Blog # 326 On the wings of the gods

Isis with her falcon wings, courtesy of ancientorigins.net. 

While it’s not rigorous field biology to do so, Orpheus’ and Ophelia’s offspring are given  names to help distinguish them. This year’s names are from the Ancient Egyptian pantheon—a few of the gods and goddesses who had hawk heads or wings—Horus  and Montu (Monty) for boys and Nephthys (Neff) and Isis for girls.  

Birds were the most popular symbols in ancient Egypt with images of wings or feathers  representing rebirth (reincarnation) and life. The ancient Egyptians believed that when  someone died, their soul would be taken by a bird to live with Osiris on his throne. 

Two depictions of the god Horus, courtesy of ancientorigins.net. 

Ancient Egyptians developed detailed symbols that held significant meaning to them and followed complex rules for depicting gods and human figures. This accounts for the unmistakable style of Egyptian drawing and painting. Bird symbols ranged from simple line drawings to colorful and ornate representations of nature and the world, with unique depictions of perspective and graphic designs. 

Horus as a bird, courtesy of the Met.org. 

In ancient Egypt, the Nile Delta was filled with bird species that captured the imagination  of the people and made their way into Egyptian hieroglyphics and mythology. Birds  were plentiful in the delta including ibis, vultures, buzzards, falcons, owls, guinea-fowl, 

Horus as a bird, courtesy of the Met.org. 

flamingos, storks, quails, herons, and ostrich. Archeological investigations in the area  show that ancient Egyptians built their homes close to the water, which gave them the  opportunity to observe birds' behaviors.  

The Bennu Bird, Ra, courtesy of ancienteygpt.com

Ancient Egyptians believed birds were “winged souls” and used them to depict deities in  their art. For example, the phoenix, an ancient deity, is linked to the sun, creation, and  rebirth or resurrection. The Bennu, for example, was a heron-like deity akin to the phoenix. As the soul of Ra (the supreme sun god), the Bennu represented the rising and setting sun. Hieroglyphs of this large heron in Egypt’s later periods directly represented the Bennu. 

Ancient Egyptian hawk gods: Ra, Horus, Montu, and Set, courtesy of the Met.org. 

Ra himself, being the supreme sun god and the foremost god of all ancient Egyptian  religion, was depicted as a man with a falcon’s head. His myths often overlapped with  that of the sky god Horus (who also had the head of a falcon), combining to form “Ra Horus.” Thoth was the god of mathematics, magic, the sciences, the moon, knowledge,  and writing. He was the patron god of scribes and was usually depicted as an ibis or a  man with an ibis’ head. 

Nekhbet was an early goddess that protected rulers of the upper Nile. She was depicted  as a woman with a vulture’s head, and sometimes with the wings of a vulture. Khonsu  was a moon god and is sometimes depicted as having a falcon’s head with a crescent  moon headdress. 

Art representing the hawk-headed god Horus, courtesy of the Met.org.

As mentioned above, the god Horus was usually depicted as having a falcon’s head or  body. Hor (Horus is the Latin reading) means, “the Distant One,” a reference to the  god’s domain in the sky. The god Horus known today was actually worshipped in two  different ways over the course of ancient Egyptian history. 

Horus the Elder (or Horus the Great), worshipped in Egypt’s Predynastic era (c. 6000 – 3150 BC), was a benevolent protector and creator associated with the sun and the sky,  took the form of a falcon to bring forth messages from Ra. Horus the Younger,  worshipped from the Early Dynastic (c. 3150 – 2613 BC) to the Ptolemaic (c. 323 – 30  BC) periods, was the son of the benevolent agricultural god Osiris and the magical  goddess Isis. Osiris was killed by his brother Set, the god of discord, and Set took Osiris’ throne. Fleeing in fear, Isis took Horus the Younger to the swamps of the Nile where she and other goddesses raised Horus until he was old enough to reclaim the throne. Horus ruled as a rightful mediator between heaven and earth. Horus the Younger is associated with the falcon and is depicted as a human with a falcon’s head, standing or seated on a throne. Pharaohs identified themselves with Horus in life and Osiris in death. 

Art representing the hawk-headed god Montu, courtesy of the Met.org. 

Montu (also Mentu) was the falcon-headed god of war in ancient Egyptian, and the embodiment of the conquering vitality of the pharaoh. A very ancient god, Montu was  originally a manifestation of the scorching effect of the sun. This destructive association  with sun-burns eventually led to Montu’s becoming a widely revered war God. In Egyptian art, Montu was depicted as a hawk-headed god or later on as a bull headed man, with his head surmounted by the solar disk and two feathers. Montu’s falcon incarnation symbolized the sky, while the bull represented strength and war.

Art representing the hawk-winged goddess isis, courtesy of the Met.org. 

Isis, along with her sister Nephthys, was at times depicted as having hawk, kite, or kestrel-like features, especially wings and feathers. They were known as guardians of  the dead, and tombs were sometimes lined with their images. The sounds, especially  the screeches of hawks, eagles, and other birds of prey — were considered to be the  screeches of Isis and Nephthys. 

Isis was the ancient goddess of fertility, motherhood, magic, death, healing, and rebirth,  becoming one of the most widely worshipped Egyptian deities. Isis was first mentioned  in the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BCE) as one of the main characters of the Osiris  myth, in which she resurrects her slain husband, the divine king Osiris, and produces  

Art representing the hawk-winged goddess Nephthys, courtesy of the Met.org. 

and protects his heir, Horus. Her maternal aid was invoked in healing spells to benefit  ordinary people and she was considered the divine mother of the pharaoh, who was  likened to Horus. Originally, she played a limited role in royal rituals and temple rites,  although she was more prominent in funerary practices and magical texts. Her magical power was greater than that of all other gods. She was said to protect the kingdom from  its enemies, govern the skies and the natural world, and have power over fate itself.

Nephthys and her sister Isis, both goddesses in ancient Egyptian religion were often  depicted as women with falcon wings. Nephthys was typically paired with her  sister Isis in funerary rites because of their role as protectors of the god Osiris. In the  funerary role, Nephthys often was depicted as a woman with falcon wings, usually  outstretched as a symbol of protection. Nephthys's association with the Egyptian hawk  (and its piercing, mournful cries) evidently reminded the ancients of the lamentations  usually offered for the dead by wailing women. Nephthys is a protective goddess who  symbolizes the death experience, just as Isis represented the birth experience. 

Ideograph for the concept of soul, courtesy of ancienteygpt.com. 

Finally, in a somewhat strange reversal of deities represented as humans with bird  heads, the hieroglyph of a human head on top of a bird’s body was an ideograph  representing the concept of the soul. The supernatural belief was endemic to ancient  Egyptian society, and the religious reverence for birds was certainly not limited to  supernatural beings. 

Please note: No blogs will be posted between June 3-11 as the webmaster will be on  vacation. 

Eyes to the sky! 

Candace  

Candace E. Cornell  

Friends of Salt Point  

Cayuga Osprey Network 

Lansing, NY  

cec222@gmail.com

HELP PROTECT OSPREYS  

• AVOID GETTING TOO CLOSE TO NESTING SITES DURING THE BREEDING SEASON. IF AN  ANIMAL VOCALIZES WHEN YOU'RE NEAR, YOU ARE TOO CLOSE! BACK OFF IMMEDIATELY. • CARRY BINOCULARS TO VIEW WILDLIFE FROM AFAR. 

• RESTORE, CLEAN, AND PRESERVE LAKESHORE AND WETLAND HABITAT. • RECYCLE USED FISHING LINE, WHICH CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO OSPREY. • JOIN THE CAYUGA OSPREY NETWORK AND VOLUNTEER TO HELP MONITOR OSPREY  NESTS. WRITE TO: CEC222@GMAIL.COM. 

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