Editing Onuris

{{short description|Ancient Egyptian god of war}}
{{Infobox deity
| type = Egyptian
| name = Onuris
| image = Shu.svg
| alt = 
| caption = Onuris was depicted wearing a headdress of two or four tall feathers.<ref>Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt''. Thames & Hudson. p. 118</ref>
| god_of = 
| hiero = <hiero>W25:N35-D2:D21:X1-N31-G7</hiero><br />or<br /><hiero>W25-N31:N1-G7</hiero>
| cult_center = [[Thinis]]
| symbol = ostrich plumes, lion, spear
| parents = [[Ra]]
| siblings = [[Tefnut]], [[Shu (Egyptian god)|Shu]], [[Bastet]]
| consort = [[Mehit]]
| offspring = 
| greek_equivalent = [[Ares]]
}}
In [[Ancient Egyptian mythology]], '''Onuris''' (also known as '''Onouris''', '''Anhur''', '''Anhuret''', '''Han-Her''', '''Inhert''') was a god of [[war]] who was worshipped in the [[Upper Egypt|Egyptian]] area of [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]], and particularly in [[Thinis]]. Myths told that he had brought his wife, [[Mehit]], who was his female counterpart, from [[Nubia]], and his name reflects this—it means '(one who) leads back the distant one'.<ref>''The Way to Eternity: Egyptian Myth'', F. Fleming & A. Lothian, p. 56</ref>

One of his titles was ''slayer of enemies''. Onuris was depicted as a bearded man wearing a robe and a headdress with four [[feather]]s, holding a spear or [[lance]], or occasionally as a lion-headed god (representing strength and power). In some depictions, the robe was more similar to a [[kilt]].<ref>Turner and Coulter, Dictionary of ancient deities, 2001</ref>

==Roles==
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}

===God of war===

Due to his position as a war god, he was patron of the ancient Egyptian army, and the personification of royal warriors. Indeed, at festivals honoring him, mock battles were staged. During the [[Roman era]] the [[Roman Emperor|Emperor]] [[Tiberius]] was depicted on the walls of Egyptian temples wearing the distinctive four-plumed crown of Onuris.

The Greeks equated Onuris to their god of war, [[Ares]]. In the legend of Olympian gods fleeing from [[Typhon]] and taking animal form in Egypt, Ares was said to have taken the form of a fish as '''Lepidotus''' or Onuris.<ref>Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 28 (trans. Celoria) (Greek mythographer 2nd century AD)</ref>

===Sky bearer===
Onuris name also could mean 'sky bearer' and, due to the shared headdress, Onuris was later identified with [[Shu (Egyptian deity)|Shu]], becoming ''Onuris-Shu''. He is the son of [[Ra]] and brother of [[Tefnut]] if identified as Shu.

==High priests of Onuris==
* Amenhotep, from the time of [[Thutmose IV]]. Amenhotep's wife Henut was a singer of Onuris. Their sons Hat and Kenna were Chariot Warriors of His Majesty. Known from a stela now in the [[British Museum]] (EA 902).<ref>''Topographical Bibliography'' Vol. VIII, retrieved from [http://www.griffith.ox.ac.uk/gri/2.html Griffith Institute website] May 2010</ref>
* [[Nebwenenef]] High Priest of Onuris during the reign of [[Seti I]]. Was appointed High Priest of Amun in the beginning of the reign of Ramesses II.<ref name="Kitchen"/>
* [[Hori (high priest)|Hori]]<ref name="Kitchen">Kitchen, K.A., ''Ramesside Inscriptions, Translated & Annotated, Translations'', Volume III, Blackwell Publishers, 1996</ref>
* [[Minmose (high priest)|Minmose]], son of the High Priest of Onuris Hori and his wife Inty. From the reign of [[Ramesses II]].<ref name="Kitchen"/>
* [[Anhurmose]], from the time of [[Merneptah]].<ref name="Kitchen"/><ref name="PM">Porter and Moss Topographical Bibliography; Volume V Upper Egypt Griffith Institute</ref>
* Sishepset, from the time of [[Ramesses III]]<ref name="PM"/>
* Harsiese, mentioned on an [[ostracon]] in Abydos<ref name="PM"/>

==In popular culture==
Onuris is a playable character in the [[multiplayer online battle arena]], ''[[SMITE]]''. Onuris is a Hunter wielding a spear and bears the title the Slayer of Enemies<ref name="test">{{cite web|url=http://www.smitewiki.com/Anhur|title=Anhur - Official SMITE Wiki|website=www.smitewiki.com|access-date=23 June 2017}}</ref> and is shown in his (anthropomorphic) lion form maintaining his beard, robe, and a crown incorporating four large feathers.

Onuris is a chaotic god in the computer game ''[[NetHack]]''/''[[Slash'EM]]''.

Onuris has a minor role in the 2012 fantasy novel ''[[The Serpent's Shadow (Riordan novel)|The Serpent's Shadow]]'' as a presumed dead god who is revived in order to destroy the Lord of Chaos, [[Apep|Apophis]].

Onuris is one of the 20 bosses you fight in the video game Boss Rush: Mythology.

The American death metal band [[Nile (band)|Nile]] did two tracks about Onuris in their 2000 album [[Black Seeds of Vengeance]], called ''Masturbating the War God'' and ''Libation Unto the Shades Who Lurk In the Shadows of the Temple of Anhur''.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{commons category|Onuris}}
* [http://www.religionswissenschaft.uzh.ch/idd/prepublications/e_idd_onuris.pdf  Iconography of Onuris]
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[[Category:Ares]]
[[Category:Egyptian gods]]
[[Category:Lion gods]]
[[Category:Nubian gods]]
[[Category:War gods]]