In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Onuris (also known as Onouris, Anhur, Anhuret, Han-Her, Inhert) was a god of war who was worshipped in the Upper Egypt area of Abydos, and particularly in Thinis. Myths told that he had brought his wife, Mehit, who was his female counterpart, from Nubia, and his name reflects this—it means '(one who) leads back the distant one'.[ The Way to Eternity: Egyptian Myth, F. Fleming & A. Lothian, p. 56]
One of his titles was slayer of enemies. Onuris was depicted as a bearded man wearing a robe and a headdress with four , holding a spear or lance, or occasionally as a lion-headed god (representing strength and power). In some depictions, the robe was more similar to a kilt.[Turner and Coulter, Dictionary of ancient deities, 2001]
Roles
God of war
Due to his position as a war god, he was patron of the ancient Egyptian army, and the personification of royal warriors. Indeed, at festivals honoring him, mock battles were staged. During the
Roman era the
Roman Emperor Tiberius was depicted on the walls of Egyptian temples wearing the distinctive four-plumed crown of Onuris.
The Greeks equated Onuris to their god of war, Ares. In the legend of Olympian gods fleeing from Typhon and taking animal form in Egypt, Ares was said to have taken the form of a fish as Lepidotus or Onuris.[Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 28 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer 2nd century AD)]
Sky bearer
Onuris name also could mean 'sky bearer' and, due to the shared headdress, Onuris was later identified with Shu, becoming
Onuris-Shu. He is the son of Ra and brother of
Tefnut if identified as Shu.
High priests of Onuris
-
Amenhotep, from the time of Thutmose IV. Amenhotep's wife Henut was a singer of Onuris. Their sons Hat and Kenna were Chariot Warriors of His Majesty. Known from a stela now in the British Museum (EA 902).
[ Topographical Bibliography Vol. VIII, retrieved from Griffith Institute website May 2010]
-
Nebwenenef High Priest of Onuris during the reign of Seti I. Was appointed High Priest of Amun in the beginning of the reign of Ramesses II.
-
Hori
[Kitchen, K.A., Ramesside Inscriptions, Translated & Annotated, Translations, Volume III, Blackwell Publishers, 1996]
-
Minmose, son of the High Priest of Onuris Hori and his wife Inty. From the reign of Ramesses II.
-
Anhurmose, from the time of Merneptah.
[Porter and Moss Topographical Bibliography; Volume V Upper Egypt Griffith Institute]
-
Sishepset, from the time of Ramesses III
-
Harsiese, mentioned on an ostracon in Abydos
In popular culture
Onuris is a playable character in the multiplayer online battle arena,
SMITE. Onuris is a Hunter wielding a spear and bears the title the Slayer of Enemies
and is shown in his (anthropomorphic) lion form maintaining his beard, robe, and a crown incorporating four large feathers.
Onuris is a chaotic god in the computer game NetHack/ Slash'EM.
Onuris has a minor role in the 2012 fantasy novel The Serpent's Shadow as a presumed dead god who is revived in order to destroy the Lord of Chaos, Apep.
Onuris is one of the 20 bosses you fight in the video game Boss Rush: Mythology.
The American death metal band Nile did two tracks about Onuris in their 2000 album Black Seeds of Vengeance, called Masturbating the War God and Libation Unto the Shades Who Lurk In the Shadows of the Temple of Anhur.
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