Onuris was a warrior god and a hunter. He fought against the enemies of Egypt, and was considered the patron of the Egyptian army. His victims also included the enemies of the gods (Apophis above all). In the New Kingdom Onuris was also seen as a sun god and creator god. Due to his warlike appearance he was also linked to Montu.
The name Onuris, by which he is known best to us, is in fact the Greek form of his Egyptian name Ini-heret, which can be explained in several ways. One translation is "He who carries the sky", which accounts for the association of Onuris with the god Shu.
However, the Egyptians also linked his name to another story; it could also be explained as "He who brings (home) the one who was far away". This refers to a myth (or a combination of myths) in which the god brought back the eye of the sun god (or sky god in another version), after this had gone (or was sent out). Yet another version of this myth tells us that Onuris brought back a lioness from the desert (who, depending on the version of the story, was called Mehyt, Tefnut, or Sekhmet, all of them also associated with the eye of Re; when the goddess was Tefnut, Onuris usually had taken the form of Shu).
Onuris was especially worshipped in the Abydos area, particularly in Thinis, and later also (as Onuris-Shu) in Sebennytos in the Delta.
He was depicted in human form, wearing a (usually long) robe and a flat crown surmounted by four feathers (sometimes reduced to two plumes, which makes it more difficult to identify the god, as other gods wear a similar headdress); usually he had a bearded human head, but this could be replaced by the head of a falcon or a lion. Usually he is carrying a spear and a cord or lasso.