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Haroeris (or Harwer), one of the earliest forms of Horus, derived from the combination of the falcon-god with the indigenous deity Wer, "The Great One", a god of light whose eyes were the sun and the moon. Trough increasing emphasis was put on the right eye, the sun, Haroeris, was worshipped as Mekhenti-irty, 'He on whose brow are the Two Eyes' or, on moonless nights, as Mekhenti-en-irty, 'He on whose brow there was not eyes' - in which aspect he was patron of the blind. Mekhenti-irty, or Hormetri, was represented holding in his hands the two udjat or uraeus eyes of Horus.
Haroeris, or Horus the Elder,
was said to be the son, or sometimes the husband of Hathor. He was also the
brother of Osiris and Set. There is the myth of Horus having a great fight with
his brother Set over the succession, in which his eyes are torn out; this myth
was carried over in various form to Horus, son of Osiris, in which version Horus
handed over one of the eyes to Osiris as a token of life, taking back only one
eye for himself. Horus then ascended the throne, justified by the tribunal of
gods.
