Horus Falcon Wearing Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt with Uraeus

Lord of the sky, solar god, and god of kingship -- Horus is among Egypt's oldest deities. The falcon soaring in the sky embodied the god's qualities, and Horus was represented as a falcon or falcon-headed man. As heir to the divine kingship of Egypt, he appears here with the royal uraeus (cobra) and the double crown. The statue illustrates the high standard of bronzeworking and the rising popularity of animal cults in Late Period Egypt (664--332 BCE). The bird's gilt eyes stand out from the dazzling feather coat, bringing to mind the celestial falcon, whose eyes were the sun and the moon. X-radiography has revealed a bird skeleton encased in the bronze. Mummified animals were dedicated by the thousands to the relevant deities. This bronze falcon, then, is not just an image of Horus but the tangible remains of a prayer to the god more than 2,500 years ago.