Horus Cippus Characteristics

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Many Egyptian objects are not commonly known; one of these objects is the Horus Cippus. By looking at its’ physical features as well as at other comparable objects, it is possible to learn a lot about cippi (plural) and their importance in Ancient Egyptian society. It is seen that the Horus Cippus from the museum in Berkeley served a crucial religious importance because of its use of water and the power of Horus in curing various illnesses; this cippus is very personalized, portable, has many uses, and empowers common Egyptian people for these reasons. While we learn a lot about this specific cippus by comparing it to other objects, it is first important to look at the physical features of the given cippus to examine what can initially be learned about it.
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Horus cippi are described in detail in Allen’s The Art of Medicine in Ancient Egypt. He writes about many of the recurring symbols on cippi: the Egyptian God, Horus, standing with a winged sun disk sitting on top of him, in addition to nine other Gods as well (Allen 63). He is shown killing other dangerous animals, such as alligators. The additional main point is that there are many written inscriptions on the sides of the cippus, which are written spells that are intended to cure various illnesses. To use the cippus, people would put water into the holy libation disk and pour the water over the cippus. After this, people would collect and drink the water or throw it over their wounds now that was now drenched with the power of the scripts engraved in the cippus (64). An example of this is stated in Veiga’s Health and Medicine in Ancient Egypt: Magic and Science, when she writes, “ex.: the use of the Horus’ cippus to heal of snake or scorpion bite” (Veiga 38). So, although it is known what the cippus is used for because of what is physically written on

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