Horus as bright as the sun was explained by a tale, known as "The Contendings of Horus and Seth". In this tale, it was said that Set, the patron of Upper Egypt, and Horus, the patron of Lower Egypt, had battled for Egypt brutally, with neither side victorious, until eventually the gods sided with Horus. As Horus was the ultimate victor he became known as "ḥr.w wr" "Horus the Great", but more usually translated "Horus the Elder". In the struggle, Set had lost a testicle, and Horus's eye was gouged out. Horus represented the eclipsing binary Algol in the Calendar of
Gold (hieroglyph) the symbol for gold can be taken to mean that Horus was "superior to his foes". Gold also was strongly associated in the ancient Egyptian mind with eternity, so this may have been intended to convey the pharaoh's eternal Horus name. The combination of the Horus falcon and the gold hieroglyph is frequently found on Ancient Egyptian pectorals (see image). In the Old Egyptian Palermo Stone inscription (late 24th or early 23rd century BC), the hieroglyph is used in the phrases "first counting of gold" and "collar of gold". One of the few coins minted for ancient Egypt is the