Was Jesus Copied from Horus? The Claim Collapses Under the Primary Sources

The claim that Christianity copied its central figure from the Egyptian god Horus circulates widely online. But when the actual Egyptian sources are examined—rather than modern summaries—the parallels disappear.

The Viral Myth

If you’ve spent any time in the "skeptic" corners of the internet, you’ve seen the list. They claim horus was a "carbon copy" of jesus—born of a virgin in a cave on december 25th, performed miracles like turning water into wine, had 12 disciples, and was crucified. While it sounds like a "slam dunk" for plagiarism, the primary egyptian sources—the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts, and the Metternich Stela—reveal a vastly different story.

Table of Contents

1. The $1,000 "Primary Source" Challenge
2. Myth 1: December 25th and the "Star in the East"
3. Myth 2: The Sexual Conception of a god
4. Myth 3: 12 Disciples & Water into Wine
5. Myth 4: The "Miracle Worker" Claims
6. Myth 5: Death and Resurrection (The Scorpion Incident)
7. Summary Comparison Chart
8. Frequently Asked Questions

The $1,000 "Primary Source" Challenge

I offer a standing challenge to anyone claiming horus had "12 disciples" or was "crucified": find a single primary egyptian text from the pharaonic era that explicitly confirms these claims.

The Criteria for Success:

• No Visual Ambiguity: A bas-relief showing horus next to twelve figures does not qualify; artistic representations are not scripture.
• Textual Evidence Only: You must produce a verbatim translation from a primary source that uses the specific egyptian equivalent for "twelve disciples" or "crucified."
• Scholarly Weight: As scholar Bart Ehrman notes: “Graves’s book is for the most part a disorganized jumble of nonsense... he seems to have made up most of his ‘information.’”

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Myth 1: December 25th and the "Star in the East"

• The Claim: horus was born on december 25th, signaled by a star and three "wise men."
• The Reality: The birth of horus was celebrated during the month of Khoiak (October/November) or during the epagomenal days (late August).
• The "Star": There is no egyptian text linking a "Star in the East" to the birth of horus; this is a modern astronomical interpretation mapped onto the bible.

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Myth 2: The Sexual Conception of a god

• The Claim: horus was born of a virgin in a cave.
• The Reality: Isis was the wife of osiris, not a virgin.

The Real Story: A god Born of gods
Unlike the christian narrative of a divine son born to a mortal woman, horus was a god born to two divine parents. He was never a mortal. According to the Great Hymn to osiris, after osiris was murdered, Isis used her magic to briefly restore him to life. She transformed into a bird (a kite), hovered over her husband, and conceived horus through a sexual union.

• The Birthplace: The Metternich Stela and Pyramid Texts place the birth in the "Marshes of Chemmis" (the nile delta). Isis states: "I brought him forth in the midst of the papyrus plants."

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Myth 3: 12 Disciples and Water into Wine

• The Claim: horus had 12 disciples and turned water into wine.
• The Reality: horus was accompanied by the Shemsu Heru (Followers of horus), but their number varies and is never fixed at twelve in any primary text.
• The Wine: There is no scriptural record of horus turning water into wine. Wine was associated with osiris; horus was a sky god.

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Myth 4: The Miracle Worker

• The Claim: horus healed the sick and walked on water.
• The Reality: horus's "miracles" were magical protections against venomous creatures.
• The Primary Text: "Every lion is gone, every crocodile is fallen... the mouth of every biting snake is closed" (Metternich Stela).

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Myth 5: Death and Resurrection (The Scorpion Incident)

• The Claim: horus was crucified and rose after three days.
• The Reality: The concept of "crucifixion" did not exist in ancient egypt, and as an immortal god, horus never died.
• The "Scorpion" Incident: The Metternich Stela records that the infant horus was bitten by a poisonous scorpion. He was healed and revived by the magic of Thoth.
• The Distinction: Because horus never died, there was no resurrection. He simply recovered from a wound to fulfill his destiny as king. jesus’s narrative is defined by a mortal death; horus’s narrative is defined by immortality.

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Summary Comparison Chart

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Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Was horus born to a mortal mother?
A: No. horus was the son of two major deities, Isis and osiris. He was a god from conception, unlike jesus, who is described as a human born to a mortal woman (Mary).

Q: Did horus die and come back to life?
A: No. Egyptian mythology does not record a death for horus. The closest event is an infant horus being healed from a scorpion sting. Because he never died, he could not have been "resurrected" in the christian sense.

Q: Where did the "crucifixion" claim come from?
A: 19th-century authors like Kersey Graves misinterpreted egyptian artistic poses as representing a cross, despite the fact that crucifixion was not an egyptian practice and horus was an immortal deity.

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Why Does This Myth Persist?

Because it's easier to share a meme than to read the Book of the Dead. As Bart Ehrman points out, mythicists who rely on these fabrications “should not be surprised that their views are not taken seriously by real scholars.”

Works Cited

• Ehrman, Bart D. Did jesus Exist? The Historical Argument for jesus of Nazareth. HarperOne, 2012.
• The Metternich Stela. Egyptian Museum, Cairo. (4th Century BCE).
• Faulkner, Raymond O. The Ancient Egyptian Book of the Dead. British Museum Publications, 1985.
• Allen, James P. The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts. Society of Biblical Literature, 2005.

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