Horus
Horus the Child was born on December 25th and every day as Ra-Horakhti, Horus of the Two Horizons. His mother, Isis, was called the “Great Virgin” in the Temple of Seti I at Abydos. Sirius marks the birth of Horus the Elder, followed by the Three Kings of Orion. Horus leads 12 followers through the underworld. He baptizes or purifies the dead (CT Sp. 74) He dies and resurrects, per Diodorus Siculus (1.25.6), 1st cent. BCE.
Broadly speaking, the story of Horus is as follows: Horus was born on December 25th
The date of the birth of Horus according to some online sources is during the Egyptian month of
Khoiak (which corresponds to our
November month)
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khoiak . The Egyptian calendar had three seasons, each four months and 30 days/month. The season of Akhet is months (in Greek) Thot, Phaophi, Athyr, Khoiak; the season of Peret (or Winter) is months (in Greek) Tybi, Mekhir, Phamenoth, Pharmouthi; the season of Chemou (or Summer) is months (in Greek) Pakhon, Payni, Epiph, Mesor�. See online sources:
Egyptian Festival Calender ;
Egyptian calendar months and seasons ;
Grand Festivals ;
Festival Rituals. We also know where Horus was supposedly born (at Khemmis or Chemmis in the Nile Delta of northern Upper Egypt).
of the virgin Isis-Meri.
Wrong again. Her name was simply Isis (in Greek). Her true Egyptian name is transliterated simply
A-
s-
e-
t or
3st (all woman names in Egyptian end with the "t"). Her name (
Aset) means "seat" or "throne" (
Oxford Encyclopedia, vol 2, "Isis" p. 188) and "the goddess's name is written in hieroglyphs with a sign that represents a throne, indicating the crucial role that she plays in the transmission of the kingship of Egypt" (Hart,
Routledge Dictionary, "Isis" p. 80).
And she definitely was not a virgin when she conceived Horus with the revivified Osiris, if these words mean anything: "[Osiris was]
revived enough to have an erection and impregnate his wife" (Lesko, p. 162); "
After having sexual intercourse..." (Dunand / Zivie-Coche, p. 39); "
revivified the sexual member of Osiris and became pregnant by him" (Richard Wilkinson, p. 146); "
revive the sexual powers of Osiris" (Pinch, p. 80).
A virgin birth, or more properly, a
virginal conception, is by definition
non-sexual.
His birth was accompanied by a star in the east
No evidence any stars are mentioned in the birth of Horus.
which in turn, three kings followed to locate and adorn the new-born savior
There are no "three kings" in the birth of Horus, and there are no "three kings" in the Bible either. Read Matthew 2 for yourself:
"Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold,
there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, 'Where is he that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.'" (Matthew 2:1-2 KJV)
They are not called "kings" but "wise men" -- and they are not
three in number, we don't know how many there were. Three
gifts are later mentioned (gold, frankincense, myrrh) in verse 11, and these were equated with the wise men. Perhaps we are thinking of the Christmas carol "
We three kings of Orient are...." ? Nice tune and lyrics, but it's always best to cross-check with the biblical text.
Horus had 12 disciples he traveled about with
Horus had
NO 12 disciples he traveled with: remember he became
ruler of Egypt after a long battle with Seth. Perhaps you could call
all the subjects in Egypt his "disciples" (which means followers).
There
were technically the "Followers of Horus [son of Isis]" called the
Shemsu Heru, mentioned in the
Liturgy of Funeral Offerings and purification ceremony. These were a group of beings who were closely connected with Osiris, and having "followed" him in this world they passed after him into the Other World (of the dead), where they became his ministrants and messengers. There were also followers (a different group) of Horus the Elder called the
Mesentiu who are "workers in metal" or blacksmiths (see
The Liturgy of Funeral Offerings, the fourth ceremony, commentary by Budge).
Horus leads 12 followers through the underworld.
Horus was never sent to the underworld. That was Osiris who was killed and became lord of the underworld (i.e. the dead), while Horus was king of the living. In one version of the myth, Horus battles with Seth over an 80 year period, the earth-god Geb in a judgment awards the whole inheritance of Egypt to Horus, and Horus then becomes ruler of Egypt. From then on, the dead Egyptian king becomes an "Osiris", and his successor the living king is a "Horus." That is the primary meaning of the Horus-Seth battle myth. In the Egyptian
Coffin Texts (Spell 148, quoted belove), Horus appears as a falcon who soars up into the sky beyond the flight of the original bird-soul, beyond the stars and all the divinities of olden time whose souls inhabit the constellations. In so doing he brings back light and the assurance of a new day, thus subduing Seth, who personifies the terrors of darkness and death.
A longer passage is from the
Coffin Texts (Spell 148) which describes the birth and flight of Horus (as the Falcon god), and has further references to Osiris' "seed":
TAKING SHAPE AS A FALCON. The lightening flash strikes, the gods are afraid, Isis wakes pregnant with the seed of her brother Osiris. She is uplifted, (even she) the widow, and her heart is glad with the seed of her brother Osiris. She says:
"O you gods, I am Isis, the sister of Osiris, who wept for the father of the gods, (even) Osiris who judged the slaughterings of the Two Lands. His seed is within my womb, I have moulded the shape of the god within the egg as my son who is at the head of the Ennead. What he shall rule is this land, the heritage of his (grand-) father Geb, what he shall say is concerning his father, what he shall kill is Seth the enemy of his father Osiris. Come, you gods, protect him within my womb, for he is known in your hearts. He is your lord, this god who is in his egg, blue-haired of form, lord of the gods, and great and beautiful are the vanes [feathery part of plume as distinct from the stem] of the two blue plumes."
"Oh!" says Atum, "guard your heart, O woman!"
"[Isis says:] How do you know? He is the god, lord and heir of the Ennead, who made you within the egg. I am Isis, one more spirit-like and august than the gods; the god is within this womb of mine and he is the seed of Osiris."
Then says Atum: "You are pregnant and you are hidden [allusion to pregnant Isis hiding in the marshes of Chemmis], O girl! You will give birth, being pregnant for the gods, seeing that he is the seed of Osiris. May that villain who slew his father not come, lest he break the egg in its early stages, for the Great-of-Magic will guard against him."
Thus says Isis: "Hear this, you gods, which Atum, Lord of the Mansion of the Sacred Images, has said. He has decreed for me protection for my son within my womb, he has knit together an entourage about him within this womb of mine, for he [Atum] knows that he [Horus] is the heir of Osiris, and a guard over the Falcon who is in this womb of mine has been set by Atum, Lord of the gods. Go up on earth, that I may give you praise [said to the unborn Horus]. The retainers of your father Osiris will serve you, I will make your name, for you have reached the horizon, having passed by the battlements of the Mansion of Him whose name is hidden. Strength has gone up within my flesh, power has reached into my flesh, power has reached...." [there is a textual omission at this point]
"...who conveys the Sunshine-god, and he has prepared his own place, being seated at the head of the gods in the entourage of the Releaser." [unidentifiable speaker, probably either Isis or Atum]
"[Isis speaks to her son who has now been born:] O Falcon, my son Horus, dwell in this land of your father Osiris in this your name of Falcon who is on the battlements of the Mansion of Him whose name is hidden. I ask that you shall be always in the suite of Re of the horizon in the prow of the primeval bark for ever and ever."
Isis goes down to the Releaser who brings Horus, for Isis has asked that he may be the Releaser as the leader of eternity.
"See Horus, you gods! [Horus proclaims his power] I am Horus, the Falcon who is on the battlements of the Mansion of Him whose name is hidden. My flight aloft has reached the horizon, I have overpassed the gods of the sky, I have made my position more prominent than that of the Primeval Ones. The Contender [Seth] has not attained my first flight, my place is far from Seth, the enemy of my father Osiris. I have used the roads of eternity to the dawn, I go up in my flight, and there is no god who can do what I have done. I am aggressive against the enemy of my father Osiris, he having been set under my sandals in this my name of.... [meaning unknown]. I am Horus, born of Isis, whose protection was made within the egg; the fiery blast of your mouths does not attack me, and what you may say against me does not reach me, I am Horus, more distant of place than men or gods; I am Horus son of Isis."
(
Egyptian Coffin Text, Spell 148, translation found in
The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, volume 1, p. 125-127, by R.O. Faulkner; another translation with commentary can be found in
Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt by R.T. Rundle Clark, p. 213-217)
At the age of 12, he was a prodigal child teacher
There is a form known as "
Horus the Child" but he wasn't a prodigal teacher. He was kept hidden away by his mother, until he was ready to be ruler of Egypt. The young god was hidden in the papyrus marshes, hence his epithet
Har-hery-wadj or "Horus who is upon his papyrus plants."
and at the age of 30 he was baptized by a figure known as Anup and thus began his ministry
No evidence of any baptism for Horus, and no evidence of any "ministry" of Horus. Anubis (or Anup or Anpu) means Royal Child, and is usually depicted as jackal-headed or a wild dog-headed man, or a reclining black jackal. Anubis was the great protector god, guiding the soul through the underworld. He was also the Lord of embalming, and through this is connected with incense and perfumery. No baptism here. (See
The Jackal Headed God or
Egyptian Animal Gods).
After being betrayed by Typhon, Horus was crucified, buried for 3 days, and thus, resurrected.
Typhon is also known as Seth, his rival brother (or uncle). Horus was
NOT crucified, was
NOT buried for 3 days, and thus, was
NOT resurrected. Your sources are wrong. In some versions of his battle with Seth, Horus had one or both of his eyes injured, but he was not killed. It was his father Osiris who was killed, dismembered, reconstituted, and revived by Isis, his magical mother.
http://www.philvaz.com/apologetics/HORUS.htm[DOUBLEPOST=1439544010][/DOUBLEPOST]
Attis
Attis is the “son of Cybele in her form as the virgin, Nana, who is impregnated by the divine force in the form of a pomegranate.” -Dr. David Leeming, University of Connecticut. The god is the “castrated and crucified Attis.” -Textual Strategies by Dr. Josué V. Harari “Each year, Attis was born at the winter solstice.” -Shirley Toulson “The youthful Attis after his murder was miraculously brought to life again three days after his demise.” Dr. Andrew Fear
Attis is the “son of Cybele in her form as the virgin, Nana, who is impregnated by the divine force in the form of a pomegranate.” -Dr. David Leeming, University of Connecticut.
The god is the “castrated and crucified Attis.” -Textual Strategies by Dr. Josué V. Harari
“The youthful Attis after his murder was miraculously brought to life again three days after his demise.” Dr. Andrew Fear
In this longer Arnobius version, Attis' mother is Nana, the daughter of King Sangarius. She became pregnant and conceived Attis from a pomegranate fruit produced from the blood of Agdistis the fierce hunter, after an attempt by Liber to kill him. Endowed with extraordinary beauty, Attis became the favorite of Cybele along with Agdistis, both who were born from a huge rock called "Agdos." Attis dies from castration and the longer story ends like this:
"The Mother of the gods also shed bitter tears from which an almond tree sprang up, and then she took the sacred pine-tree, under which Attis had emasculated himself, into her den and joined the funeral laments of Agdistis, smiting her breasts and walking around the trunk of the tree. Agdistis begged Jupiter [or Zeus] to bring Attis back to life (
revivisceret), but that was not permitted. Instead the god agreed that the body of Attis should not putrefy, that his hair should always grow and that his little finger should move for eternity. Satisfied with these favours, Agdistis consecrated the dead man's body to Pessinous and honoured him with yearly ceremonies and priestly services." (Lancellotti, page 4-5)
The complex mythology of Attis is irrelevant to the question of dying and rising deities. In the Phrygian version, Attis is killed by castration; in the Lydian version, he is killed by a boar. In neither case is there any question of his returning to life. Two late,
post-Christian theological reflections on the myth hint at rebirth: the allegory in
Naassene Sermon and the "euhemerist" account in Firmacus Maternus (third book of
De errore profanarum religionum from the fourth century AD), in which a pretended resurrection is mentioned, although it is doubtful this ever played any part in the actual cult.
http://www.biblicalcatholic.com/apologetics/JesusEvidenceCrucifiedSaviors.htm#Attis