One of the symbols that literally permeates the entire mythology and history of Egypt, and is related to many gods and pharaohs, is Wadget in its two main guises - the Eye of Ra and the Eye of Horus.
Eye of Ra
The Eye of Ra, or the Eye of the Sun, personified power and authority, fire and light, vigilance and speed of reaction and was able to burn any opponent. It was usually depicted in the form of a Urey-cobra, quite often winged (apparently in honor of the goddess Nehbet), sometimes with a solar disk.
The Sun Eye was identified with Uadzhet (one of the few goddesses whose serpentine nature is beyond doubt), Nehbet, Maat, Hathor, and with all the goddesses depicted as a lioness: Tefnut, Sokhmet, Mehit and others.
As a prototype of the ureus, the ram-clerk, Wadzhet was often represented in the form of a primordial snake spewing out flame and poison - a solar eye, burning its enemies with its fire. According to some sources, the image of the Ureus was based on the South Egyptian cobra - gaya, according to others - asp.
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Urey was a symbol of royal greatness, the power of life and death, the ability to rule and destroy the enemies of Ra. It was an integral part of the headdress of the pharaohs in the form of a head-up vertical snake, worn on a diadem, and from the Middle Kingdom - on a crown. The crown of Amun was crowned with two Urei.
Images of the ureus as protective signs were included in the sculptural decoration of buildings (the cornice of the chapel in the ensemble of the pyramid of Pharaoh Djoser in Sakkara, XXVIII century BC, etc.), paintings of tombs, drawings of the Book of the Dead, etc.
They are also widely represented in the architecture of some European cities.
In the pre-dynastic era, Egypt included two warring regions - Upper and Lower (along the Nile). After their unification around 2900 BC. Pharaoh Men or Narmer in a centralized state, the country continued to be administratively divided into Upper and Lower Egypt, and was officially called "Two Lands". These real historical events are reflected in many myths, according to which Egypt from the very beginning of the universe included two parts, each of which had its own patron goddess.
The southern part of the country was under the auspices of Nehbet - the goddess in the guise of a female kite, the North - under the auspices of the cobra snake Wadzhet. Nehbet and Wadget were considered the daughters of Ra and his Eye.
The gods and pharaohs, under whose supervision and protection the state power in Egypt was, wore the "United Crown of the Two Lands" - the "Pshent" crown. It was a combination of the crowns of Upper and Lower Egypt into one whole and symbolized the unification of the country and power over it. On the crown "Pshent" was depicted a Urey, rarely two Urey: one in the form of a cobra and the other in the form of a kite; sometimes - papyri and lotuses tied together (emblems of Lower and Upper Egypt). Occasionally, the symbols of the united lands were two cobras, crowned with red and white crowns.
The supreme deities also wore the crown "atef" - a headdress of two high feathers, usually blue (heavenly) in color - a symbol of deity and greatness. Amon was always portrayed in the crown "Atef".
Eye of Horus
The Eye or Eye of Horus, also called Atshet or the All-Seeing, as well as the Eye of Healing, personified the innermost wisdom and sight of the soul (clairvoyance), performed the function of protection and symbolized healing and resurrection after death. According to one legend, when Set killed Osiris, Horus resurrected his father by letting him swallow his Eye, which Set had cut into pieces before, and He spliced them together, and revived the Eye. As the Book of the Dead says, “The Eye of Horus rewards with eternal life; and it protects me even when it is closed."
The Eye of Horus was depicted as an eye with an eyebrow and a spiral under it, which is interpreted by some researchers as a symbol of energy and perpetual motion.
Many Egyptians, from pharaohs to ordinary people, wore evil-warding amulets in the form of the Eye of Horus. They were placed in the mummy's burial shroud - and the deceased, identified with Osiris, allegedly resurrected in the Afterlife.
According to some researchers, the Eye of Horus was identified both with the left hawk eye of Horus - the Moon, which “rises” in the sky every month, and with his right eye - the Sun, which, “dying” in the west in the evening, invariably “is born” in the east in the morning … According to others, it corresponded only to the left eye of Horus - the Moon, while the right Eye of Ra represented the Sun. In this case, their images were the same (in the form of an eye). There is also an opinion that the Eye of Horus (one or two) is the Eye of Ra (one or two), passed on to his son Isis. Moreover, it was somehow associated with the secret name Ra, derived from him by the goddess. According to one legend, Isis whispered the following words to Horus about this: "Now he [Ra] will give me his eyes."
Throughout the Dynastic Period, Wadget's "two eyes" were painted or carved in tombs, sarcophagi and other attributes of the burial. They were also depicted on the bows of boats to keep them on course.
Quite often, the Eye of Horus was combined with one or two Urei-cobras, the moon and a solar disk, or it was depicted (one or two - the right and left eyes of Horus) between Wadzhet and Nehbet, who held him with their claws, tail or wings.
Author: A. V. Koltypin
