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All you need is a few minutes to

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start your day off with something historic when

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you listen to the This Day in History

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podcast. Every day there's a new

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episode for you to listen and learn about what happened

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that day way back when. So

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listen and subscribe to This Day

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in History wherever you get your

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podcasts. That's This Day in History

0:21

wherever you get your podcasts. Before

0:28

we begin, a quick disclaimer. This

0:30

episode deals with religious literature

0:33

and storytelling. And these

0:35

stories involve a great deal of conflict

0:37

and violence. These include

0:39

scenes of murder and attempted sexual

0:41

assault. Please use discretion when

0:44

listening to this tale. Hello

0:50

folks and welcome to a bonus episode.

0:53

A little bit of side content to flesh

0:55

out the main story. In

0:58

episode 192 we explored the mythology

1:00

and role of the great god

1:02

Seth. But we

1:05

primarily focused on his historical relationship

1:07

with the king Seti I. Of

1:10

course that historical tale has a

1:12

lot of background lore, especially from

1:15

the religious texts. In

1:17

this episode we explore that religious

1:19

literature and try to come to

1:21

grips with the personalities and roles

1:23

of Seth as a cosmic and

1:26

mythological being. Our

1:37

first stop is the pyramid texts,

1:39

that corpus of religious literature inscribed

1:41

on the walls of pyramid chambers

1:43

from the late fifth dynasty onwards,

1:46

around 2400 BCE. The

1:50

pyramid texts have a lot to say about

1:52

the gods, especially the great

1:54

god Osiris, lord of

1:56

the dead, with whom the deceased ruler

1:58

was identified. Seth does

2:00

show up in the Pyramid Text,

2:03

but not that often, and most

2:05

of the time he is not

2:07

named explicitly, but rather referred to

2:09

with euphemisms or described in vague

2:12

terms. This isn't

2:14

really surprising. Seth's original

2:16

crime, the murder of Osiris,

2:18

was a terrible event, one

2:21

that the ancients did not want to

2:23

immortalize in hieroglyphs and give any additional

2:25

power in the next world. Obviously

2:28

that event was pivotal both in

2:30

the tale of Seth and the

2:32

story of Osiris, so they

2:35

had to reference it occasionally, but they

2:37

did it as little as possible, and

2:39

when they did they tried to describe

2:41

it in roundabout terms. For

2:44

example, in Pyramid Text

2:46

357 we get a reference

2:49

to the slaying of Osiris. In

2:51

this text, the god Horus, son

2:53

of Osiris, is described as avenging

2:55

his father. The text says,

2:58

quote, Horus will undo

3:00

that which Seth did to

3:02

you, Osiris. In

3:05

other words, Osiris had been killed

3:07

by Seth, and now Horus would

3:09

help undo that. In

3:11

another passage, Pyramid Text

3:14

580, we get a reference

3:16

to Seth as the father-killer,

3:19

that is the killer of Horus's father,

3:21

but even here the god is not

3:23

named explicitly, and the reader has to

3:26

figure it out from context. Sometimes

3:29

we do get relatively explicit references

3:31

to the original crime. In

3:34

Pyramid Text 532, the deceased

3:36

king is described as, having

3:39

found Osiris after his

3:41

brother Seth threw him

3:43

down. This phrase, threw

3:45

him down, is one of the

3:47

Egyptian ways of describing death. It

3:50

avoids the word itself, so you don't give

3:52

it too much power, but it conveys the

3:55

basic idea. You can imagine

3:57

that after Seth slew Osiris, the deceased

3:59

king was killed. King would slump to

4:01

the ground, perhaps falling onto his side.

4:05

In another passage, Pyramid

4:07

Text 576, we

4:09

get a slightly more elaborate description of that.

4:12

The text says that, quote, Osiris

4:14

was placed on his side,

4:16

that is, killed, by his

4:18

brother Seth. But

4:20

Osiris moved himself. His

4:23

head is lifted up by Ra. Sleep

4:26

is abomination to Osiris. He

4:29

hates fatigue. The

4:31

king, Osiris, has not corrupted.

4:33

He has not putrified. So

4:36

in this passage, we do get a

4:38

somewhat explicit reference to the murder, the

4:40

placing of Osiris on his side, his

4:42

body slumping to the ground. But

4:45

immediately, the hieroglyphs move on to

4:47

confirm the immortality of Osiris, that

4:50

mere death cannot defeat him. In

4:52

other words, even when they do

4:55

describe the crime in explicit terms,

4:57

the authors immediately negate it with

4:59

a more positive outcome. So

5:02

in the Pyramid Text, we naturally get

5:04

a focus on Osiris as the one

5:07

who triumphed over death, who suffered at

5:09

the hands of his brother but, thanks

5:11

to his blessed status and the assistance

5:14

of the other gods, prevailed and achieved

5:16

immortality. That focus on

5:18

Osiris means that Seth himself does

5:21

not get that much attention. The

5:24

longest passage we get is Pyramid Text 477.

5:28

This text is really interesting, because

5:31

it seems to be a trial of

5:33

Seth on account of his crimes. In

5:36

this text, the gods or the

5:38

deceased make a recitation to Seth.

5:41

It says, quote, Remember

5:43

Seth, and put in your mind

5:45

the speech that Geb said, the

5:48

threat that the gods made against

5:50

you, because you threw

5:52

Osiris to the earth, that is,

5:54

you killed him. Remember,

5:57

Seth, when you said, I did

6:00

not do that to Osiris, so that

6:02

you might take control of the land.

6:05

Remember, Seth, when you said, In

6:08

truth, it was Osiris that was

6:10

attacking me, and thus

6:12

Osiris's identity of Earth-attacker came

6:14

into being. Remember

6:17

Seth, when you said, In

6:19

truth, Osiris has been kicking me,

6:22

and his identity of Orion came

6:24

into being, the wide of foot,

6:27

the spread of stride, and the

6:29

foremost of the Nile Valley land.

6:32

Raise yourself, Osiris, for

6:34

Seth has raised himself.

6:36

Give your arm to Isis, and your

6:39

hand to Nephthys, and go walk between

6:41

them. To you, Osiris,

6:43

is given the sky, to you

6:45

is given the earth, the field

6:47

of reeds, the mound of Horus,

6:50

and the mound of Seth. To

6:52

you is given the towns, and

6:54

the cultivated fields are joined together

6:56

in one for you. Thus

6:59

speaks Artum, it is Geb who

7:01

has argued for it." In

7:05

this text, it appears that the

7:07

great gods, led by Geb the

7:09

earth god, and overseen by Artum

7:11

the creator, are leading a

7:14

prosecution against Seth for his crimes,

7:16

and while Seth defends himself,

7:19

attempting to shift blame onto

7:21

Osiris, these defenses only backfire.

7:24

Every action that Seth claims

7:26

Osiris had done, is then

7:28

accorded to Osiris himself, so

7:30

for every defense, or every

7:33

lie, that Seth makes, Osiris

7:35

only becomes more powerful. It

7:38

even culminates in the dominions of

7:40

Seth, including his mounds, and towns,

7:42

and his fields, being given to

7:44

the great god. This

7:46

passage is a great example of

7:48

Seth as his own worst enemy.

7:51

Frequently within the religious literature,

7:53

or the mythological texts, Seth

7:56

will attempt one thing, only for

7:58

it to backfire horribly. and

8:00

cause himself great distress. There's

8:03

probably a moral lesson here

8:05

that falsehood or criminality brings

8:07

its own punishment, and

8:09

that seems to be the primary theme of

8:11

this text. From another

8:13

perspective, you can view Seth as

8:16

the kind of archetypal fool. I

8:18

use that term in a specific

8:21

sense. The character within a tale

8:23

who, while active, even powerful, is

8:25

often misguided in their goals and

8:28

actions, and what they

8:30

pursue will often backfire to

8:32

dramatic or hilarious consequences. There

8:35

are elements of these archetypes within

8:37

ancient Egyptian religious storytelling, and we

8:40

will explore that in greater detail

8:42

in the future as the evidence

8:44

begins to proliferate. But

8:46

at least in this passage from the pyramid

8:48

texts, we might get a

8:50

subtle hint of Seth playing that role

8:52

within the divine cosmos. He

8:55

is strong, he is active, and

8:57

he knows exactly what he wants,

8:59

but his methods are so misguided

9:01

that they backfire spectacularly. Again,

9:04

we'll explore that in the future, but

9:06

it's worth noting here. Following

9:09

that court case or prosecution,

9:11

Seth would logically be punished,

9:14

and we might have glimpses of this within

9:16

the pyramid texts. There is

9:18

a recurring motif in which the

9:20

god Seth is forced to carry

9:22

the body of Osiris upon his

9:24

back. This appears several

9:26

times within the pyramid texts. Sometimes

9:29

it is Osiris himself who makes

9:32

Seth carry him. Other

9:34

times Horus commands it. And

9:37

sometimes the divine council,

9:39

the Aeneid, forces Seth

9:41

to carry Osiris forever.

9:44

It's an interesting motif that might

9:46

reflect an early form of Seth's

9:48

punishment. For example, in pyramid text

9:50

371 we hear the following, quote,

10:00

of Osiris, and

10:02

Soth has placed Osiris upon

10:04

Seth's back, so that Seth

10:06

will not obstruct you." Then,

10:10

in Pyramid Text 606, we

10:13

hear the Eniad saying, quote,

10:15

"...we will not let him,

10:17

Seth, be free of bearing

10:19

you, Osiris forever." And

10:23

Pyramid Text 673 says,

10:26

nor can Seth be free of

10:28

bearing your burden. In

10:30

other words, there does seem to be a

10:33

punishment for Seth, even in these early texts.

10:35

It only appears a few times within

10:38

the vast corpus, but it shows that

10:40

following his crime, Seth was forced to

10:42

carry the body of his victim upon

10:45

his back. It made

10:47

Seth into a servant, a porter

10:49

for Osiris, a far cry

10:51

from the kingship that he had sought. The

10:54

texts we've described so far tend to

10:57

deal with the relationship between Seth and

10:59

Osiris, and naturally these

11:01

passages tend to be negative. But

11:04

there are still references to Seth as

11:07

a positive, or at least neutral, figure,

11:09

one who can be an asset for

11:11

the deceased as they make their way

11:13

to the sky. For example,

11:15

in Pyramid Text 213, the gods promise that,

11:18

quote, "...the

11:21

mounds of Horus will serve you,

11:24

and the mounds of Seth will

11:26

serve you." So basically, the towns

11:28

or the agricultural estates of these

11:30

gods are at the ruler's disposal.

11:33

We also have a reference to Horus

11:35

and Seth as the, quote, "...two

11:38

inhabitants of the palace." This

11:41

appears in Pyramid Text 141. And

11:45

in Text 153, we even have

11:48

a message for Seth and his

11:50

consort Nebet Hoot, or Nephthys. The

11:52

hieroglyphs proclaim, quote, Seth

11:55

and Nephthys hurry forth, announce

11:58

to the gods of the south. and

12:00

their spirits, the deceased, the

12:02

king, comes indeed. He is

12:05

an imperishable spirit. So

12:07

in this instance, Seth and

12:09

Nesthis act as messengers, or

12:11

heralds, of the approaching king.

12:14

That is a positive role, giving them an

12:16

important part to play. Then

12:18

we also get references to the deceased

12:20

taking on the powers of Seth. In

12:23

Pyramid Text 204, we

12:26

hear the following, quote, You, the

12:28

deceased king, have adorned

12:30

yourself as the great of

12:32

magic, he who is

12:34

in Nebut or Ombos, the

12:37

lord of the south, that is, Seth.

12:40

Behold, you are full

12:42

of glory, powerful one, even more

12:44

than the gods of the south,

12:46

together with their spirits. So

12:49

here the deceased can identify directly with

12:51

the great and powerful Seth, and

12:54

use his strength to enhance their own

12:56

splendor. Another passage,

12:58

Pyramid Text 211, associates the

13:00

power of the deceased king

13:02

with Seth and with Horus

13:04

together. It says, quote,

13:07

You, the deceased, have power over

13:09

your body, there is no one

13:11

to oppose you. You

13:14

are born because of Horus within

13:16

you. You are conceived

13:18

because of Seth within you. This

13:21

passage reminds us that the power

13:23

of Seth and Horus together is

13:25

an essential part of the Egyptian

13:27

kingship. Although the two

13:30

gods were in conflict at one time, ultimately

13:33

they were reconciled, and

13:35

together they helped to strengthen the

13:37

power of the king and give

13:39

them legitimacy over all lands. Next,

13:42

we find the deceased enjoying the

13:45

power and dread of Seth and

13:47

of Horus. In

13:49

Pyramid Text 57, the hieroglyphs

13:51

write, quote, Cause the

13:54

two lands to bow before this

13:56

king as they bow before

13:58

Horus. lands

14:00

to fear this king, as

14:02

they fear Seth. So

14:05

in these passages, Horus and Seth

14:07

are treated essentially as equals. They

14:10

might not necessarily be friends, given

14:12

their mythological background, but they are

14:15

equally powerful, dominant, and worthy of

14:17

respect, and the deceased ruler will

14:19

identify with both of them as

14:22

they travel to the stars. And

14:25

finally, we even hear of Seth

14:27

and Horus cooperating to assist the

14:30

king on their journey to the

14:32

duat or afterlife. In

14:34

Pyramid Text 390, we

14:37

hear, quote, The king ascends

14:39

on that ladder which his father

14:42

Ra has made for him. Horus

14:45

and Seth take the arms of

14:47

this king, and they take

14:50

him to the duat. So

14:52

while the Pyramid Texts do have

14:55

a focus on Osiris, and those

14:57

passages tend to portray Seth negatively,

14:59

we do have the more neutral

15:01

and positive references. And

15:03

Seth is presented as a respectable,

15:06

powerful figure who will assist the

15:08

deceased as they journey to the

15:10

afterlife. It emphasizes

15:13

the point that Seth's tale

15:15

is not entirely negative. He

15:17

is violent, he is dangerous,

15:19

but he can be a

15:21

friend. Moving

15:31

forward, we come to our second collection of

15:33

texts. These are the

15:35

Coffin Texts, which appear on ancient

15:37

Egyptian coffins, starting around 2000 BCE.

15:42

The Coffin Texts frequently draw on

15:44

the earlier Pyramid Texts. Some

15:47

of them are actually direct copies of

15:49

the earlier examples. But the

15:51

Coffin Texts also have their own unique

15:53

stories and references. We'll

15:55

start with some of the passages that

15:57

describe the conflict between Horus and Seth.

16:00

This conflict is referenced in the

16:03

Pyramid Texts, but it's more common

16:05

and even more detailed in the

16:07

Coffin Texts. For example,

16:09

in Coffin Text 9 we have

16:11

a description of the terrible injuries

16:14

that these gods inflicted on one

16:16

another. In one famous scene, Seth

16:18

tore out the eye of Horus,

16:20

mutilating his visage and causing him

16:23

great distress. But Horus

16:25

later got his own revenge and

16:28

removed something else from Seth's body.

16:31

In Coffin Text 9 we get a

16:33

reference to quote, "... it

16:35

was he, Horus, who tore off

16:37

the testicles of Seth." So

16:40

while Seth removed the eye and

16:43

thus diminished Horus' power, Horus

16:45

got his own revenge, removing

16:47

Seth's potency. This

16:50

is an interesting little episode,

16:52

and it probably reflects some

16:54

ancient Egyptian attitudes towards masculinity

16:57

and the importance of certain

16:59

sexual organs. The mutilation

17:01

or removal of the testicles

17:04

parallels nicely with another episode

17:06

from the contentings of Horus

17:08

and Seth. In that

17:10

tale, Seth attempted to

17:12

assert sexual dominance over Horus.

17:15

He tried to seduce or sexually

17:17

assault the younger god. But

17:20

thanks to the cunning of Isis

17:22

and Horus' own trickery, Seth is

17:24

deceived, and ultimately he becomes

17:27

pregnant with his own seed, an

17:29

incident that causes him great humiliation

17:32

before the gods. This

17:34

scene, along with the removal of

17:36

Seth's testicles, might give

17:39

us a glimpse into ancient

17:41

Egyptian attitudes towards masculinity itself.

17:44

Both of these punishments, the removal

17:46

of his testicles, and the consumption

17:48

of seed which makes him pregnant,

17:51

attack the masculinity of Seth

17:53

as an individual. The idea

17:55

might be that Seth is

17:57

effectively feminized, first through damage to

17:59

his own his male sexual organs,

18:01

and then by the forced

18:03

performance of a female biological

18:06

role when Seth is made

18:08

pregnant. Alternatively, you

18:10

can view the removal of Seth's

18:12

testicles as an attempt to

18:14

pacify or calm the god. One

18:17

of the defining characteristics of

18:20

Seth is aggression, a sort

18:22

of testosterone-laden bravado, a great

18:24

warrior skilled in combat, but

18:27

not exactly thoughtful or cunning.

18:29

In that sense, the removal

18:31

of the god's testicles, the

18:33

removal of his sexual potency,

18:36

might be a way to

18:38

calm him down and help

18:40

him fit more comfortably into

18:42

an ordered, tidy society. Again,

18:45

that touches on deeper elements

18:47

of ancient Egyptian attitudes towards

18:49

sexuality, behavior, identity, and the

18:51

physical form. We'll try

18:53

to explore all of those in the future, but

18:56

for now, it's worth noting that

18:58

the removal of Seth's testicles may

19:00

have another dimension. It is

19:03

not necessarily a punishment, but rather

19:05

might be a way of subduing

19:07

or controlling his more aggressive tendencies.

19:10

Personally, I suspect that the calming

19:12

effect is the one that is

19:15

primarily intended, but again, we'll

19:17

come back to that in the future. For

19:19

now, let's get back to the coffin

19:22

texts as a whole, their depictions of

19:24

Seth and the tales around this god.

19:27

Later we hear more tales of Horus'

19:29

victory over Seth and how this

19:31

could benefit the deceased. In

19:33

coffin text 12, for example, we

19:36

hear, quote, "...the gods

19:38

spoke on behalf of Horus, and

19:40

they overthrew Seth for him. And

19:43

they shall speak on behalf of

19:46

the deceased, and overthrow his enemies

19:48

for him." This text

19:50

fits into the classic depiction of

19:52

Seth as the enemy of Osiris

19:54

and Horus, the antagonist or opponent

19:56

of the ruling lineage. We

19:59

hear that later in in Coffin

20:01

Text 37, which says, "'O Osiris,

20:03

behold that enemy who

20:06

is among humans! They

20:08

have come, having joined together with

20:10

Seth. He has

20:12

disturbed your weariness.'" Again,

20:16

Seth is an enemy, one

20:18

that joins with other antagonistic

20:20

powers, and it disturbs the

20:22

peaceful slumber in death of

20:24

Osiris himself. In Coffin

20:26

Text 50, we get a rather explicit

20:28

reference to Seth as an attacker. In

20:31

this text, quote, "'Behold, Seth

20:34

has come in his own body, and

20:36

he has said, I will cause

20:38

the God's body to fear. I

20:41

will inflict injury on him. I

20:43

will slaughter him.'" End quote.

20:46

Here Seth does his pre-boxing match

20:48

trash talk, and we should take

20:50

that seriously. Seth is the great

20:53

of strength, A-R-Pah-K-Tee, and he is

20:55

renowned as a vicious and powerful

20:57

warrior. Nevertheless, Seth's attack

21:00

will fail because the powers of

21:02

Osiris and Horus are supported by

21:04

the other deities. But

21:07

Seth is the antagonist, and

21:09

these Coffin Texts reflect that classic

21:11

image. That being

21:13

said, the Coffin Texts also give

21:15

us references to Seth as a

21:17

more helpful deity. In Coffin Texts

21:19

16 and 17, we

21:22

hear the following, quote, "'You,'

21:24

the deceased, are Horus, with

21:26

his white crown on his head.

21:29

Isis nursed Horus, the nurse

21:31

of Horus nursed Horus, and

21:34

the powers of Seth served Horus,

21:37

over and above his own powers.'" End

21:40

quote. That's an interesting

21:42

text. It seems to describe

21:44

the upbringing of Horus and the

21:46

various deities involved in his caregiving.

21:49

But it includes Seth among those

21:51

caregivers, one who apparently

21:53

benefited Horus even more than his

21:55

own strength. It's not clear

21:57

if this is a reference to Seth literally being

21:59

a helpful or if it comes from

22:02

that earlier theme in the Pyramid Texts,

22:04

where whatever Seth does to his enemies

22:06

only makes them stronger. I

22:08

suspect the latter is what is

22:10

intended, but Egyptian mythology is flexible

22:12

to say the least, and while

22:15

a god might be terribly antagonistic

22:17

in one story or reference, they

22:19

might be more helpful in another, and

22:22

the two versions seem to coexist. Though

22:25

despite his antagonistic role, Seth

22:27

can be helpful, even if

22:29

it's indirectly or unintentionally, but

22:32

sometimes he's explicitly useful. In

22:34

Coffin Text 519, for example,

22:37

the deceased is described as

22:39

follows, quote, "'Hail,

22:41

deceased one! Raise

22:43

yourself up upon your iron

22:46

bones and your golden

22:48

flesh, for this body of

22:50

yours belongs to a god. Your

22:53

body will not decay, it will not

22:55

rot, it will not be destroyed. The

22:58

warmth that is upon your mouth is

23:00

the warmth that issues from the mouth

23:03

of Seth, and

23:05

the winds of the sky will

23:07

be destroyed if this warmth, Seth's

23:10

breath, is destroyed. The

23:12

sky will be deprived of the stars if

23:14

that warmth which is on your mouth is

23:16

lacking. May your flesh

23:18

be born to life, may your life

23:20

be longer than the life of the

23:23

stars." In Good. I

23:25

really like this one. First of

23:27

all we get a reference to iron

23:29

bones and golden flesh. The

23:31

golden flesh is a classic image of the

23:34

Egyptian deities. Many gods

23:36

are described as having skin of

23:38

yellow gold, their bones are white

23:40

silver, and their hair and eyebrows

23:43

are precious gems or lapis lazuli.

23:46

It's all terribly gaudy, and I imagine

23:48

if you showed the Egyptian gods as

23:50

they are actually described they would look

23:52

like a Met Gala presentation gone crazy.

23:55

But this one does have an interesting

23:57

reference. Instead of bones of silver,

24:00

The deceased is described as having bones

24:02

of iron. We'll

24:04

explore that in more detail later in the

24:06

episode, but for now, just keep it in

24:09

mind. Seth, like many

24:11

gods, has flesh of gold. But

24:14

uniquely, his bones are iron.

24:17

The coffin texts, like the pyramid

24:20

text before them, present a nuanced

24:22

picture of Seth. On the

24:24

one hand, there are the negative episodes. Seth's

24:27

crime against Osiris and his

24:29

conflict with Horus that saw

24:31

great physical harm done to

24:33

each combatant. But

24:35

there are also the neutral and

24:37

positive references as well, in

24:39

which Seth and Horus are reconciled

24:42

to assist the deceased, and Seth

24:44

can be a powerful friend in

24:47

one's journey to immortality. Just

24:49

as the pyramid texts describe Seth

24:52

and Horus taking the deceased king

24:54

up to the duat, here

24:56

you can even find Seth bestowing

24:58

his power upon the deceased, helping

25:01

them to live as long as

25:03

the stars. We'll

25:17

take a quick break for now. I don't

25:19

know about you, but that was a lot

25:21

of religious literature and mythology. After

25:24

the break, we'll come to the New Kingdom

25:26

texts, most notably the Book of the Dead,

25:29

and we'll also discuss some of

25:31

the archaeological evidence for Seth and

25:34

his religion. There

25:36

are temples to Seth within Egypt,

25:38

and archaeologists have found them. Within

25:41

those temples, they have also

25:43

found intriguing artifacts and remains

25:45

that give hints at the

25:48

popular veneration and imagery of

25:50

the god. That

25:52

is after the break. See you in a moment. Pyramid

26:00

texts appear in the Old Kingdom

26:02

around 2400 BCE,

26:05

the Coffin texts appear in the Middle Kingdom

26:07

around 2000 BCE. Then

26:10

we come to the New Kingdom, beginning around

26:13

1500 BCE approximately,

26:15

and continuing for several

26:17

centuries. It

26:19

is in this era that we get

26:21

a proliferation of texts related to the

26:24

underworld. The most famous is the

26:26

Book of the Dead, more accurately

26:28

known as Going Forth by Day,

26:30

Perret em Heru. There are

26:32

other texts from this period, such as the

26:34

Book of Gates, the Book of

26:37

the Hidden Chamber, also known as

26:39

That which is in the Underworld, or

26:41

Amduat, the Book of Caverns, the

26:43

Book of Noot, and many more besides. We

26:46

have covered some of these in the podcast

26:48

so far, and we will cover the others

26:50

in the future as they become prominent. Today

26:53

I'll keep my focus on three

26:55

texts that appeared during the early

26:57

New Kingdom, and would have

26:59

been relevant around the time of King

27:01

Seti I. These

27:04

are the Book of the Dead, the

27:06

Book of Amduat, and the Book of

27:08

Gates. First up, the Book

27:10

of the Dead. This text,

27:12

which survived on the walls of

27:15

tombs and in countless elaborate papyri,

27:17

is easily the most well-known and

27:19

probably the most comprehensive description of

27:21

the Egyptian afterlife and the ways

27:23

a deceased soul can reach it.

27:26

Naturally, the god Seth, along with

27:28

Osiris and Horus, appears frequently in

27:30

the Book of the Dead. But

27:33

unlike Horus and Osiris, Seth

27:36

tends to appear euphemistically.

27:38

The artist might draw an animal or

27:40

a symbol that is connected with the

27:43

god, but doesn't show him in his

27:45

classic form. The same is

27:47

true for the texts, which will go out

27:49

of their way to describe Seth by some

27:52

of his titles, but don't

27:54

name him nearly as often as they

27:56

do the other gods. Once

27:58

again, Seth appears in a variety of

28:01

forms. Sometimes he is

28:03

antagonistic and dangerous, other

28:05

times he is neutral, and

28:07

sometimes he is a powerful

28:09

friend indeed. Let's

28:11

begin. First, we have

28:13

utterance number four in the Book of the

28:15

Dead. This first appeared in

28:18

the mid to late 18th dynasty,

28:20

and it refers vaguely to the

28:22

competition between Horus and Ceth. In

28:25

this passage, the deceased claims the

28:27

identity of Jehuti, or Thoth, lord

28:29

of wisdom and writing, and

28:32

they describe themselves as, quote, I

28:34

am the one who separates the

28:37

two companions. This is

28:39

a reference to Horus and Ceth,

28:41

and their battles, which Thoth had

28:43

to separate. Other references

28:45

to the competition include utterance number

28:47

seventeen in the Book of the

28:49

Dead. This appears in the

28:52

early 18th dynasty, and in one section

28:54

it says, I, the

28:56

deceased, have filled the eye of

28:59

Horus after it was damaged

29:01

on the day of the fight between

29:03

the two companions. What is

29:05

that day? It is the day

29:07

on which Horus fought with Ceth, when

29:10

Ceth inflicted injury on the face

29:12

of Horus, and when Horus

29:14

took away the testicles of Ceth. So

29:18

we get a repetition of that

29:20

dualistic injury, how Ceth mutilated the

29:23

visage of Horus and took away

29:25

his eye, and then Horus feminized

29:27

Ceth by removing his testicles and

29:29

potency. The deceased is

29:31

clearly identifying with Horus. He is one

29:33

who renews that eye, helping to heal

29:36

the god and give him strength for

29:38

the battle. So in Book of the Dead 17,

29:40

Ceth is still in

29:42

his antagonistic role. And

29:44

generally speaking, this is the way

29:46

it goes, when referencing the conflict

29:49

between the two gods. The

29:51

deceased wants to identify with the

29:53

legitimate ruler, Horus, and his father

29:55

Osiris. They don't want to identify

29:57

with the usurper or the enemy.

30:00

So this is a common theme in the Book

30:02

of the Dead, at least when it references that

30:04

conflict. We also get

30:06

some very negative depictions of Seth

30:08

that really denigrate the god and

30:10

describe him as something quite vile.

30:13

In utterance 17, for example,

30:15

the deceit describes, quote, As

30:18

for that god, the male of

30:20

the bar souls, who licks up

30:22

decay, it is Seth. Later

30:25

in the same chapter, the deceased recites

30:27

the following, quote, May

30:29

you gods rescue the deceased,

30:32

who is before that great

30:34

god, the male of the

30:36

bar souls, who licks up

30:38

decay and lives on rotting,

30:41

the keeper of the darkness, the one

30:43

of whom those in their weakness are

30:45

afraid. What is that god? It

30:48

is Seth, end quote. This

30:51

passage is quite evocative, presenting Seth

30:53

as a kind of wretched bottom-feeder.

30:56

He is described as neseb

30:58

yewu, or one who lives

31:00

on decay. You could also

31:03

translate this as one who lives

31:05

on dread, one who lives on death,

31:08

or simply one who lives on

31:10

wrongdoing. For those who have

31:12

played the game Elden Ring, this

31:14

might be similar to the loathsome

31:16

dung-eater. Seth is also

31:18

described as one who lives on

31:20

rotting, ankh em hwau.

31:23

This could also be translated as one

31:26

who lives on worries, or one

31:28

who lives on foulness. Alternatively

31:30

it could be one who lives on

31:32

Owen Wilson. Wow. Again,

31:35

the point is, Seth is a foul

31:38

being, who in the dark recesses of

31:40

the night, consumes anything in order to

31:42

live, but he is not a clean

31:45

or pure deity. This is

31:47

probably the most negative of the depictions, at

31:49

least in the three corpuses we have seen

31:51

so far. We don't usually

31:53

get such harsh imagery around Seth. He

31:56

might be described as the enemy, or

31:58

one who committed great crimes. but

32:00

he's usually given some respect as

32:02

a skilled or mighty warrior. It's

32:05

not often that we hear about him

32:07

as someone who is vile and detestable.

32:10

But, within the context of the

32:12

Book of the Dead, as the deceased

32:14

tries to repel all chaos, falsehood and

32:16

deceit, they may occasionally need

32:18

to denigrate that god in order to

32:21

reach the kingdom of Osiris. Strangely

32:24

enough, the very same text, chapter 17

32:26

in the Book of the Dead, also has a

32:29

positive description of Seth. In this

32:31

passage, the deceased proclaims, quote, "'Hail,

32:34

lords of that which is Ma'at, or

32:36

that which is true, who

32:38

set slaughter upon that which is

32:41

false, who remove all the

32:43

falsehood that attaches to me. These

32:46

lords of what is Ma'at are

32:48

Seth, together with Icedes, the lord

32:51

of the west," end quote.

32:54

So in this passage, Seth is anything

32:56

but an enemy or a disgusting being.

32:58

He is a very lord of Ma'at,

33:00

a defender of the cosmic and natural

33:03

order. It's a strange

33:05

contradiction given that it appears in the

33:07

very same chapter as those descriptions of

33:09

Seth living on decay and eating that

33:12

which is rotting. But hey, that's Egyptian

33:14

religion for you. Extremely

33:16

complicated, sometimes contradictory, but

33:19

endlessly fascinating. Other

33:21

passages within the Book of the

33:23

Dead present both negative and somewhat

33:25

ambiguous depictions of Seth. In

33:28

chapter 23, for example, we hear

33:30

about the opening of the mouth that

33:32

Horus performs for Osiris. In

33:35

this chapter, quote, Horus has

33:37

opened the mouth of the deceased,

33:39

using the tool with which he opened

33:42

the mouth of his father, Osiris. He

33:45

used the sky metal, or

33:47

meteoritic iron, that came from

33:49

Seth. The tool with

33:51

which the mouth of gods is

33:53

opened. End quote. So

33:55

in this chapter, we get a small

33:57

reference to Horus performing his proper duties.

34:00

as a sun, but also using

34:02

a tool that belongs to Seth.

34:05

The specific reference to sky metal,

34:07

br in pet, connects with that

34:09

earlier coffin-text example where Seth was

34:12

described as having bones of iron.

34:15

So it seems that even in a ritual like

34:17

the opening of the mouth, a

34:19

tool associated with Seth was still

34:22

appropriate and even useful. Heck,

34:24

it was powerful. Seth's

34:26

tool is one that opens the mouth

34:29

of the very gods. Another

34:31

one of the negative references comes in utterance

34:33

65. This

34:35

is from the early 18th dynasty,

34:37

and the deceased is proclaiming their

34:40

innocence of any wrongdoing. In

34:42

this chapter, we hear the following, quote, Do

34:45

not seize me, the deceased,

34:47

as plunder for Osiris. I

34:49

have never been in the gang of Seth. Allow

34:52

me to sit at the throne of Ra. Allow

34:56

Osiris to go forth true

34:58

of voice against Seth, and

35:01

against the conjurations of Seth,

35:03

like the crocodile, twice over.

35:07

So here, the deceased disavows

35:09

any association with the Lord of

35:11

Chaos, and he begs that Osiris

35:14

will go forth justified to prevail

35:16

over his rival. It's

35:18

back to that category of Seth as

35:21

the antagonist and opponent of the ruling

35:23

lineage, which is standard stuff. But

35:25

we also get the nice idea

35:27

that certain violent animals, like the

35:29

crocodile, are the creations or conjurations

35:31

of Seth. It also reminds

35:34

us of the conflict between Horus and

35:36

Seth, when at one

35:38

moment, the two gods transformed

35:40

themselves into hippopotami and fought

35:42

violently within the Nile. Though

35:45

certain dangerous beasts are particularly

35:47

associated with Seth, and

35:50

this gives us a window into the Egyptian

35:52

view of the natural world, at

35:54

least how they understood it in religious

35:56

terms. Finally, the Book of

35:58

the Dead does give rest to the gods. references

36:00

to the positive attributes of Seth,

36:03

in particular his role as a great

36:05

warrior who defends Ra from

36:08

all enemies. In

36:10

utterance number 32 that first appears

36:12

in the 19th dynasty, we hear

36:14

the following, quote, Back

36:16

crocodile of the west, the abomination of

36:19

you is in my belly. I

36:21

have swallowed the core of Osiris. I

36:24

am Seth. So

36:26

in this passage the deceased identifies

36:28

with Seth in order to repel

36:30

dangerous beasts or demons. The

36:33

same theme appears in chapter 39, which

36:36

is from the early 18th dynasty. In

36:39

this passage we hear the following, quote, Apep

36:42

or Apophis, the enemy of Ra.

36:45

Your crew is powerful, but you

36:47

are counted or known. Move

36:50

positively, with no evil obstacle coming

36:52

out from your mouth. I

36:55

am the sun, Seth, who clears

36:57

the turbulence of the storm and

37:00

circling within the horizon of the

37:02

sky. Here we get

37:04

the idea of Seth as the

37:06

lord of storms, a being of

37:08

unfathomable natural power who rages over

37:11

the deserts and the seas, and

37:13

most importantly drives away and defeats

37:15

the enemy Apep or Apophis. This

37:18

passage illustrates that core theme that

37:20

Seth, while violent and antagonistic, can

37:23

also be a force for good.

37:26

When his violence is properly channeled, it

37:28

can defend the very order of the

37:30

universe. Finally, there is

37:32

an extended description of Seth as

37:34

a defender of Ra. In

37:37

utterance number 108, which

37:40

first appears in the mid-18th dynasty,

37:42

the deceased claims great powers to

37:44

protect Ra from any enemy. Here

37:47

they reference Seth in detail. Quote,

37:50

The deceased knows the name

37:52

of this serpent that is

37:54

upon its mountain. The

37:56

serpent's name is one that is

37:59

in its flame. After the

38:01

events of the day, the serpent will

38:03

turn his eyes to Ra, and then

38:05

the solar bark of Ra will stop

38:07

with great astonishment. Then

38:10

the serpent will gorge the seven

38:12

cubits of water. But

38:15

Seth will fend him off with

38:17

a spear of metal to force

38:19

the serpent to spew out all

38:21

that he has swallowed. Then

38:24

Seth will take the serpent in his

38:26

grip, and he will speak in a

38:28

powerful word, saying, Back, serpent!

38:30

At the metal point that is in

38:32

my hand, as I stand holding you,

38:35

so that the sailing of Ra's boat

38:37

may be smooth." This

38:40

is probably the most explicit description of

38:43

Seth defending Ra and driving away the

38:45

enemies who might threaten the god. It's

38:48

elaborate, dramatic, and quite fun. One

38:51

of my favorites from the Book of the Dead. The

38:53

Book of the Dead, or the Book

38:56

of Going Forth by Day, continues the

38:58

traditions laid down by the pyramid and

39:00

coffin texts before it. It

39:03

presents Seth in a variety of

39:05

guises, sometimes as an antagonist who

39:07

slew Osiris and battled with Horus.

39:10

Then the text veers into more

39:12

neutral and positive descriptions, referencing the

39:14

power of Seth and his iron

39:17

bones, and his ability to defend

39:19

the sun god Ra on his

39:21

nighttime journey. But the

39:23

Book of the Dead also goes

39:25

deeper into the denigration of Seth,

39:28

describing him as a wretched, bottom-dwelling

39:30

thing, one that lives on filth

39:32

and decay. These references

39:34

may have existed earlier, but they

39:36

are quite explicit here. And we'll

39:39

see this theme elaborated in different

39:41

ways, in the other New Kingdom

39:43

texts. We

39:51

have two more texts from the early

39:53

New Kingdom that relate to the Egyptian

39:55

underworld, and which include Seth.

39:58

These are the Book of the Hidden Chamber. also

40:00

known as the Amduat, and the

40:02

Book of the Gates. We'll cover

40:05

these works together because they both

40:07

describe similar subjects and they

40:09

both include far fewer references

40:11

to Seth than the earlier

40:13

corpuses. Again, these references

40:16

can range from negative to neutral

40:18

or positive, carrying on the traditions

40:20

of the ambiguous Seth. In

40:23

the Book of the Amduat, or that

40:26

which is in the netherworld, Seth only

40:28

appears a few times. At

40:30

the very start of the Amduat we have

40:32

one reference to him. When the deceased, quote,

40:35

enters into the western door of the

40:37

horizon, Seth takes his

40:39

place at the riverbank. It

40:42

is 120 Iteru in this

40:45

doorway, before the riverboat reaches

40:47

the Duat dwellers, end

40:49

quote. In this passage,

40:52

Seth seems to be a watchman

40:54

standing near the very entrance to

40:56

the Duat or underworld, and as

40:58

the deceased soul passes by, sailing

41:00

on a riverboat, Seth is watching

41:02

over the situation. It is

41:05

completely ambiguous, but the god is

41:07

definitely not antagonistic in this particular

41:09

scene. Later, in hour

41:12

number two of the Amduat, we

41:14

have a curious deity. It

41:16

is a human male, but he has

41:18

two heads. One of these

41:20

heads is a falcon, Horus. The

41:23

other is that strange animal of

41:25

Seth. The deity

41:27

is called Khirfi, which

41:29

in English might translate as

41:32

Too-Face. Have you come across this? Yes,

41:34

I am familiar with this syndrome. She's

41:36

a Too-Face. Like

41:38

the Batman villain? That

41:41

helps you. Khirfi, he of

41:43

the Two Faces, combines the images

41:45

of Horus and Seth into a

41:48

composite deity. Khirfi is

41:50

a protective being who combines the

41:52

strength of these two mighty gods,

41:54

and it seems to convey the

41:56

idea that following their competitions and

41:58

disputes, the gods Horus

42:00

and Seth were reconciled, and they

42:02

could work together for the betterment

42:04

of humanity and the gods. Later

42:07

in Hour Four we find another

42:10

deity who looks like Seth. He

42:13

is not called Seth, but rather he

42:15

is named as, quote, "...the

42:17

one who separates the Duat. He

42:20

exists in this form as the

42:22

image that Horus has made, and

42:25

separating the two gods upon this

42:27

road." End quote. This

42:29

is quite a vague reference, and it seems

42:32

to be intentional. In this

42:34

part of the Amduat, the deceased

42:36

has entered the land of Sokar,

42:38

also known as Rossitau, and

42:40

here, far from the sunlight of

42:43

Ra, deities dwell in darkness, and

42:46

the hieroglyphs describe things

42:48

euphemistically, even cryptographically,

42:50

with different symbols substituting

42:52

for normal words. In

42:55

other words, this is a land

42:57

of confusion, the perfect place for

42:59

a god who embodies a form

43:01

of Seth to take a watchful

43:04

position and guard against dangers. Those

43:07

are the major references within the

43:09

book of Amduat, not very many

43:11

compared to the Coffin Texts or

43:13

Pyramid Texts, but it gets

43:15

worse. In the book

43:18

of Gates, we have just three

43:20

references to Seth. Two

43:22

of these are references to that

43:24

god, Chirphi, or Two-Face. The

43:27

god, who combines the powers of Horus

43:29

and Seth, appears in hour 10

43:32

and hour 11, in which

43:34

they separate or oversee different groups

43:37

of gods who are part of

43:39

the netherworld. It's all very

43:41

mysterious. In one image,

43:43

Chirphi stands on the back

43:45

of a two-headed synchs, while

43:47

serpent-headed deities, wearing the crowns

43:49

of southern and northern Egypt,

43:51

pull on ropes to assist

43:53

the bark of Ra. In

43:56

this hour, hieroglyphs say, quote, when

43:58

the deceased, Seth, or two-faced, are in the stands up

44:00

for Ra, then his two

44:03

faces, Kerefi, will enter into

44:05

the deceased after Ra

44:08

passes by. So,

44:10

Kerefi, combining Horus and Seth,

44:12

continues in their protective and

44:14

helpful role. Then,

44:16

in Hour 11, Kerefi stands

44:19

between two groups of serpents

44:21

or Urayi who face in

44:23

different directions. The

44:25

god raises his arms, he seems to

44:27

have four of them, to guide the

44:30

serpents in different directions. The

44:32

whole scene is taking place on top of

44:34

a pair of bows, and the

44:36

hieroglyphs say, "...the

44:38

serpent of the Urayi crosses the

44:41

Duat. The bows

44:43

carry his two faces, Kerefi,

44:45

as the god's mystery. It

44:48

is they who proclaim Ra in

44:51

the eastern horizon of the sky,

44:53

and they cross the sky after

44:55

Ra." So, in this scene,

44:57

which takes place quite near the end of

45:00

the book of Gates, Kerefi,

45:02

Seth and Horus combined, acts

45:04

as a herald of the sun god. This

45:07

is similar to a passage that

45:09

happened all the way back in

45:11

the Pyramid Text, when Seth and

45:13

Nephthys were commanded to act as

45:15

heralds, bringing news of the king's

45:17

resurrection to the great gods. But

45:20

here it's taking place in an entirely new

45:22

form. The Seth element

45:24

is still there, but Nephthys has

45:27

disappeared, and Horus has taken her

45:29

place. It's tempting to see

45:31

this as a kind of long-term evolution

45:33

of the god. Around

45:36

2400 BCE, Seth and Nephthys together

45:38

acted as the heralds, but a

45:41

thousand years later, around 1300 BCE,

45:44

it is a new hybrid deity

45:46

who performs the same role. So

45:50

at least these two references

45:52

are positive. Kerefi is a

45:54

helpful deity who fulfills important

45:56

roles. But the

45:58

last reference to Seth is... in

46:00

the Book of Gates is another

46:02

one of those negative depictions. And

46:05

it's a doozy. As we round

46:07

out the religious literature, we

46:09

have perhaps the most insulting depiction

46:11

of Seth we've seen so far.

46:15

Halfway through the Book of Gates, between

46:17

Hours 5 and 6, we

46:20

have a most important scene. This

46:22

is the Judgment Hall of Osiris.

46:25

The King of the Dead sits upon

46:27

his throne as a long line of

46:29

deceased souls stand before him. They

46:32

are the hopeful, trying to enter

46:34

the underworld, but they must be

46:36

judged, with a scale balancing their

46:39

heart against the symbol of Ma'at.

46:41

The Judgment Hall in which Osiris

46:43

reigns is arguably the most important

46:46

part of one's journey to the

46:48

next life. Naturally,

46:50

Seth could be a dangerous force

46:53

in this kind of situation. The

46:56

gods' unpredictability, his chaotic nature,

46:58

might upset the scales and

47:00

bring confusion or falsehood to

47:02

Ma'at that could easily endanger

47:04

a soul as they attempt

47:06

to enter the eternal paradise.

47:10

So, in the Judgment Hall of

47:12

Osiris, we have a reference

47:14

to Seth, but in a strange form. In

47:17

this scene, while Osiris judges the

47:19

dead, we see a large black

47:21

pig. He is being chased

47:23

away by a baboon who holds a

47:25

stick and drives him forth. The

47:28

pig is called Ammu, or

47:30

the Swallower, and the

47:32

baboon is a stand-in for Jehuti

47:34

or Thoth, the Lord of Wisdom

47:36

and the Protector of Ma'at. The

47:39

hieroglyphs describe what is happening. When

47:42

this god, Thoth, has appeared,

47:45

he causes that which was swallowed

47:47

to be spat out. The

47:50

words of the true of

47:52

voice are exalted, as this

47:54

god, namely Thoth, renders judgment.

47:57

Essentially, the baboon, Jehuti, or Thoth, is the name of the god.

48:00

both, drives away Seth in order

48:02

to protect the Hall of Osiris.

48:04

He forces Seth, the

48:07

Swallower Ammu, to spit

48:09

up something. It's

48:11

not clear what, but in context,

48:13

we can probably guess that the

48:15

Swallower had consumed the good speech

48:17

or the true voices of the

48:20

deceased, disrupting the proceeds as they

48:22

came before Osiris. That is

48:24

just an educated guess on my part.

48:26

The hieroglyphs are particularly enigmatic in this

48:29

scene. In fact, the

48:31

entire Judgment Hall of Osiris

48:33

includes what we call cryptographic

48:35

writing, where most of

48:37

the hieroglyphs are actually substitutes, either

48:40

visual or phonetic, for other words.

48:42

This conceals the exact nature of

48:44

the text and ensures that only

48:46

those privileged, like the king, the

48:48

priests or the gods, can actually

48:51

access this magic. Likewise, this is

48:53

probably why we don't get Seth

48:55

in his physical form as a

48:57

human male with the animal head,

49:00

or simply the Seth animal itself. Instead,

49:02

Seth is reduced to one of

49:05

the lower animals, the pig, which

49:07

in ancient Egyptian religious literature is

49:09

treated as a kind of bottom-dwelling

49:12

beast. This almost certainly

49:14

harkens back to that idea

49:16

of Seth, the antagonist, as

49:18

a wretched bottom-dwelling feeder. As

49:21

we saw in the Coffin Texts earlier, Seth

49:24

feeds on filth and decay. And

49:27

for the ancient Egyptians, at least

49:29

in their religious literate here, this

49:31

was the sort of behaviour associated

49:33

with pigs. In daily life, pigs

49:35

would happily consume the items that

49:37

greater animals like cattle, sheep and

49:39

goats would not eat, so at

49:41

least in their religious language, pigs

49:43

are considered a lower form. Here

49:46

in the Judgment Hall of Osiris, Seth

49:49

is explicitly associated with these animals

49:51

and portrayed as a great black

49:53

pig. It's the ultimate

49:56

insult for the gods' antagonistic nature.

50:00

and the Amduat have the fewest

50:02

references to Seth out of all

50:05

the corpus' we've explored so far.

50:07

They are also the most euphemistic

50:10

or vague, depicting Seth in

50:12

other forms different from his

50:14

classic depiction, and usually

50:16

referring to him by an alternate

50:18

identity or title. Within

50:20

these texts, at least, Seth

50:22

appears to be a more

50:24

peripheral figure, less involved in

50:26

the workings of the duat.

50:28

He can still do important

50:30

work like watching the entrance

50:33

and guarding some of the

50:35

duoco-confusing areas, but in these

50:37

works, which are overwhelmingly concerned

50:39

with the land and kingdom

50:41

of Osiris, Seth is definitely

50:43

a sideline figure, much less

50:45

prominent than the earlier works.

50:48

Phew! That's

50:56

a lot of religious literature. And

50:58

we didn't even cover every single

51:00

instance of Seth within these texts. But

51:03

broadly speaking, you get the general picture.

51:06

Seth has at least three

51:08

characteristics or behaviors within the

51:10

religious literature. Oftentimes

51:12

he is the negative, antagonistic

51:14

force, the god who slew

51:17

his own brother Osiris and had to

51:19

be punished by the divine council. The

51:21

same god contented violently with

51:23

Horus, the son of Osiris,

51:26

and the two battled for

51:28

supremacy and the kingship of

51:30

Egypt. Within these

51:32

tales, Seth comes across as

51:34

a violent, destructive figure. He

51:37

threw Osiris down onto his

51:39

side. He gave false

51:41

testimony to the divine council, committing

51:43

an act of transgression against truth

51:46

or ma'at. He mutilated

51:48

the eye of Horus, and in

51:50

return received his own wound with

51:53

the removal of his testicles. These

51:56

are the tales of Seth the

51:58

Chaotic, the deceitful. trickster conman,

52:00

a god of aggression and disruption,

52:03

a bravo a f**k, a threat

52:05

to the divine order who must

52:07

be driven away from the halls

52:10

of Osiris lest he disrupt the

52:12

testimony and judgement of the dead.

52:15

This incarnation or aspect of

52:17

Seth is a vile figure,

52:20

a bottom-dwelling animal like a

52:22

pig or a hippopotamus, prone

52:24

to unrestrained aggression, something that

52:27

must be pacified and controlled

52:29

as much as possible. This

52:32

is Seth the enemy, Seth

52:34

the swallower, Seth

52:36

the father-killer. Then

52:39

in a complete reversal we also

52:41

have Seth the protector, the

52:43

god before whom the sky shakes,

52:46

who announces to the deities that

52:48

the Osiris, the deceased king, has

52:50

come to the duet, the god

52:52

who gives energy and strength to

52:55

the deceased, allowing them to enter

52:57

the next world and prevail over

52:59

any dangers. It is

53:01

this Seth who helped protect Horus

53:03

when he was a nursing infant,

53:05

a deity who breathes on the

53:07

mouth of the deceased, giving them

53:09

breath in the next life and

53:11

empowering them like the winds. This

53:14

Seth can give the deceased soul

53:16

immortality in the next world, a

53:19

life longer than that of the stars.

53:22

And then we have Seth the

53:24

defender of Ra, who stands on

53:26

the bark of the solar god

53:28

and drives away the enemy serpent,

53:31

Apep or Apophis. This

53:33

Seth wields a wicked spear, and

53:35

he grabs the serpent and throws

53:37

him away, clearing the sky and

53:39

the passage of Ra. This

53:41

is Seth the Great of Strength,

53:44

the son of Newt, the lord

53:46

of Ombos, A god

53:48

well worthy of respect and

53:50

admiration, for his violence, his

53:52

aggression, is channeled to a good

53:55

purpose, the protection of the

53:57

natural and divine order. Ma'at. Who

54:00

knows the name of rods enemies?

54:02

who rages like a storm and

54:04

drives away any threats. Finally,

54:07

We have the ambiguous says a

54:09

god who is present in the

54:11

afterlife and the World of the

54:14

gods but who neither assists know

54:16

obstruct the deceased on their passage.

54:18

The. Says might appear in his classic

54:21

form or as the two headed

54:23

deity cattle Feed Her Combines the

54:25

powers of Seth and Horace into

54:27

a deity that watches over the

54:30

mysterious regions of the Do at.

54:32

The. Says is neither destructive

54:34

nor beneficence. He's simply

54:36

is. He performs a

54:38

key duty within the next world,

54:41

but he takes little care for

54:43

those passing through. These.

54:45

Three Facets These three

54:47

aspects to Seth's personality.

54:50

Remind. Us of the crucial truth.

54:53

Ancient Egyptian religion, and especially

54:55

their religious storytelling or mythology,

54:57

did not operate on a

54:59

simple binary of good and

55:01

evil. says. Aggression has

55:04

destructiveness and has dishonesty were chaotic

55:06

element to be sure they could

55:08

pose a great threat to certain

55:11

aspects of the divine and the

55:13

natural. The world. Nonetheless,

55:16

They were inherently part of those

55:19

twelve, and the Ancient Egyptians recognized

55:21

that says had an important part

55:23

to play within the cosmos. He.

55:26

Was not a god to be

55:28

ignored or banished entirely from existence?

55:31

You. Might occasionally remove him from

55:33

a certain context or situation

55:35

where has influence was more

55:37

harm than help. But. He

55:39

could not be denied, at least not

55:42

for long. And. When

55:44

properly satisfied, pacified, or

55:46

at least directed. says.

55:49

aggression is bravado and is

55:51

sheer force of strength could

55:54

be a potent force for

55:56

the betterment of humanity and

55:58

the cosmos Later

56:00

in Egyptian history, the image,

56:03

iconography, and storytelling around Seth

56:05

would change significantly, and in

56:07

some instances would take a

56:10

terribly negative turn against the

56:12

god. But those

56:14

are tales for the future. By

56:17

the early 19th dynasty, the age

56:19

of Seti I, Seth

56:21

was a complex and effective

56:23

deity, one worthy of

56:26

respect and veneration. He

56:28

didn't want him around all the

56:30

time, but in other instances, Seth

56:33

was a very good friend to have

56:35

around. We

56:47

are not done with Seth, just

56:49

yet. Today we have focused on

56:51

the religious literature, the law of

56:53

Seth, if you will. But

56:55

there is another component that we need to cover.

56:58

In the next episode, we will visit

57:00

the cult centers of Seth, at

57:02

least the ones that existed by 1300 BCE. We

57:07

will discuss the noteworthy art and iconography

57:09

of the god, especially from

57:11

the Nu Kingdom, in famous

57:14

monarchs like Seti I, Horem-Hib,

57:16

Hatshepsut, and Tutmose III,

57:18

venerated and honored Seth,

57:21

and treated him as an essential

57:23

part of the kingship and its

57:26

iconography. Then we

57:28

will explore the curious artifacts that have

57:30

been left behind, including

57:32

a strange deposit that might

57:34

represent those iron bones

57:37

which are referenced in the religious

57:39

literature. That will be 192 C, releasing very soon.

57:45

Before we go though, I should add one

57:47

more thing. Way back

57:49

in episode 3, we recounted the

57:51

tale of the battle between Horus

57:53

and Seth. This is recorded

57:56

on a papyrus from the 21st dynasty. centuries

58:00

after King Seti I. Historically,

58:03

the tale itself is quite

58:05

likely a product of the

58:07

19th dynasty, or even earlier.

58:10

Since we covered it so long ago,

58:13

and it is relevant to the tales

58:15

of Seth as an antagonistic figure, I

58:17

have attached that story to the end

58:19

of this episode. It's a

58:21

fun and incredibly dramatic tale, with

58:23

all sorts of twists and turns

58:26

as the two gods battle for

58:28

supremacy. If you're already well familiar

58:30

with the contentings of Horus and

58:32

Seth, feel free to disembark

58:34

the ride now. Otherwise,

58:36

stick around after the music and

58:38

enjoy a tale of great battle.

58:44

The history of Egypt podcast is

58:46

supported by you, the listeners. I

58:48

would especially like to thank the points

58:51

of my top tier supporters on Patreon.

58:53

As part of their subscription, every priest

58:55

gets a special shoutout at the end

58:57

of the episode. At the

59:00

time of recording, the priests

59:02

are Veronica, Ashley, Nedin, Kyla,

59:04

Evan, Andy and Junzi,

59:07

Mikost, Yoma, TJ,

59:09

Terry and Linda. These

59:12

fine folks help to pacify

59:14

the chaotic force of Seth.

59:17

Their offerings allow the priest

59:19

to direct Seth into more

59:21

productive pursuits. And thanks

59:23

to their generosity, we can defend the

59:25

Nile Valley from the winds, the storms

59:27

and the waves of the great seas,

59:30

and ensure that the chaotic, dishonest

59:32

Seth becomes a force for good,

59:35

rather than a force of harm. Thank

59:38

you so much for your generosity, and

59:41

to everyone who supports the podcast on

59:43

Patreon or simply by listening, thank

59:45

you for joining me. I hope you've

59:47

enjoyed the show. Thank

59:52

you. And

1:00:02

now, the contending of Horus and

1:00:05

Serh. An excerpt from

1:00:07

episode 3 of the podcast, recorded

1:00:09

many, many years ago. The

1:00:13

original text is found on Papyrus

1:00:15

Chesterbity, which dates to the 21st

1:00:17

dynasty. But

1:00:20

from the construction of the text,

1:00:22

specifically its grammar and language, it

1:00:25

is quite likely a product of

1:00:27

earlier centuries. Only

1:00:29

the 19th dynasty, the age of Seti I

1:00:31

and Ramesses II, or perhaps even older. There

1:00:36

is scholarly debate around that, but we'll

1:00:38

cover those in the future. For

1:00:40

now, here is the tale of the

1:00:43

battle between Horus and Serh, as

1:00:45

recorded in the 21st dynasty. Long

1:00:57

long ago, in the millennia before

1:00:59

humans rose to rule the Earth,

1:01:02

power was given to the great

1:01:04

gods to decide our fate and

1:01:06

to rule Egypt for eternity. Great

1:01:09

beings like the creator, Atum, Ra,

1:01:11

the sun god, and Osiris, the

1:01:14

lord of agriculture, governed

1:01:16

the world of humans and animals. Their

1:01:19

rule was good, the very definition

1:01:21

of justice and order. When

1:01:23

gods spoke, their words were always

1:01:26

true. The greatest

1:01:28

ruler of all was Osiris. Osiris,

1:01:31

or Useru, the mighty one, was

1:01:33

the lord of eternity, a king

1:01:35

of gods. He was holy of

1:01:38

forms and numerous of names. Osiris

1:01:41

ruled Egypt with wisdom and

1:01:43

justice. He was the definition

1:01:45

of a good king. Osiris

1:01:48

had a brother, Sutech. He

1:01:51

also had two sisters, Eset and

1:01:53

Nebat Hoot. These four

1:01:55

siblings were the masters of the Earth,

1:01:58

given power by their divine parents. Osiris

1:02:01

and Eset, or Isis, were

1:02:03

a couple. Sutech and

1:02:05

Nebat Hoot, or Seth and

1:02:07

Nephthys, were another. Between

1:02:10

them, the majesty of worldly power

1:02:12

was shared. Osiris

1:02:14

ruled over humanity, and he

1:02:17

ensured that Egypt flourished. Farmers

1:02:20

looked to him to make their

1:02:22

crops grow, and Osiris helped the

1:02:24

annual flood to rise and nourish

1:02:26

the crops. Over

1:02:28

time, the cult of Osiris replaced

1:02:30

that of many other gods, and

1:02:32

he became the master of a

1:02:34

whole range of powers. Osiris's

1:02:37

brother, Seth, or Sutech, desired

1:02:39

this power for himself. Sutech

1:02:42

was lord of the desert and

1:02:45

master of storms. The wind swirled

1:02:47

at his command and kicked up

1:02:50

mighty sandstorms that buried settlements and

1:02:52

destroyed crops. A

1:02:54

master of confusion, Sutech caused

1:02:56

great anxiety and uncertainty for

1:02:59

humans living beneath his power.

1:03:02

Sutech was synonymous with concepts

1:03:04

like turmoil, storms, and rage.

1:03:07

His hieroglyph appears in those

1:03:09

words. The

1:03:11

story goes that Sutech, Seth, envied

1:03:14

the rule of Osiris and wanted

1:03:16

it for himself. He

1:03:18

played a trick on his brother, locking him

1:03:20

into a chest and throwing it into the

1:03:22

sea. In some versions,

1:03:24

Sutech cut Osiris into many pieces

1:03:26

and tossed them into the Nile

1:03:28

River. When he did

1:03:30

this, Sutech upended the natural order

1:03:33

of the world. Osiris

1:03:35

was dead, and uncertainty reigned

1:03:37

over the land. For gods

1:03:40

and humans, such disrespect, such

1:03:42

chaos was horrendous. Without

1:03:44

a good ruler, disorder would flourish,

1:03:46

the land would be plunged into

1:03:48

darkness. Without a leader,

1:03:50

the gods met in council to decide

1:03:52

who should be the new king. Sutech

1:03:56

put himself forward, claiming the throne

1:03:58

by right of Seniori. authority. He

1:04:01

was Osiris's brother, after all. Power

1:04:03

should go to him. But things

1:04:05

were not so simple. Osiris

1:04:07

had a son, a child born

1:04:10

after his father's death, and capable

1:04:12

of taking power as a new

1:04:14

ruler of Egypt. The

1:04:17

son was Horus. Horus,

1:04:20

or Heru, the one who is

1:04:22

aloft, came forth to challenge Sutech

1:04:24

for the throne. They each put

1:04:26

forward their claim, and in the

1:04:28

literature of the pharaohs, we have

1:04:30

a wonderful story of what happened

1:04:33

next. Quote, This

1:04:36

is the judging of Horus and

1:04:38

Seth, they of mysterious forms, the

1:04:40

mightiest of princes and lords. The

1:04:44

divine youth, Horus, was seated before

1:04:46

the creator, claiming the office of

1:04:48

his father Osiris, the king who

1:04:50

brightens the underworld with his chime.

1:04:53

With Seth, the great of strength, said,

1:04:56

I am Seth, greatest of strength among

1:04:58

the gods. I slay the

1:05:00

enemy of Ra every day, and no

1:05:02

other god can do it. I

1:05:05

should receive the office of Osiris.

1:05:08

Horus replied to this, saying, It is

1:05:11

not good to defraud me in front

1:05:13

of the gods, to take the office

1:05:15

of my father Osiris away from me.

1:05:18

End quote. Horus and

1:05:20

Sutech, whom I'll refer to as

1:05:22

Seth from here on out, both

1:05:24

had strong claims. Seth

1:05:26

was a mighty being who had accomplished much

1:05:28

in the service of the gods. Surely

1:05:31

he had proved his worth and deserved

1:05:34

the throne. But Horus

1:05:36

was the son, and by the

1:05:38

order of descent, his claim should

1:05:40

be stronger. Uncle

1:05:43

and nephew were going head to head,

1:05:45

each claiming their right to the throne

1:05:47

of Egypt. It is a

1:05:49

classic dilemma, like Hamlet or the Lion

1:05:51

King. The only question

1:05:53

was, who had the stronger claim?

1:05:56

The other gods were unable to decide, and

1:05:58

there were many arguments. arguments back and forth.

1:06:02

Finally, Seth got fed up and

1:06:04

challenged Horus directly. If

1:06:06

they both sought the throne, they should have

1:06:08

a contest. Let the best

1:06:10

guard win the crown of Egypt. Round

1:06:18

one was a trial of endurance. The

1:06:21

two guards, capable of shape-shifting,

1:06:23

transformed themselves into hippopotami and

1:06:25

submerged within the waters of

1:06:27

the Nile River. They

1:06:30

held their breath. Whoever could stay under

1:06:32

the longest would win the contest and

1:06:34

earn the kingship for themselves. The

1:06:37

two guards went down into the water

1:06:39

and waited. On

1:06:41

the riverbank, a goddess was watching. The

1:06:44

mother of Horus, sister of Seth,

1:06:46

great Iset, or Isis, was concerned

1:06:49

at what would happen. Isis

1:06:51

was in mourning for her husband,

1:06:53

and her fears naturally rose, and

1:06:56

the thought that Seth, treacherous as

1:06:58

he was, might hurt her only

1:07:00

son Horus. Isis grew

1:07:02

anxious and decided to act. Isis

1:07:05

took a branch and fashioned it into

1:07:08

a magical harpoon. He threw the

1:07:10

harpoon at Seth, hoping to injure her brother

1:07:12

so that he would have to come out

1:07:14

of the water and lose the competition. But

1:07:17

Isis misjudged her aim, and the

1:07:19

harpoon bit deep into the body

1:07:21

of Horus instead. Fearing

1:07:23

up, Horus the hippopotamus was

1:07:26

enraged. The first contest was

1:07:28

over, and Seth had won. Horus

1:07:32

went away in a huff, and Seth followed

1:07:34

him. The uncle pursued his nephew

1:07:36

and found him lying on a mountain.

1:07:39

When Seth came upon Horus, lying

1:07:41

beneath a tree, he attacked him,

1:07:43

hoping to secure his victory once

1:07:45

and for all. The next part

1:07:47

was quite horrific. Horus

1:07:50

was lying under a tree in the

1:07:53

oasis country. Then Seth found

1:07:55

him, seized him, and threw him on his

1:07:57

back on the mountain. Seth

1:07:59

removed Horus. Horace's eyes from their

1:08:01

sockets and buried them on this

1:08:03

mountain. Then he went

1:08:05

to the Creator and said falsely, I

1:08:08

searched for Horace, but I did not find him. Horace's

1:08:11

two eyeballs became two bulbs,

1:08:13

and towards morning they grew

1:08:16

into lotus flowers. End

1:08:18

quote. Seth

1:08:20

blinded Horace, tearing his eyes out

1:08:23

and burying them. There

1:08:25

they transformed into lotus flowers, symbols

1:08:27

of rebirth, and they grew on

1:08:29

the banks of the oasis. A

1:08:32

very pretty scene, but not so good for

1:08:34

the god. Horace, lacking eyes,

1:08:36

was in trouble. Fortunately,

1:08:39

a goddess came along to rescue

1:08:42

Horace. Her name was

1:08:44

Hathor, or Hathor, one of the

1:08:46

most important goddesses, and with her

1:08:48

great powers she was able to

1:08:50

heal the wounded Horace. Hathor

1:08:53

poured animal milk into Horace's eye

1:08:55

sockets, and with her magic she

1:08:57

made new eyes for him. These

1:09:00

new eyes were called the Wide-Jet

1:09:02

Eyes, and they became a famous

1:09:04

symbol of protection. The

1:09:07

Eye of Horace, mighty in its

1:09:09

power, was a great emblem. It

1:09:11

was associated with immense creative and

1:09:13

regenerative power, and it was even

1:09:16

said that the Eye of Horace

1:09:18

was actually the left eye of

1:09:20

the Creator himself. I

1:09:22

won't go into all of that complicated

1:09:24

mythology here. Suffice to say,

1:09:26

the Eye of Horace came about at a

1:09:29

time of great need, and it served him

1:09:31

well. Today, the Eye

1:09:33

of Horace is synonymous with Egyptian

1:09:35

divinity. It is also the

1:09:38

symbol for this podcast. The

1:09:40

next competition got intensely sexual,

1:09:43

so if you have younger listeners or

1:09:45

you're not interested in that kind of

1:09:47

material, skip ahead about four minutes. After

1:09:50

the contest of the Heppos and the

1:09:52

blinding of Horace, the third competition took

1:09:55

place in the bedroom. The

1:09:57

story goes that Seth invited Horace to a

1:09:59

party. banquet and tried to seduce

1:10:01

him. Horus pretended

1:10:04

to acquiesce, and the two

1:10:06

went to bed together, whereupon

1:10:08

Seth, quote, let his

1:10:10

member become Steph, and he inserted

1:10:12

it between the thighs of Horus,

1:10:15

end quote. Graphic

1:10:17

stuff, but this is the ancient world,

1:10:19

sexuality was much more free. What's

1:10:22

important here is who was doing the

1:10:24

inserting. Seth was the top,

1:10:27

which in ancient morality meant that he

1:10:29

was the man. This

1:10:31

contest was a challenge of masculinity.

1:10:34

Seth tried to treat Horus as a

1:10:36

woman to feminise him, in order to

1:10:38

prove that the younger god was unfit

1:10:40

to rule Egypt. In

1:10:42

a patriarchal society, this made perfect

1:10:45

sense. Unfortunately, Horus

1:10:47

outsmarted him. Horus

1:10:50

tricked Seth and fooled him into thinking that

1:10:52

he had succeeded when he hadn't. Horus

1:10:55

captured Seth's bodily fluid and he took it

1:10:57

to his mother, Isis. Isis

1:11:00

was horrified, and the two concocted

1:11:02

a plan to get revenge on

1:11:04

Seth. Horus

1:11:06

threw Seth's semen away into the

1:11:08

marshes, and gathered his own semen

1:11:11

into a pot. They

1:11:13

then took Horus's semen to the garden

1:11:15

which belonged to Seth. There,

1:11:17

they found a number of lettuces

1:11:19

growing, and Horus placed his

1:11:21

own semen on the lettuce in order

1:11:24

that Seth would eat it. It seems

1:11:26

that Seth was quite fond of salad,

1:11:28

for indeed he did eat the lettuce

1:11:30

which contained Horus's fluid. As

1:11:33

a result, Seth became pregnant with

1:11:35

the semen of Horus. Horus

1:11:37

had got a one-up on his wicked

1:11:39

uncle, and as you can imagine, Seth

1:11:42

was rather enraged. The furious

1:11:44

Seth now turned to the last

1:11:46

resort of any unreasonable party. He

1:11:48

said to Horus, come on, we're

1:11:50

taking this to court. So

1:11:53

the gods went before the divine

1:11:55

council, and sat once again in

1:11:57

holy judgment. At this

1:11:59

point, Seth's attempt to dominate

1:12:01

Horus sexually came back to beat

1:12:04

him. Seth claimed that

1:12:06

he had, quote, done a man's

1:12:08

deed to Horus. In

1:12:10

other words, Seth claimed victory by

1:12:12

right of sexual dominance. It

1:12:15

is a strange way to take power over a

1:12:17

kingdom, but there it is. Unfortunately

1:12:20

for Seth, Horus and Isis's clever

1:12:22

thinking had sowed the seeds for

1:12:25

his downfall. At

1:12:27

this point, Seth claimed victory,

1:12:29

but Horus shot back, saying,

1:12:32

if you did what you say you

1:12:34

did, make your semen announce itself. Seth

1:12:37

called out to his semen, expecting

1:12:39

it to answer from Horus's buttocks.

1:12:42

But it answered from a

1:12:44

faraway marsh. Then, Horus

1:12:46

called out to his semen, and

1:12:48

it answered from the stomach of

1:12:50

Seth. The contest

1:12:53

was clear. Horus had dominated

1:12:55

Seth sexually, not the other

1:12:57

way around. The crowd

1:12:59

roared with laughter, and the divine

1:13:01

council said, Horus is

1:13:03

true, Seth is false. I

1:13:07

emphasize this sexual contest for an

1:13:09

important reason, to start getting a

1:13:11

sense of some of the ancient

1:13:13

Egyptians' morals and sexual customs. In

1:13:16

their mindscape, it wasn't important who

1:13:19

the players were, male or female,

1:13:21

hetero or homosexual. What

1:13:23

was important was which role each partner

1:13:25

took. The dominant one was

1:13:27

clearly the masculine for them, the submissive

1:13:30

one was the feminine. Since

1:13:32

their society was inherently patriarchal,

1:13:34

particularly in politics, they prized

1:13:37

the masculine traits as more

1:13:39

suitable, quote unquote, for their

1:13:41

rulers. That could be played

1:13:44

out sexually as much as politically. The

1:13:51

story progressed through a couple more phases

1:13:53

and competitions, which I will explore at

1:13:56

another time. In the

1:13:58

last phase, the contest reached its worst

1:14:00

anger, and the divine council came

1:14:02

to its last resort. Unable

1:14:05

to choose between the brother of

1:14:07

Osiris, Seth, and the son, Horus,

1:14:09

they decided that the only thing

1:14:11

to do was to ask Osiris

1:14:13

himself. Now Osiris was

1:14:15

dead, of course, but that was no

1:14:17

barrier for the gods. They

1:14:19

simply wrote a letter to the king,

1:14:22

who now lived within the underworld, and

1:14:24

asked him his opinion. Who

1:14:26

should have the throne, his brother or his

1:14:28

son? Osiris responded

1:14:30

as he would expect. He said,

1:14:32

Are you mad? Give the throne

1:14:34

to my son. So that

1:14:36

was that. The decision of Osiris

1:14:39

could not be challenged, and the gods

1:14:41

settled the matter accordingly. They gave the

1:14:43

crown to Horus. Quote. After

1:14:47

all of this had transpired, the

1:14:49

creator said, Bring me Seth,

1:14:51

bound up and tied. So

1:14:54

Seth was brought, bound as a

1:14:56

prisoner, and the gods said to

1:14:58

him, Seth, why have you

1:15:00

resisted being judged, and tried to

1:15:02

seize for yourself the office that

1:15:04

belongs to Horus? Seth

1:15:06

sneakily said, I have

1:15:09

done no such thing, my good lord. Let

1:15:11

Horus be summoned, and I will give to

1:15:13

him the office of his father Osiris. Then

1:15:17

Horus received the crown on his head. The

1:15:19

gods placed him on the seat of his

1:15:22

father, and they said to him, You

1:15:24

are the good god of Egypt.

1:15:26

You are the good lord of

1:15:28

all lands, forever and ever. End

1:15:33

quote. Horus was crowned king, and the land

1:15:35

came to peace. The tale

1:15:37

ends with a celebration of Horus as

1:15:40

the king, and a consolation prize for

1:15:42

Seth. Seth, defeated,

1:15:44

was given a new job, to

1:15:46

become the lord of storms, where

1:15:48

he, quote, shall thunder in

1:15:50

the sky and be feared. Seth

1:15:53

accepted this, and the tale ended

1:15:56

happily. The text closes by

1:15:58

saying, It has come to a good

1:16:00

ending in the place of God. you