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
The Contendings of Horus and Seth Horus and Seth" is important to Egyptian society because of its significance to kingship. The story sets the pattern of inheritance for kingship in Ancient Egypt: father to son. The story is also significant to the idea of divine kingship because it sets up the idea of the triad of Osiris as the dead king, Horus as the living king on earth, and Isis as the king's mother. This triad not only determines the heir to the throne, but it also suggests that the king must be male, which causes trouble for women who became kings, such as Hatshepsut of