Eye of Horus
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The Eye of Horus (originally, The Eye of Ra) is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection and power, from the deity Horus or Ra.
Symbol
-->The Eye was a symbol that signified royal power, yet on the numeration side denoted a decimal system where round off was set to the first 6-terms. The ancients believed this symbol of indestructibility would assist in rebirth, due to their beliefs about the soul. The more recent tradition of freemasonry adopted the symbol in the form of the Eye of Providence and as such it has survived to this day. The Eye of Horus (flanked by Nekhbet and Wadjet) was found under the 12th layer of bandages on Tutankhamun's mummy.
Horus was an ancient god in Egyptian mythology who dramatically evolved over the whole of Egyptian history. Early on, he became identified as a sky god, where one of his eyes was the sun, and the other the moon. His weaker eye later became less important in his mythology, and he became more strongly aligned with the sun, particularly when the cult of Thoth, a moon god, arose. As the sun, or rather, with his eye as the sun, his eye had a special meaning, and became a symbol of power when combined with the hieratic aspects of the subject. Originally, Ra held this position, but as Horus gradually became more important, he transformed into a sun god, so Horus became thought of as Ra, or rather Ra-Herakhty ("Ra, who is Horus of the two horizons"). Later Horus-Eye numeration decreased in importance in Egyptian life, with hieratic, demotic and later improvements in Egyptian arithmetic solving the oldest Horus-Eye problem. The oldest Horus-Eye problem was to write any number, like one (1), exactly, without throwing away any piece of the number.
It represents a peregrine falcon's eye and the markings round it, including the "teardrop" marking sometimes found below the eye; Ancient Egyptian h-r means "falcon".
In arithmetic
In the Ancient Egyptian measurement system, the Eye Of Horus was used a form of fractional notation, each of the parts of the eye representing a different fraction. The parts of the eye were divided as follows:
- 1/2 was represented by smell, symbolized by the right side of the eye in a form of the nose. The pyramid text says: "Behold [the fire] rises in Abydos and it comes; I cause it to come, the Eye of Horus. It is set in order upon thy brow, O Osiris Khenti-Amenti; it is set in the shrine and rises on thy brow."
- 1/4 was represented by sight or the sensation of light, symbolized by the pupil. The pyramid text says: "Perfect is the Eye of Horus. I have delivered the Eye of Horus, the shining one, the ornament of the Eye of Ra, the Father of the Gods."
- 1/8 was represented by thought, symbolized by the eyebrow. The pyramid text says: "...the Eye of Horus hath made me holy...I will hide myself among you, O ye stars which are imperishable. My brow is the brow of Ra."
- 1/16 was represented by hearing, symbolized by right side of the eye in the form of an arrow pointing towards the ear. The pyramid text says: "That which has been shut fast/dead hath been opened by the command of the Eye of Horus, which hath delivered me. Established are the beauties of the forehead of Ra."
- 1/32 was represented by taste, by the sprouting of wheat or grain from the planted stalk, symbolized by a curved tail. The pyramid text says: "Come, the Eye of Horus hath delivered for me my soul, my ornaments are established on the brow of Ra. Light is on the faces of those who are in the members of Osiris."
- 1/64 was represented by touch, symbolized by a leg touching the ground. The pyramid text says: "I shall see the Gods and the Eye of Horus burning with fire before my eyes."
See also
- Eye of Providence: a symbol showing an eye surrounded by rays of light or a glory, and usually enclosed by a triangle
- Evil eye - widely distributed element of folklore
External links
- Akhmim (Cairo)Wooden Tablet, http://akhmimwoodentablet.blogspot.com
- [Eye of Horus Gallery]
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