Recently I had the pleasure of collective viewing of one of my stamp albums with a co-philatelist. He stopped at a first day cover, that had a peculiar sketch. Eye of Horus it is, he exclaimed. I was clueless, but he went on with the story of Horus, with an assertion that “Rx” is actually derived from this ancient sketch. All doctors begin their prescription quite ritualistically with “Rx” – invoking this recipe with blessings of God. On a closer look, Eye of Horus is like its mirror image. So, when I got another Horus eye on a 1937 stamp-set, I was excited enough to blog it here.
The Story of Eye of Horus
Horus was an Egyptian deity, with head like a falcon, and one eye on each side. His right eye was sun, symbolizing power and left eye was moon that meant healing. Horus’s father Osiris (God of fertility and agriculture) had a conflict with his brother Set (God of violence and disorder). As the two brothers (Osiris and Set) fight for kinship, Horus enters the fray to protect his father. While Set tore out and ate Eye of Horus, his own testicles are torn out by Horus.
Eye of Horus has healing powers. It has a different fate in different stories. In one version Set’s torn testicles get healed. In another, lotuses bloom on the ground where the Eye is buried. Yet another version claims that Set breaks Eye of Horus into pieces, but it assembles and regenerates. None the less, Horus and Set make peace, and other Gods help Horus get back his magical eye.
What does Eye of Horus signify
The story of Eye of Horus symbolizes the process of making whole and healing. For this reason, the symbol was often used in amulets to ward off an evil eye. It is also a symbol of protection, vigor, security, restoration, and well being. This symbol is seen to be painted on coffins of kings, and also used in ancient Egyptian pictorial script (𓂀). The Eye on the postage stamps, and cover from 1937 and 1958, is flanked by a vulture Goddess on the left, and a serpent Goddess on the right, representing upper and lower Egypt.
This ancient symbol 𓂀 closely resembles modern “Rx”. However there are other theories for Rx. It may have originated from Latin for “recipe” or “take”. Oldest prescriptions however date back to Mesopotamia in 2100BC. Hence, Egyptian origin makes quite a sense, as compared to a later Latin origin.
Postage stamps of Ophthalmology meetings
The 1937 and 1958 postage stamps from Egypt may be the first two issues marking meeting of ophthalmologists (or eye doctors). Both of these were held at Semiramis hotel in Cairo. Notably Keith and Wagner presented their findings on changes seen in hypertension in blood vessels of retina in the 1937 conference. We use the same Keith and Wagner classification for hypertensive retinopathy till date.
The 1958 conference proceedings suggests Trachoma as a key theme. Today we are on path of eliminating Trachoma, and in 2024 India was declared as one of the countries that has achieved this goal.
The 1962 International congress was held in New Delhi, and it was attended by Dr S Radhakrishnan and Shri Jawaharlal Nehru, President and Prime minister of India respectively. The proceeds also included a speech by Indian Nobel Laureate Shri CV Raman. The postage stamp has a lotus and an eye, probably depicting the phrase “Kamalnayan” for compassionate and sensitive eyes of lord Vishnu.
More ocular symbolism in postage stamps
The postage stamp from Greece on 15th Annual Congress of Hellenic Society of Ophthalmology has a Attica vase, with black figures eyes on the outside. The cups were used in ancient Greece to drink wine, and the eye figures are probably intended to ward off an evil eye. 1986 postage stamp from Italy, also uses an eye shaped roman medallion.
Eyes have intrigued mankind since antiquity. So has its symbolism in postage stamps. They make us to see, and also help speak out our mind. Eyes also express a variety of emotions including compassion, joy, fright, sadness, curiosity, jealousy or anxiety. As we let our eyes do the talking, various cultures have devised their own ways to ward off an evil-glaring eye. Indeed it is “all in the eyes.”