History of Europe

What is Deshret?

Deshret is an ancient Egyptian red crown which was worn by the deities Horus and Set, also by the pharaohs in Upper and Lower Egypt. Deshret was one of the ancient double crown of Egypt. It was also incorporated as part of the Pschent, the double crown comprising Deshret and Hedjet.

Deshret is composed of a cylindrical red cap covered with linen of the same color and ending with a projecting cornice at the brow, which is decorated with a uraeus.

This Crown of Upper Egypt was first worn by the god Horus following his unification of the Two Lands. According to the myth, when the god Horus fought the god Set, he tore Set's eye from its socket. According to the myth, Horus offered Set's eye to the god Thot, who returned it to the socket, restoring Set's vision and healing the wounded eye. As a reward for this, Set gave Horus the Deshret crown, symbolizing his sovereignty over Upper Egypt.

Deshret had no symbolic animal associated with it, unlike Hedjet, which had the Uraeus.

Although the Deshret and Hedjet crowns would eventually form the Pschent, they both remained unique symbols as well, indicating which part of Egypt the Pharaoh was controlling at any given time.

The Deshret Crown was sometimes called "the red hat" or "the red crown of the north."