Horus, also known as Heru, Har, Her or Hor in Ancient Egyptian, is one of the most significant ancient Egyptian deities who served many functions. He was worshipped from at least the late prehistoric Egypt until the Ptolemaic Kingdom and Roman Egypt. Different forms of Horus are recorded in history, and these are treated as distinct gods by Egyptologists. Some of the functions that Horus served include:

• God of kingship: Horus was the tutelary deity of Nekhen in Upper Egypt, who is the first known national god, specifically related to the ruling pharaoh who in time came to be regarded as a manifestation of Horus in life and Osiris in death.

• God of healing: Horus was believed to have healing powers, and he was often invoked in medical spells and incantations.

• God of protection: Horus was also believed to protect the pharaoh and the people of Egypt from harm.

• God of the sun and the sky: Horus was thought to protect the sky, and he was associated with the sun and the sky.

• God of war: In the beginning stages of the ancient Egyptian religion, Horus was believed to be the god of war.

Horus was commonly depicted as a falcon-headed god with a double crown, and the pharaohs of Egypt were associated with Horus since the pharaoh was considered to be the earthly embodiment of the god. Horus was also seen and worshipped as the male child of Osiris and Isis, though either this god was originally a separate deity with whom the ancient falcon god was fused, or the falcon deity was incorporated into the Osirian family in very different form, because here he is depicted as a divine human infant.