| Hauron | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 An Egyptian statue of Hauron in the form of a falcon protecting thepharaohRamesses II, depicted as a child.Egyptian Museum,Cairo. | ||||||
| Name inhieroglyphs |
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| Major cult center | Giza | |||||
Hauron,Horon,Haurun[2] orHawran[3] (from Egyptianḥwrwnꜣ) was anancient Egyptian god worshiped inGiza. He was closely associated withHarmachis, with the names in some cases used interchangeably, and his name as a result could be used as a designation of theGreat Sphinx of Giza. WhileEgyptologists were familiar with Hauron since the nineteenth century, his origin was initially unknown, and only in the 1930s it was established that he originated outside Egypt. Today it is agreed that he was the Egyptian form of a god worshiped inCanaan and further north in the city ofUgarit, conventionally referred to asHoron (Ugaritic:𐎈𐎗𐎐,romanized: ḤRN;Ḥôrānu[4] orḤōrān[5]) in scholarship.
In theUgaritic texts, Hauron appears as a deity associated withmagic andexorcisms. This role is also attested for him in Egypt and in Phoenician sources from the first millennium BCE. The best known text focused on him isKTU 1.100, often interpreted as a myth, in which the Ugaritic sun goddessShapash implores him to helppḥlt, a figure of unknown character troubled by snakes. He is also well attested in incantations. However, his name does not appear in any offering lists from this city, and it is assumed his importance inUgaritic religion was minor.
In the first millennium BCE, Hauron continued to be worshiped in Egypt, but his cult also spread through theMediterranean, and he is attested inPhoenician andPunic sources from as far west asSardinia. In theHebrew Bible he is referenced in toponyms such asBeth-Horon. The last source to mention him is a Greek second-century BCE inscription fromDelos referring to his worship inJamnia.
The spellings Hauron[6][7] and Haurun are both in use in modernEgyptological publications.[8][2] Primary sources indicate there might have been no single agreed uponorthography of the name inancient Egyptianscribal circles.[9] While the god was known to modern researchers sinceFrançois Chabas published a translation of theHarris Magical Papyrus in 1860, only in the 1930s it became possible to establish that he originated outsideEgypt.[10] While based on theUgaritic texts, where thetheonym is rendered asḥrn (Ugaritic:𐎈𐎗𐎐), it should be vocalized as either Ḥôrānu[4] or Ḥōrān, the spelling Horon, which is based on the laterPhoenician form of the name, is commonly employed in scholarship pertaining to the worship of Hauron in the north.[5] A further spelling found in literature is Hawran.[3]
It has been proposed that the name is related therootḥwr present inSemitic languages[11] and that it might mean "the deep one."[12] Similarities to the Arabic wordḥaur, referring to the bottom of awell or a broaddepression,[12] and toHebrewḥôr, "cave" or "hole," have been pointed out, though according to Nicolas Wyatt the fact that inUgaritic thecognate is writtenḫr rather thanḥr might cast doubts over thisetymology.[13] An alternate proposal is that the name is a cognate of Arabicḥourroun, "falcon."[13] The early view that it might reflect theethnonymḫurri (Hurrian) is no longer considered credible.[13]
The main sources of information about Hauron's character are magical texts fromUgarit,Egypt, andArslan Tash.[14] Earliest theories about his character were formed byWilliam F. Albright, but they have been since deemed "conjectural and speculative."[10] TheUgaritic texts indicate that he was chiefly associated withexorcisms and magic.[15] In a single passage, he is addressed as aḥbr(m), most likely to be understood as a term referring to a specialist in the field of magic comparable toMesopotamianmašmāšu orāšipu, translated intoEnglish as "spellcaster" by Aicha Rahmouni.[16] The craftsman godKothar-wa-Khasis could be described in a similar way.[17] A further Ugaritic figure whose role has been compared to Hauron's isShatiqatu,[18] interpreted either as a minor goddess or another type of supernatural being (a "healing genie" or an entity comparable to anangel orgolem) associated with exorcisms.[19]
The EgyptianPapyrus Harris mentions Hauron in a role similar to that he plays in Ugaritic texts, invoking him to render awolf harmless with the help ofAnat and a third deity, identified as eitherArsaphes orResheph depending on the translation.[20] Elsewhere he occurs as ahealing deity.[1] He was also invoked to protect fields, and in this capacity has been referred to as ashepherd.[20]Richard H. Wilkinson proposes that Egyptians associated with thedeserts, and considered him a god of herdsmen and other people who wandered through this environment.[21] Jacobus van Dijk concluded that he was understood as a god of the desert capable of protecting people and livestock from the animals inhabiting it.[22]George Hart has characterized him as an earth god.[1]
George Hart argued that Hauron's character was ambivalent, and asserted in particular that his association with a "tree of death" in a single text he identifies as "Canaanite" designates him as a "god of doom."[1] The term‘ṣ mt, translated as "tree of death"[23] or "deathly tree," is present in theUgaritic textKTU 1.100 in a description of plants gathered by Hauron, but the passage according to Wilfred G. E. Watson should be understood as a recipe for a cure forsnakebite and lists ordinary plants, though he notes the precise identification of individual names remains disputed.[24] He does not list the "deathly tree" among the terms he considers to be the names of specific plants.[24] Dennis Pardee argues the passage reflects use ofwood in exorcisms and since one of the plants mentioned according to him is thedate palm, it might indicate that Hauron was believed to travel eastwards toMesopotamia to gather plants typical for this area.[23] He additionally suggests this might be a nod to perception of Mesopotamianapotropaic magic as particularly efficient.[23] Suggestions that KTU 1.100 portrays Hauron in a negative light, presenting him as the "god of black magic, master of evil demons," can also be found elsewhere in literature, but Gregorio del Olmo Lete notes that this view is "surprising" due to his portrayal as an effective helper in this composition.[25]
It is a matter of dispute among researchers if Hauron was also associated with theunderworld, with some authors, such as Nicolas Wyatt, voicing support for this assumption,[26] while others, for exampleManfred Krebernik [de], do not consider it to be conclusively proven.[5] Wyatt's argument rests on the assumption that the term designating Hauron's dwelling in the Ugaritic texts,mṣd (in KTU 1.100 written asmṣdh, which is possibly adirectional form, apossessive one, or both at once) refers to a location in the underworld.[26] Similar argument has been by Udo Rüterswörden.[20] The termmṣd is often translated as either "fortress" or "steppe," though neither possibility is regarded as certain.[27] It also occurs in an Ugaritic ritual text pertaining to a group of deities known as Gaṯarāma (dual) or Gaṯarūma (plural),[28] which seemingly included the moon godYarikh, the sun goddessShapash and the godGaṯaru, but the context does not provide any additional hints about its meaning.[29]
It has been argued that atheophoric name fromMari, Ḫawranabi, might invoke Hauron, and therefore can be translated as "Hauron is father."[30] While assertions that he appears in multiple names from this city can be found in literature,[3] according to Ichiro Nakata's survey ofOld Babylonian Mariote theophoric names, only a single person bearing one invoking him is attested in known documents.[31] The Mariote name has been used as an argument for also reconstructing names of two roughly contemporaryCanaanite kings attested in texts fromSaqqara as theophoric names invoking Hauron, though this remains speculative.[32]
In the past it was believed that thelogogramdNIN.URTA, found in a total of four passages in the corpus of theAmarna letters, might correspond to Hauron, but this view has been challenged in 1990 byNadav Na'aman.[33] He points out that his character was not similar to MesopotamianNinurta, and additionally that he is entirely absent from theophoric names from Ugarit and other late Bronze Age sites, unlike the deity represented by this logogram.[34] He proposed that it should be understood as a logographic representation of the name of the goddessAnat instead.[35] This proposal subsequently found support from other researchers, including Peggy L. Day (who extends its scope todNIN.URTA in documents fromEmar as well)[36] and Michael P. Streck (who only considers it applicable toCanaan and the kingdom ofAmurru).[37]
It is assumed that Hauron was not a high ranking god in the local pantheon ofUgarit, and he is entirely absent from offering lists from this city.[34][12] He is best attested inincantations againstsnakebite.[25] One example isKTU 1.82, in which both the god himself and his nameless servants appear alongside a selection of figures presumed to have negative characters in this context, includingResheph,Mot andTunnanu.[15] A further text of this type is KTU 1.107, where Horon is paired withEl and alongside him opens a list of deities implored to remove poison, which includes the pairsBaal andDagan,Anat andAshtart,Yarikh and Resheph,Attar and Attapar, Ẓiẓẓu-wa-Kāmaṯu,Shahar andShalim, as well asMilku,Kothar-wa-Khasis andShapash, the last three listed individually.[38] He is also mentioned in KTU 1.169, presumed to be a compilation of various protective incantations againstwitchcraft.[25] In this text, he is asked to expel various malevolent sorcerers.[39]
Horon is mentioned in the text KTU 1.100,[40] whose genre is disputed, with individual authors classifying it as a "charm against serpents," anincantation, amyth,[41] or a "paramythological" composition.[23] He appears in it in association with a figure namedủm pḥl pḥlt[40] or simplypḥlt, whose character - "divine,human orequine" - is uncertain,[42] and who is not attested in any other Ugaritic texts.[43] While attempts have been made to identify her as one of the principal goddesses of Ugarit (for exampleAthirat,[44] by the early 2000s such proposals were no longer regarded as plausible.[43] Gregorio del Olmo Lete assumes she should be understood as a distinct goddess, possibly one also associated with a similar sphere of activity as Hauron and thus comparable toMesopotamianNingirima or toIšḫara.[45] Dennis Pardee presumes that she should be understood as "an equid whose origins arecosmological."[43] The equine identification is also supported by Wilfred G. E. Watson[24] and Theodore J. Lewis.[18] Steve A. Wiggins notes that her name might be related toAkkadian terms pertaining to horses.[42]
The text consists of a series of appeals to various deities, followed by the intervention of Hauron and a marriage proposal he makes.[43] While snakes are mentioned bypḥlt, and it agreed that the text pertains to her trouble with these animals, there is no direct reference to asnakebite occurring.[46] The deity who asks the other members of the Ugaritic pantheon for help onpḥlt's behalf isShapash, the sun goddess.[47] Whilepḥlt addresses her as her mother, it is not certain if this statement reflects her actual genealogy or if it simply designates her as an authority figure.[48] The deities invoked are Baal, Dagan, Anat (paired with Ashtart), Yarikh, Resheph, Ashtart (on her own), Ẓiẓẓu-wa-Kāmaṯu, Milku, Kothar-wa-Khasis and the pair Shahar and Shalim,[49] all of them invoked from their cult centers, some of them located close to Ugarit (Mount Saphon), other onCrete, inAnatolia (Bibitta) orUpper Mesopotamia (Tuttul,Mari).[50] They all prove to be ineffective in this situation,[51] and it takes the intervention of Horon to solve the problem.[25] He uses a variety of plants he gathered, presumably to deal withvenom.[52] It is not certain if the marriage proposal is necessarily aimed atpḥlt, though this view is supported by most translators of this text, with only a minority arguing that its target is instead Shapash.[53]
A curse invoking Hauron appears both in theBaal Cycle (KTU 1.2.1.7–8) and in theEpic of Keret (KTU 1.16.6.54–57).[54] Most likely it was a fixed formula which was not composed specifically for these works of literature.[55] It is similar in both cases, and can be translated as "May Hauron break (...) your head, Ashtart-Name-of-Baal your skull," though the targets are different: in the former case a deity presumed to be Baal curses his adversary, the sea godYam, while in the latter theeponymous king curses his son Yassibu.[54] It is not known why Ashtart is mentioned alongside Hauron in this context, and the translation of the phrase specifying her relation to Baal, tentatively translated by Theodore J. Lewis and a number of other researchers as "face," is also uncertain.[15] In neither of these texts Horon plays any role after being invoked in a curse.[55]
Horon is one of the best attested deities ofLevantine origin who came to be worshiped inancient Egypt.[56] It is presumed that hiscult was introduced fromCanaan, but more detailed reconstruction of its early development is not presently possible.[57] His earliest cult center wasGiza.[2] The exact date of his introduction is not known, though he already appears on astela of a certain Mes, possibly to be dated to the reign ofThutmose III, as well as on foundation tablets from the localtemple ofHarmachis.[58] This would indicate that his arrival was contemporary with the introduction of other deities of similar origin, namelyResheph andAshtart, into the local pantheon ofMemphis.[59]
Evidence for both royal and private worship of Hauron is available.[57] However, no accounts of clergy dedicated to him or to Hauron (or Hauron-Harmachis) are available, with the exception of an isolate reference to a certain Pay, a grain measurer in his service, which is considered difficult to reconcile with the large number of available sources documenting the daily life of ancient Giza.[60] While it is known that he did receive offerings like other deities, further features of his official cult are therefore difficult to ascertain.[60] The limestone doors of a building from the reign ofTutankhamun located in the proximity of the Great Sphinx refer to the pharaoh as the "beloved of Hauron."[61]Seti I dedicated a stela depicting him during a hunt and praising his military accomplishments to Hauron-Harmachis.[61] During the reign ofRamesses II, the cult of Hauron is attested outside Giza for the first time, specifically inDeir el-Medina and possibly also inPi-Ramesses.[57] A reference to "Hauron of Lebanon" has been identified in the inscription on a sphinx from the Ramesside period from Tell el-Maskhuta too.[11]
In Egyptian context, Hauron came to be associated withHarmachis.[2] The modern spelling of thistheonym is ahellenized form of Haremakhet, "Horus-in-the-horizon."[62] This god was associated with theGreat Sphinx of Giza, referred to with his name from the period of theNew Kingdom on.[63] The name of Hauron himself could also be used as a designation for this monument.[7] While it was initially assumed that only foreigners referred to it by this name, Christiane Zivie-Coche argues that this view should be abandoned, as based on names of individuals mentioned in documents using this designation they were either Egyptian, or at least Egyptianized to such a degree they used Egyptian personal names and titles.[64]Richard H. Wilkinson does consider it possible that it was initiated by workmen from outside Egypt present in the area, but he also proposes that it might be rooted in a hitherto unknown mythological connection.[21] According to Zivie-Coche, the scope of the connection between Hauron and Harmachis was unique and it should be considered a distinct phenomenon from the other instances of adoption of northern deities in Egypt.[59] The names Hauron, Harmachis and Hauron-Harmachis could be used interchangeably to designate the same deity.[6] A personal prayer of a certain Kheruef uses the formula "Harmachis in his name of Hauron," and implores the god to grant him a long life, reassuring him that he will "follow [his]ka" (remain faithful).[64] The reasons behind the partialconflation remain uncertain, as the character of Harmachis shows no apparent similarities to Hauron.[64]
On amulets fromDeir el-Medina, Hauron instead appears alongsideShed, and according to Jacobus van Dijk seemingly could be identified with him in this area, as evidenced by use of double names Hauron-Shed and Shed-Hauron.[11]
It was the norm inancient Egyptian art to depict foreign deities in the same manner as native ones, with attributes reflecting their individual character and position in the pantheon rather than their origin.[65] Hauron could be depicted either as an armed man[21] or as afalcon,[66] possibly due to the phonetic similarity of his name to that ofHorus.[64][67] This form has no forerunner in earlier iconography of any deities from the Levant.[68] A famous example from Egypt is a statue which shows the avian Hauron protectingRamesses II, in this case shown as a child.[59] It is assumed that he served as one of thetutelary deities of this pharaoh.[8] As Hauron-Harmachis he could also be depicted in various forms: while that of asphinx was typical, a Horus-like falcon form is known too.[69] A stela showing the latter form is presently in the collection of theEgyptian Museum inCairo.[70]
In thefirst millennium BCE, the worship of Hauron apparently spread across theMediterranean.[20] His character in thePhoenician andPunic sources resembles that described in theUgaritic texts.[71] Only a single Phoeniciantheophoric name invoking him,‘bdḥwrn, is known.[12] Its bearer is mentioned on aseal of unknownprovenance dated to the eighth or seventh century BCE.[71] A Phoenician amulet fromArslan Tash mentions Hauron "whose command is perfect and (...) his seven concubines, (...) the eight wives."[20] However, it has been called into question if this object is authentic.[72] He also appears in a Punic inscription fromAntas onSardinia dated to the sixth or fifth century BCE, which mentions that statuettes representing him and the healing godShadrafa could be offered in the local temple of the god Sid.[71]
In theHebrew Bible, Hauron is mentioned in the toponymBeth-Horon (Hebrew:בֵית־חוֹרֹ֔ן;Joshua 16:3, 5), "house of Hauron."[3] The name apparently refers to two separate settlements, both in the proximity ofJerusalem, sometimes referred to as the "upper" and "lower" Beth Horon.[12] Beth-Horon is also mentioned in a Hebrewostracon fromTell Qasile and in an Egyptiantopographical list from the reign ofShoshenq I.[12] It has also been proposed that a connection existed between his name andHoronaim, a city located inMoab.[12] A further toponym which might at least be cognate with Hauron's name isHauran.[26]
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The worship of Hauron continued in Egypt as late as in theSaite period, though his foreign origin was no longer remembered.[73] The so-calledInventory Stela, which despite its age mentions theOld Kingdom pharaohCheops, presumably because he was the first pharaoh to build his pyramid inGiza,[74] states that a temple dedicated to Haurun was located in the proximity of theGreat Sphinx of Giza, next to ones dedicated to "Isis, Mistress of the Pyramids" and "Osiris, Lord of Rasetau."[75]
The last known reference to Hauron is aGreek inscription fromDelos from the second century BCE, which refers to a deity named Auronas,[71] and states that he was worshiped inJamnia alongsideHeracles (possibly to be understood asMelqart in this case[30]), and that all offerings were viewed as appropriate for him except forgoats.[20] Since this city is located in the historicalPhilistia, the presence of Hauron in the local pantheon might indicate that thePhilistines at some point incorporated Canaanite deities into their own beliefs.[76]Brian Peckham argued that Hauron was introduced into this area byJudeans.[77]
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