Ptolemaic pharaoh offering incense to Horus, wall relief

Ptolemaic pharaoh (Graeco-Roman period 332 BCE-CE 395) wearing the double Crown of Upper and Lower Egypt offering incense to the god Horus. Horus, represented here as a falcon-headed deity (central figure), had power over deadly bites and stings such as those from crocodiles, snakes and scorpions. The most common type of 'everyday' injury in ancient Egypt appears to have been from bites. The presentation of gifts to Horus was believed to afford protection against bites and stings but sick people (including those already bitten) also invoked his healing powers. In this wall relief from the temple at Kom Ombo in southern Upper Egypt, Horus wears on his head the sun-disc encircled by the royal uraeus. Kom Ombo was an important cult centre of Horus where as son of Re (the sun god) he bore the name Haroeris.