Harsomtus
{{Short description|Egyptian god}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| name = Harsomtus
| image = Harsomtus.svg
| caption =
| symbol =
| parents = Heru-Behdeti and Hathor
| cult_center = Edfu and Dendera
| hiero =
}}
Harsomtus (also known as Harsomptus and Somtus{{sfn|Gestermann|1984|p=768}}) was an ancient Egyptian child god with main cult places at Dendera{{sfn|Gestermann|1984|p=769}} and Edfu.{{cite book|last1=Lorton|first1=Claude Traunecker. transl. from the French by David|title=The gods of Egypt|date=2001|publisher=Cornell University Press|location=Ithaca, N.Y [u.a.]|isbn=0-8014-3834-9|pages=[https://archive.org/details/godsofegypt00trau/page/59 59]|edition=1st English-language, enhanced and expanded| url=https://archive.org/details/godsofegypt00trau/page/59}} This less-known deity was worshipped from the Old Kingdom period all the way to Graeco-Roman Egypt. Popularity of Harsomtus, along with other child gods, greatly increased in the Graeco-Roman period, with most information coming from that era.{{sfn|Gestermann|1984|p=769}} The connection with Horus had formed early,{{sfn|Gestermann|1984|p=768}} and Harsomtus is considered by researchers to be a form of Ra or Horus. His name translates to "Horus who unites the two lands."Klotz, David (2008). Kneph: The Religion of Roman Thebes. Ann Arbor : ProQuest LLC. pp.302‐304.
Iconography
File:Dendera Krypta 48 (cropped).jpg depicting Harsomtus as a snake emerging from a lotus]]
Harsomtus usually appears as a naked child sitting on a lotus flower. He can also appear as a snake that emerges from a lotus flower as seen in several reliefs at the temple of Dendera.{{sfnp|Waitkus|2002}}{{sfnp|Waitkus|1997}}
Due to connection with Horus, Harsomtus can appear with a falcon head. {{sfn|Gestermann|1984|p=768}}
Mythology
Harsomtus simultaneously embodies sun, primordial, and creator god: the emergence of the world from the primordial matter is linked to the daily sunrise.{{sfn|Gestermann|1984|p=769}}
Harsomtus is the son of Hathor{{sfn|Gestermann|1984|p=769}} and Horus{{sfn|Bunson|2002|p=}} in the form of Heru-Behdeti, with these two gods he formed the Triad of Edfu. Harsomtus is very similar to Ihy because both were child deities that were the son of Hathor and Horus.{{cn|date=February 2025}}
In Thebes during the late New Kingdom, Harsomtus became the firstborn son of Amun and Hathor-chief-of-Thebes, a local Theban form of the goddess Hathor. He was worshiped in the Mammisi of the Hathor Temple in Deir el-Medina as well as in the Ptah Temple in Karnak. Hathor and Harsomtus were frequently equated with Isis and another childform of Horus named Hariese ("Horus, the son of Isis").Klotz 2018, pp.302-304.
References
{{reflist}}
Sources
- {{cite book |last=Bunson |first=Margaret |title=Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt |publisher=Facts on File, Inc |publication-place=New York, NY |date=2002 |isbn=0-8160-4563-1 | chapter = Harsomtus | page = 159}}
- {{cite book |last1=Gestermann |first1=Louise |chapter=Hathor, Harsomtus und MnTw-Htp. w II |title=Studien zu Sprache und Religion Ägyptens. Zu Ehren von Wolfhart Westendorf überreicht von seinen Freunden und Schülern |date=1984 |volume=2 |pages=763–776 |chapter-url=https://archiv.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/propylaeumdok/2550/1/Gestermann_Hathor_Harsomtus_und_1984.pdf |location=Göttingen |language=de}}
- {{cite book |last=Waitkus |first=Wolfgang |year=1997
|title=Die Texte in den unteren Krypten des Hathortempels von Dendera: ihre Aussagen zur Funktion und Bedeutung dieser Räume
|publisher=P. von Zabern |isbn=3-8053-2322-0
|language=de
|trans-title=The texts in the lower crypts of the Hathor temples of Dendera: their statements regarding the function and meaning of these rooms
}}
- {{Cite journal
|last=Waitkus |first=Wolfgang
|year=2002
|title=Die Geburt des Harsomtus aus der Blüte — Zur Bedeutung und Funktion einiger Kultgegenstände des Tempels von Dendera
|trans-title=The birth of Harsomtus from the flower — The meaning and function of some of the cultural objects of the temple of Dendera
|journal=Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur
|language=de
|volume=30
|pages=373–394
|jstor=25152877
}}
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