Urizen is one of the Eternals or Four Zoas; he is associated with the intellect and with various forms of rationalism, literalism, and materialism. Urizen is usually tyrannical or at least wants to be so, but he is often weak and pathetic, and occasionally heroic. The name suggests the Greek god of the heavens, Uranus, and a pun on "Your Reason" and "Horizon," which is the limit on perception imposed in this world by Your Reason. Not all the old men with beards in Blake are Urizen, and Urizen is not always the bad guy.