HERU-UR THE ELDER
 Out of the many deities the Goa'uld chose to impersonate, the villain Heru-ur is the most perplexing. In the movie, his legion of warriors protected Ra; but in the television series, with Ra dead, they lost their purpose.
When mentioned in "Thor's Chariot", Daniel Jackson should have asked, "Which one?" rather than quickly giving a run-down of one version of the character. His name has an interesting history such that the television series used some variation of it in various Goa'uld terminology.
Historically, there are at least five different gods using the name of Horus. The most notable are: Harseisis, son of Isis and Osiris, and Horus, the sun god. These are two different entities. With the former version, he was once identified as Horus the Younger. Conceived after his father's murder, he would later avenge his death.
Also, he should not be confused with another version, Horus the Child. This alternate form was depicted as a young boy sticking his finger in his mouth. His purpose is unclear in myth; in art, he is often seen standing on crocodiles and holding symbols of authority. This alternate version appeared in the Graeco-Roman period, long after the other forms of Horus were made known.1
 Another one, Horakhety (Ra-Heru-akhety) was a combination of Ra and Horus, since they both represented the morning sun. Lastly, the one adopted into Stargate mythology is Horus the Elder (Heru-ur). He is the oldest of the gods bearing the name Horus and is also identified with the sun. Also, in some myths he was considered brother to Seth and Osiris; which made their battle more of a family feud.2 Unfortunately, very little of this background is developed into the Stargate series, but is important to know in the development of the Horus as a catch-all word to describe this group of hawk-headed deities.
But something that was probably carried forth is the Eye of Horus. It was regarded as the Sacred Eye in Egyptian religion, and it was called the "Udjat."3 The spelling is interesting because one has to wonder if the series writers based the death gliders, the udajeets -- a term coined by the Abydonians -- on this name. They can be interpreted as a metaphorical extension of Horus's eyes, of what he can see and destroy from afar, but mythologically, his eyes were sometimes thought to represent the sun and the moon, much like Ra's.4
When these two heavenly bodies become invisible (i.e. the night of a new moon) he went blind and took the name Mekhenty-er-irty, meaning "He who has no eyes." When Horus recovers them, he becomes Khenty-irty, "He who has eyes." As a warrior-god armed with a sword, Horus can be very dangerous to those around him in his vision-deprived state. Not only can he behead his enemies, but also other deities fighting alongside him.5 The writers most likely made a nod to this fact when Teal'c said, "He will eliminate even those who tread on his shadow, even other Goa'uld."6
 According to history and along with Hathor, Heru-ur was especially venerated in pre-Dynastic Upper Egypt.7 (To note, the two were not related at the time.) As a ruler, the name Heru had particular meaning; Heru symbolizes leadership of all sorts and specifically the leadership demonstrated in the position of Ruler of the Two Lands.8 When not portrayed in the role as protector of kings or the dead, he was often venerated as a victorious warlord when his followers invaded pre-dynastic Egypt. Afterwards, he would become part of the state religion and be associated with Ra.9
As a warlord, the television version has a purpose. The episode "Thor's Chariot" showed Heru-ur paralleling history because he is invading the world of Cimmeria, establishing a base of operations, and forcing the local people, the Norse, to worship him as the new ruler. He is like the sun god in regards to seeing him dominate his people, and also in appearance (costuming). In "Thor's Chariot" he is like a sun because is armor is golden and his eyes glow gold rather than white.
But unlike history, Heru-ur fails in ruling because the Norse are faithful to his Nordic equivalent, Thor, protector of gods and humans against the forces of evil. However, Thor is a thunder god; Heru-ur is not. The fact that Thor's greatest enemy is Jormungand, a serpent (and the natural form of the Goa'uld), finally gives credence to why his name was used in the "Stargate SG-1" series. Thor became one of the SGC's primary allies in the war with the Goa'uld.
In contrast, Heru-ur's feud with the serpent Apophis is more of an invention than mythological. The relation does not exist with established facts. For Horus, his position on Ra's barge is that of the pilot.10 As it makes its daily trip through the heavens and when it sails through the night, Apophis' domain, he is not the ship's protector in the front lines.
 With all this history revealed, one can find Heru-ur to be an interesting character mostly in his etymology, where a few words were developed and used in the "Stargate SG-1" series. Intentional or not, the "udajeet" and "harcesis" are definitely influenced by the Egyptian words "udjat" and "harseisis." They are used much like the word Horus, as a catch all term for the death gliders or an offspring of two Goa'ulds.
For the latter, it is believed that there are two in existence - Heru-ur and Sha're's unnamed child. Also, Teal'c best summarizes who they are and what they do: "They are Horus, they guard the family of Ra. These probably guard the god Heru-ur."11
It answers the question, "Which one?" and defines who they are. To identify Heru-ur as the leader is because he was the oldest and perhaps the original. While there are also soldiers with hawk-shaped tattoos on their foreheads and lieutenants wearing the hawk-headed helmets, this variety has a historical basis in defining them as all gods.12 Not all the Horus deities were depicted as hawks or hawk-headed men - some were fully human.13
As for where the series goes with the character of Heru-ur, it remains to be seen. Establishing him as a warlord is appropriate if he is to be compared with one particular version of himself in myth. His appearance also helped introduce the alien Thor into the series. Should other alien species be introduced by this method, there is no limitation for what the Stargate series can do, because all classical myths uses similar archetypes for their heroes and villains.
FOOTNOTES
1. Armour, Robert, Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt, p. 89-97
2. http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/articles/h/horus.html
3. http://www.kemet.org/ntjr/udjat2.html
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. "Stargate SG-1": "Thor's Chariot"
7. Armour, Robert, Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt, p. 89-97
8. Ibid
9. http://members.aol.com/egyptart/hormyth.html
10. Armour, Robert, Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt, p. 89-97
11. "Stargate SG-1": "Thor's Chariot"
12. Ibid
13. http://www.pantheon.org/mythica/articles/h/horus.html
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