects are made of basalt and other kinds of hard stone, and of calcareous stone, and they vary in height from 3 ins. to 20 ins.; they were used as talismans by the Egyptians, who placed them in their houses and gardens, and even buried them in the ground to protect themselves and their property from the attacks of noxious beasts, and reptiles, and insects of every kind. In addition to the figures of Horus and of the animals over which are sculptured upon cippi of Horus, the backs, sides, and bases are usually covered with magical texts.
Raised Asar from the dead
From Tours Egypt:
The Names of Osiris in every shrine wherein he dwelleth Asar Un-Nefer
From Teenwitch:
Asar [Osiris]: God of life and death.
From Sacred Temple of Ra:
Since Osiris was dead, Horus, therefore, was born from the union of the spirit of Osiris and the life giving power of Isis who represents supreme love and devotion to the Divine. In this manner, Osiris was resurrected and given life through the son, Horus, and becomes the God who presides over the fate of souls. Horus represents the union of spirit and matter, and the renewed life of Osiris, his rebirth or resurrection.
Like many of the Egyptian Gods, Osiris was called by different names. One of those names was Asar. So for all intents and purposes, Asar was indeed resurrected by Horus.
Asar Translates to Lazarus
From Blind Faith on Goggle Books:
The most prominently cited and plausible parallels are with Horus and Mithras. Horus was one of the life-death-rebirth dieties, and was connected and involved in the resurrection of Osiris, whose Egyptian name Asar is very similar to the root of Lazarus.
From Ancient Bible History:
From the Pyramid Texts
The name “Lazarus” comes from “El-Azar”, of similar sound to
“Asir/Asar”.
To be honest, this is a new one on me. I’ve never run across it before in any of the books I own including the Bible or in any ancient Egypt mythology or language books. All I can provide is what I found on these web sites. They seem to substantiate the claim and do come from reliable sources.
Crucified, Then Resurrected After 3 Days
From Plato Pagan Tripod:
Legend of the Death and Resurrection of Horus (Metternich Stella) Translated by Sir E.A. Wallis Budge
The marsh of Horus of the Olive-tree is by the mountain of his brother; those who are in his following shall not at any time . . . . . . it. This shall happen to him: Horus shall live for his mother, and shall salute (?) [her] with his mouth. A scorpion hath smitten (i.e., stung) him, and the reptile Aun-ab hath wounded him.”
Then Isis placed her nose in his mouth so that she might know whether he who was in his coffin breathed, and she examined the wound of the heir of the god, and she found that there was poison in it. She threw her arms round him, and then quickly she leaped about with him like fish when they are laid upon the hot coals, [saying]:
“Horus is bitten, O Ra. Thy son is bitten, [O Osiris]. Horus is bitten, the flesh and blood of the Heir, the Lord of the diadems (?) of the kingdoms of Shu. Horus is bitten, the Boy of the marsh city of Ateh, the Child in the House of the Prince. The beautiful Child of gold is bitten, the Babe hath suffered pain and is not. Horus is bitten, he the son of Un-Nefer, who was born of Auh-mu (?). Horus is bitten, he in whom there was nothing abominable, the son, the youth among the gods. Horus is bitten, he for whose wants I prepared in abundance, for I saw that he would make answer for his father. Horus is bitten, he for whom [I] had care [when he was] in the hidden woman [and for whom I was afraid when he was] in the womb of his mother. Horus is bitten, he whom I guarded to look upon. I have wished for the life of his heart. Calamity hath befallen the child on the water, and the child hath perished.”
Then came Nephthys shedding tears and uttering cries of lamentation, and going round about through the papyrus swamps. And Serq [came also and they said]:
“Behold, behold, what hath happened to Horus, son of Isis, and who [hath done it]? Pray then to heaven, and let the mariners of Ra cease their labours for a space, for the Boat of Ra cannot travel onwards [whilst] son Horus [lieth dead] on his place.”
“I am Thoth, the firstborn son, the son of Ra, and Tem and the Company of the gods have commanded me to heal Horus for his mother Isis, and to heal him that is under the knife likewise. O Horus, O Horus, thy Ka protecteth thee, and thy Image worketh protection for thee. The poison is as the daughter of its [own] flame; [it is] destroyed [because] it smote the strong son. Your temples are in good
condition for you, [for] Horus liveth for his mother, and he who is under the knife likewise.”
The Death of Horus comes about through the sting of a scorpion. Horus dies and is found by his mother Isis who again calls upon her use of Words of Power to make her son alive again. As I said before, this story is not a word for word example of the resurrection of Jesus. But it does point out they both died, then were then brought back to life by supernatural means.
Known as the Lamb, the Way, the Light
From Tour Egypt:
In connection with the god Horus and his forms as the god of the rising sun and the symbol and personification of Light must be mentioned a comparatively numerous class of small rounded stelae on convex bases, on front of which are sculptured in relief figures of the god Horus standing upon two crocodiles.
From Goggle Books:
Lost Light: An Interpretation of Ancient Scriptures By Alvin Boyd Kuhn
In both phases of character this is Horus of the double force, the double crown, the double father, the double Uraei, the double life, or other types of duplication including the double equinox.
The spirit of God came upon him in his adulthood, when he was divinized as the hawk; and he who had been dumb and meek as the lamb or bull led to the slaughter, became Horus Ma-Keheru, the utter of very truth.
Horus was the falcon God of the sky and as such was often associated with light. He was, however, not the sun god or the moon god but was related to both.
- Y