Horus the child

Horus the child

Horus the child was also known as Harseisis or HerusaAset (Horus son of Isis) and Harpokrates or Herupakhered (Horus the Child or Horus the Younger) while still an infant. He was the child of Isis and Osiris who was conceived after the death of Osiris at the hands of Set.

Brought up in secret by Isis, Horus took up the battle against Set when he came of age. As Herupakhred, he was depicted as an naked infant wearing the sidelock of youth with one finger held to his lips. In this role he represented both the royal heir and newborn sun. He is often depicted with his mother Isis in a pose which later became iconic for the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus in Christian art.

Herupakhered (Harpokrates, Horus the child)
Herupakhered (Harpokrates, Horus the child)
HerusaAset (Harseisis, Horus son of Isis)
HerusaAset (Harseisis, Horus son of Isis)
Horus cippi

HerusaAset was thought to protect the deceased along with the “four sons of Horus” who protected the vital organs removed from the body and placed in canopic jars during mummification. Each of the four were associated with a point on the compass and a patron goddess, as well as the specific organ they protected.

While as HerusaAset he fought Set to avenge his father’s death and to regain the throne of Egypt, once installed as King, he was known as Harnedjitef, (“Horus the savior of his father”) in recognition of the fact that he successfully avenged his father’s death and regained the kingdom. At Nag’el Madamud (north of Luxor) the war god Montu was worshiped along with his consort Raettawy, and their son Harpokrates (Horus the Younger).

the fours ons of Horus
the four sons of Horus

Copyright J Hill 2010