Nectanebo II is the last Egyptian-born pharaoh before Alexander. This statue shows him small against Horus the falcon. Protection is hierarchical. The king is brave enough to be tiny.
Horus is sky and kingship. A falcon is a living hieroglyph of looking from above. Put that beside a planet named Mercury and you get two different flight metaphors: messenger speed versus hunting height.
Late Period hard stones love this compactness. The surfaces are tight. The theology is tighter. Egypt is using old gods as armor.
Dendur, in this same cluster, is a temple from the generation after conquest. Nectanebo is the last chapter of independence. Read them in that order and the falcon’s wings feel like a held breath.
