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Maria Jose Amor Martinez: mfbx9ma2

Year 3: Certificate Course in Egyptology

University of Manchester

The sites of Seth

A study of different places concerning the god Seth

Word count 4,959 (excluding the bibliography and front page)

I hereby declare that the materials contained in this essay are entirely the

product of my own work, that sources used are fully documented and that the

whole has not previously been submitted for any other purpose.

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Index

1.- Introduction

2.- Seth and the environment

3.- Distribution of the Land. Lands of Seth

4.- Cult of Seth in Upper Egypt

5.- Cult of Seth in Lower Egypt

6.- Seth Lord of the Oasis

7.- Seth Lord of the Foreign Lands

8.- Seth Lord of the Sky

9.- Conclusion

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Illustrations:

1. Seth in his different shapes according to the Bibliography. My outlined.

2. Seth in C-Ware potteries surrounded by mountains and vegetation (Graff

2009, pp. 198-203)

3. Standards in the macehead of the king Scorpion (Petrie 1939, Pl.

XXXVIII)

4. Inscription at Gebel Tjauti. My adaptation from Darnell 2002, p.19.

5. My map based upon Gardiner (1947) maps pp. 3,23,51 and 99.

6. Stele of Anhotep (Petrie 1901, PL LXXVIII). Manchester Museum.

7. Winged Seth “Bull of Nebwty” in Asiatic costume. Web 13

8. “Seth Lord of Tjebw” Stele of Nakht, Oriental Institute10510. Gardiner

1947, p. 54. Colored by author.

9. Shaw plants atop the tail of Seth and in the hieroglyphs name of the city,

according to Barguet 2000.

10. Seth-Ani/Nemty. “Lord of the East”. Stele in the temple of Hathor at

Serabit el-Khadim (te Velde 1967, p. 114)

11. Nemty engraved in the Chapel of Sesostris I at Karnak (Lacau 1969, Pl.

3)

12. The bull Seth-Bata carrying Osiris. Te Velde 1967, Pl. VI

13. Stele of KhaBauSokar. Murray 1905, Pl. I.

14. Fragment of a relief from the Pyramid temple of Wnas at Saqqara.

Naydler 2005, p. 306.

15. Avaris, Pi-Rameses and Tanit (Bietak 2003, p.25)

16. Upper part of the 400th Year Stele (Bietak, 2003)

17. Map of the Oasis (Bagnol 1938, p.282)

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18. Seth/Ash in the sealing of king Peribsen (Petrie 1901 PL. XXII)

19. Stone in the North Kharga Oasis engraved with the god Seth (Photo from

web 10)

20. Meskhetyw in the Astronomical Ceiling of Senmut (Photo courtesy of J.

Lull)

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The Sites of Seth

“The sites of Horus serve you; the sites of Seth serve you” Pyramid Text spell 213

1.- Introduction

During the development of the Egyptian state, three areas were involved. In one

side the Nile and its floods, on the other side the eastern desert along with the

Sinai Peninsula and, finally, the Western Desert and its Oasis (Midnant Reynes

2000, p. 15). The Nile Valley was a meeting place of many populations who

came to the valley from the neighboring deserts due to the long lasting drought

that dried the occasional lakes and fertile wadis (Pérez Largarcha 2007, p.39). It

had to be very difficult to unify such a miscellaneous people coming with their

own gods and manners. In fact, the expression “Uniting the Two Lands” did not

appear until the reign of Khasekhemuy (Cialowitcz 1997, p. 57) when Horus and

Seth were first reconciled. Myths related to the struggles between Horus and

Seth can give an idea of events that actually occurred during the embryonic

stage of the Pharaonic state (Griffiths 1958, p.75). Seth was never totally

beaten and his worship continued throughout the history of Egypt until

Ptolemaic and Roman domination, when he was demonized and his cult limited

to some isolated temples located at western oasis.

2.- Seth and the environment

The god Seth is usually represented as a canid with a dropped snout and

straight ears standing either seated or recumbent.

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Fig.1

The anthropomorphic figure with the head of Sethian canide is rarely found in

the early dynasties. Historically, the first representation of the Seth animal

appears during the period denominated Naqada I at the Predynastic cemetery

at El Mahasna (Ayrton&Loat 1911, p.31). According to Petrie classification of

the ceramic remains, the Sethian animal is only found in the SD 30-39, named

C, regarding white figures over dark red background (Graff 2009, p.15). These

Sethian images appear in a context closely related to the mountains and

vegetation, specially the sedges, which fits very well with the hieroglyphs

associated with one of the writings of his name (swty) which means ‘he of the

sedge’(Kemp 2006, p. 71). The xAst mountains (Gardiner sign N25) is a

determinative related to the desert, which is a common land of Seth as we will

see.

Fig. 2

The first evidence about warlike conflicts in the Nile Valley, comes from Naqada

II onwards (Campagno 2004, p.689). The trace of Sethian animal does not

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return until Naqada III period, when was featured standing atop a standard in

the macehead of King Scorpion.This shows that, by this time being in Egypt,

different tribes were organized around a token (Grimal 1988, p. 41).

Fig. 3

The standard in the centre shows the Sethian animal flanked by the mountains

(left) and the storm god Min (right). The hanging lapwing (rxyt) is, probably, the

symbol of original Delta people (Pirene 1965). The scene likely represents the

victory of the northern followers of Seth over the people of Delta (Gardiner

1947, p.106). This is the same confederation that appears in a rock shelf at

Gebel Tjauti:

Fig. 4

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3.- Distribution of the Land. Lands of Seth

Geb, the Earth god, arbitrated between the confrontations of the Two

Contenders (Horus and Seth) and decided to grant the Upper Egypt to Seth

because it was the land where the god was born; and the Lower Egypt to

Horus, for it was the land where his father had drowned (Lichteim1975, p.52).

Hereinafter, Geb changed his mind and decided to bestow the entire land to the

son of Osiris. The Horus myth of Edfu (Egberts 1997) tells that Seth complained

and challenged his nephew to be finally defeated. Geb took pity on Seth and his

allies, and sent them to the four cardinal points becoming, thus, the patriarchs

of the lands surrounding Egypt: Kushites to the south, Asiatics to the north,

Libyans to the west and Bedouins to the east (Egberts1997, p.50). This could

be an account for the strong association between Seth and the foreign

countries.

4.- Cult of Seth in Upper Egypt

Seth is given the title of “Lord of the Nile Valley Land” in the Pyramid Texts

(Allen 2005, PT 155). There were cities and temples devoted to Seth until,

apparently, the XXV Dynasty when the cult of Seth became extinct (Redford

2002, p.264), at least in the Nile Valley. Due to the frequent instability during the

Intermediate Periods, the areas involved in these cities do not always

correspond with the geographical boundaries, arranged by the Ptolemies and

called nomes. Hence, I have arranged the cities considering the course of the

Nile with disregard of the Ptolemaic organization.

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Fig. 5

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Seth Lord of Ombos

There are two cities linked with “Seth Lord of Ombos”. One is the modern Kôm

Ombo, 42 km south of Assuan, on the eastern bank of the Nile. The other is

about 4 km on the northwest of the modern Tukh, in the area of Ballas called

Ombos. The name of the former in Egyptian hieroglyphs is nbwty and the latter

is nebwt (Daressy 1917, p.80). Ombos/Nebwt, was an important bastion for Seth

and his followers during the Predynastic period around 3300 b.C. (Wilkinson

1999, p.37). Petrie (1896) found in this site the remains of an old city and a

temple devoted to Seth. There are three steles from this temple exhibited in the

Manchester Museum. One of them is the Anhotep Stele, where Seth appears

as ‘Lord of Nebwty’ referring Kom Ombo:

Fig. 6

According to Brugsch (1879, p.318) Seth was worshiped in Kom Ombo under

the shape of the crocodile Sobek, deem to be the son of Seth (te Velde 1967,

p.150). As we will see, crocodiles and hippopotamus were usually considered

manifestations of the god Seth. Another piece from Naqada temple of Seth is

located at Petrie Museum, London. Seth is featured standing in front of an

offering table with an inscription reading: ‘Seth of Nebwt’, alluding Seth of

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Ombos (web 7). In the main deposit of this temple, Petrie found pieces out of

alabaster with inscriptions describing the labor of enlargement made by

Tutmosis III, who is mentioned as: “The good god Menkheperra, beloved of

Seth of Nebwt”. In a lintel of the Temple, Seth is referred as ‘Seth of Nebwty,

Lord of the Southern Land” (Petrie 1896, Pl LXXIX). In a round topped stele,

now at the Glyptotek museum, a bull headed winged Seth is called “Bull of

Nebwty”. The bull used to be an icon of Seth: in the Leyden Papyrus, “the son

of Nwt” (which is a common epithet of Seth) is called “Bull of the night, Bull of

Bull”(Griffith 1974, p.80).

Fig. 7

Seth Lord of Wnw and Nashenw

These two cities are sited about 50 km north of Denderah, close to the modern

Kasr es-Sayed. Seth is referred as the lord of these two cities, in an inscription

engraved in the inner side of the exterior wall at Medinet Habu (Gardiner 1947,

p.53).

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Seth Lord of Tjebw

Tjebw (Tbw) was the capital city of the X Ptolemaic nome called wADt. Ancient

Greeks called it Anteopolis (the city of the giant Anteus) and was settled on the

east bank of the Nile. In latter times, the name of the city changed into Djw-Ka

(Dw-qa), ‘the high mountain’ (Barguet 1964, p.8), Qau el-Kebir in Arabic. The

original deity of this nome was Antewy, portrayed as a double falcon on a boat

and assimilated to Seth, as we can see in the stele of Nakht (XVIII Dynasty):

Fig. 8

According to Teeter (2003,p.42): “This dual identity is a reflection of the belief

that a god could have more than one nature, and that he or she could have the

attributes of several deities in order to express the extender power of the god”.

This approach is important because all throughout the northern part of Upper

Egypt we find the double falcon as the emblem of many cities that could be

ancient centers of Seth cult. Over time, the cult of Seth was put aside and

replaced by the double falcon, representing the reconciliation between both

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Horus and Seth (te Velde 1967, p.68). An inscription was found at Qâu showing

the priest title sHtp nTrwy, that is to say, ‘Reconciling the two gods’ (Gardiner

1947, p. 53). According to latter versions of the myth, the battle between Horus

and Typhon (Seth for the Romans) took place on the river bank close to this

city, which was eventually destroyed completely. Today is El-Etmaniyah

(Gardiner 1947, p.49).

There was a cult to the Sethian animal, the hippopotamus, at Tjebu from the

Predynastic period (Lang 1980, p. 361; Gardiner 1947, p.135) shown by a

scene of the mayor of Tjebu worshiping a hippopotamus surrounded by

papyrus. The inscription here is badly damaged but it could be read as: “Seth,

the victorious, the hippopotamus, the Lord of the Tjebw in the nome of wADt”

(Brunton 1927, Pl. 32). In the12292 Stele, now at the Oriental Institute in

Chicago Illinois, a man called Pa-nehemi stands before Seth as a

hippopotamus on pedestal (web 8).

Seth of Shashetep

This city is located on the western bank of the Nile, about 5 Km south of Asyut,

inside the boundaries of the XI Ptolemaic nome. The Sethian canide is atop its

standard.

According to Budge (1920, p. 1039) and te Velde (1967, p.23) Seth was the

local deity. The hymn to Osiris engraved on the sarcophagus of Khnum-Nakht

(now in the Manchester Museum) shows the god Khnum as Lord of Shashetep,

but, probably, it was a latter association. The text E of the Horus myth engraved

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at Edfu, mentioned Seth as “The lord of Upper Egypt which has his residence at

Shas-Hetep” (Fairmen1935, p. 27). The hieroglyph name of the city features the

plants named ‘shaw’ (Gardiner sign M8) that also appear in the Book of the

Dead as the lock of hair in the tail of Seth canide (Barguet 2000, p. 132).

Fig. 9

The god Shai (the god of Destiny) is determined, in the Stele of Merenptah, by

the Seth animal (te Velde 1967, p. 21). Quagebeur (1975, p.144) Brunton

(1923, p.68) and Daressy (1916, p175) mention a strong connection among

Seth, Ash and Sha, all of them related to the Libyan Desert. Sha (or Shai

because it is the same deity) is depicted under the shape of the Seth canide in

the northern wall of the tomb of Baqet III (BH 15) at Beni Hasan (Tiradritti 2008,

p.187). Meanwhile, in the same area, a relief in the tomb of Petosiris, features

the god Shai worshiped at Shashetep as ‘lord of the wine’, another epithet for

Seth (te Velde 1967, p.7). Daressy (1916, p.175) established the same

relationship between both deities, out of the ancient representation of Sha with

the determinative of the Sethian animal. This determinative changed into a

swine (SAi in hieroglyphs), when Seth fell from grace (Newberry 1928, p.213).

Coffin Texts state that: “It so happened that Seth had transformed himself into a

pig” (Faulkner 2004, spell 157) showing that both of them were already

connected.

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Seth of Per Anty

Per Anty was the capital of the Ptolemaic Nomo XII of Upper Egypt, likely

situated in the eastern bank of the Nile. The name of the nome was Dwf

translated as the ‘mountain of the serpent’ and its deity was Anty. According to

Corteggani (2007, p.371) Anty was the archaic name of Nemty, the ferryman in

the myth referring the contest between Horus and Seth, who was cheated by

Isis and had his legs cut (or was skinned in other version) as a punishment

inferred by Geb. This gushing skin hanging on a plant is the Nebride which,

according to Meeks (2008, p.180) represents Seth. This relationship between

Nemty and Seth is clearly shown in the Stele of Sinai:

Fig. 10

This Nemty deity appears as that of the nome XVIII (hwt neswt) in the White

Chapel of Sesostris I:

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Fig 11

During the Ptolemaic period, Nemty changed into Dunawy (he who extends his

two wings, or claws in other versions). Nevertheless, it was Nemty the deity

worshipped here during the early period (Castel 2001, p.110) whose myth was

associated to Seth.

Seth lord of Saka

Saka is settled on the western bank of the Nile, around the current El-Kes.

According to the Papyrus Jumilhac (Vandiers 1961, p.131) Seth and his

followers reached this area escaping from the allies of Horus. Gardiner and

Vandier stated that the Two Brothers, Anubis and Bata, were connected with

the two main cities in the area: Hardai and Saka respectively. At the same time,

there is a link with the two principal deities devoted in their temples: Anubis and

Seth. Seth is worshipped in Saka under the shape of a bull, which is related to

the episode of Bata transforming himself into this animal (Lefevre 1982, p.249;

Vandier1961, p.131)

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Fig. 12

As we can see, Seth is frequently referred as a bull. In the Papyrus of Ani, for

example, is written: “Who is he? He is Seth. Otherwise said: He is the great

Wild Bull” (Faulkner 1998, chapter 17).

Seth Lord of Sepermeru

Sepermeru was first mentioned during the Rameside period referring both the

name of the nome and its capital (Gardiner 1947, p.110). According to Papyrus

Harris, Papyrus Wilbour and the Adoption Papyrus, the deity for both of them

(the whole nome and its capital) was Seth, who appears as ‘Lord of Sepermeru’

(Gardiner 1947, p. 110). The standard of Sepermeru carries the Oryx animal,

strongly associated with Seth (Castel 2001, p.381). The exact location of the

city is unknown because there are nothing remaining, but it is to be sought on

the western bank of the Bahr Yusuf, a branch of the Nile which, from Asyut,

runs along the desert edge (Gardiner 1947, p.47). The list of nomes at the white

chapel in Karnak suggests that the capital of this nome was Wnsy, a city

devoted to Seth and his divine consort Nephtys (Gardiner 1947, p.11).

According to the legend of the contest between Horus and Seth, a great battle

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took place in this city involving the followers of both contenders. The allies of

Seth transformed themselves into hippopotamus and crocodiles, and were

finally defeated in this place (Egberts 1997, p.48). According to Daressy (1916,

p. 14) they were transformed into oryx, which is the animal standing over the

standard of the nome.

Seth of Oxyrhynchus

Per Medjet, the capital of Oxyrhynchus (current el-Bahnasa) is sited at about

160 Km south of Asyut (Watterson 2003, p.104). Its emblem was two was-

scepters over a standard. According to Egberts (1997, p.47) there was also a

great battle in this place between the Two Contenders, and Seth with his

followers ran to el-Fayium as a consequence. By the Ptolemaic period, this land

was consecrated to Igai, a desert deity (portrayed as an anthropomorphic

canide-headed figure) called the “Lord of the Southern Oasis” (Fisher 1957, p

224), This title was shared with Seth, as the earliest mention of this deity comes

from Khabausokar (III Dynasty) which was at the same time the priest of

Anubis, Igai and Seth (Corteggani 2007, p.269)

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Fig. 13

Seth lord of Sw

Sw (also Sesw) was located at the El-Fayium area but the precise place is

unknown. In this city, a temple devoted to Seth is documented from the Dynasty

XII onwards (Gardiner 1947, p.115). According to the Papyrus Harris, Sw was

the birthplace of Seth (Gardiner 1947, p. 115). An inscription in the Rameses III

great temple at Medinet Habu says that there was a sanctuary in Sw devoted to

“Seth, lord of Sw” (Brugsch 1879, p.752). In the Festival Hall of Tutmosis III at

Karnak is written “(Seth) of Nebwty, Lord of the Southern Land, Lord of the Sky,

the virtuous son of Nut, the great valuable resident in Sw” (Pleyte 1863, p.11)

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Fig.14

According to the Ptolemaic myth of Horus, the followers of Seth took refuge in

this place after being discovered in Oxirrincus. They stayed here for six days

and then had to flee to Silé, in eastern Delta (Egberts1997, p. 52)

5.- Cult of Seth in Lower Egypt

Seth lord of Avaris: Seth lord of hwt wart

The eastern part of the Delta close to the border, has always been a Sethian

area, which stretched out from the north of Sinai until the eastern branch of the

Nile. During the Ptolemaic period, it became the nome XIV called Sethroe. The

whole domain was devoted to Seth (Bietak 1996, p.82). Hyksos, Ramesides

and the kings of XXI and XXII Dynasties built their capitals in this area: Avaris,

Pi-Rameses and Tanis respectively. Due to the marshy ground, it has been very

difficult to locate the ruins of these cities. Nevertheless thanks to the

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excavations of Mariette, Montet and Bietak, today we have a good piece of

information.

Fig. 15

According to Bietak &Müller (2003 p.27) Avaris already existed from the

Dynasty XII onwards. The first evidence of a veneration of Seth in this area

comes from the obelisk of Nehesy. He appears entitled as ”beloved of Seth,

Lord of Avaris” (Bietak1996, p.41). The same name is engraved in an altar

belonging to king Apopi II (Hyksos) and devoted to his father ‘Seth of hwt wart’

(Avaris) (Petrie 1907 p.243) so the altar probably came from this city. The

location of the temple is not certain, but based upon the Papyrus Anastasi II the

temple of Seth was in a southern position regarding the other temples in the city

(Bietak 2003, p.33). The most remarkable finding in the area was the 400th

Year Stele, re-discovered by Montet at Tanis a few kilometers northwest of

Avaris.

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Fig.16

The stele shows a scene presided by a solar winged disc that covers

everything. Beneath the sun, Rameses II offers Seth (wearing a Canaanite

tasseled kilt) two globular jars with wine. This stele was erected by Rameses II

to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the reign of his ancestor the king

"Seth the Ombite" at Avaris. Apopi II had referred Seth of Avaris as his father

and hence established a connection between the Hyksos and Ramesides.

According to Bietak (1996) it seems clear that all throughout the Hyksos

occupation until the end of Rameside period, this area was devoted to Seth as

its main deity.

Seth of Medjem

Medjem was a city located at the edge of the sea, close to the city of Pelusia in

the eastern Delta. The Bolonia Papyrus mentions a temple devoted to Seth in

this city. The hieratic text is directed by the prophet Praemhib from the temple of

Seth, to the steward Sethy asking for his help (Brugsch 1879, p. 401).

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6.- Seth lord of the Oasis

The main oasis of Egypt are located in the Western desert. They are the

remains of early Neolithic seasonal lakes which grouped the nomad population

who wandered the savanna, when the rains started to decrease (Hendrick

&Vermersh 203, p.28) The most important are: Kharga, Dahklah, Farafra and

Siwa.

Fig.17

Although the archeology in the area is still in its beginnings, the cult of Seth is

documented in Kharga, Dakhla and Siwa. Throughout the history of Egypt, the

cult of Seth had been displaced to these bordering areas. The first

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representation of the Lord of the Oasis is engraved in a seal of the king

Sekhemib featuring the god Ash in the shape of Seth.

Fig. 18

According to Wilkinson (1999, p.282), the anthropomorphic figure features the

god Ash absorbing Seth, as a way of syncretism. Ash (also referred as Sha) is

given the epithet : “He from Nebwt”, that is to say Seth.

The temple of Seth at Kharga

Hebet, the ancient capital of Kharga Oasis was located between the Nile Valley

and the foothills of Gebels al-Teir and Nadura. Remains were found of a temple

devoted to Amun in the centre of the city dated from XXVI Dynasty (Vivian

2000, p.76). An outstanding colorful relief of Seth overcoming the serpent

Apophis can be seen inside the monument. Seth is portrayed in blue in the

shape of a winged falcon that seems to be Horus, but the inscription says:

“words said by stx”, so it is clearly Seth in his traditional function of slaying

Apophis (web 14).

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Recently, drawings carved in a rock have been found in the northern Kharga

Oasis featuring Seth (Ikram, web 10)

Fig. 19

Seth in Dakhla Oasis

The temple of Seth at Mut el-Kharab was particularly active during the Libyan

period (Kaper 2009, p.158). Seth is named ‘Lord of the Oasis’ in a stele of

pharaoh Shoshenq I (XXII Dynasty) found at Dakhla Oasis, which contains the

oracular words of Seth given to the king during a sed festival (te Velde 1969,

p.115). There is also a relief of the emperor Vespasian offering flowers to Seth

and Hathor at Deir el Haggar. But the earliest attestation of the cult of Seth in

the Oasis is written in the votive statue of Penbast found in the temple of Deir-el

Haggar at the western edge of Dakhla Oasis (Kaper 1997 p. 231). The statue,

badly damaged, was found amidst the debris while clearing the temple. It

represents an unknown Egyptian goddess (probably Nephtys, the wife of Seth)

with an inscription of a Seth priest called Penbast saying: “Seth Great of

Strength, the son of Nut, may he grant life, wellbeing and health to the High

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Priest of Seth Penbast”, (Kaper 1997, p.232). Both Nephtys and Seth were

venerated in Dakhla as the Lord and Mistress of the Oasis until the Roman

period (Kaper 1997, p.233). Another votive statue was found in the area with

the inscription “Seth Lord of the Ankhet” (an unknown city for now) and

published by H. Jacquet-Gordon (Kaper 1997, p.236). The Smaller Dakhla Stele

(dated from the XXII or XXV Dynasties according to Jansen 1968, p. 160) was

found near the village of Mwt (the capital city) with an incised text in hieratic that

reads: “Utterance by Swtekh, great of Strength, the Son of Nut”. This stele

features Seth in the shape of a falcon-head god with a sun-disk in his head.

As we can see, although the cult of Seth at the Oasis was supported until the

latter periods, he changed his earlier representation as a canide animal (from

Predynastic until XXII Dynasty) into a falcon.

Seth in Siva Oasis

Siva Oasis stretches at the northwest of Egypt, in the border to Libya. The

groundwater here is saline, so the aridity is extreme. The Amun temple at Siva

was very famous (particularly during the latter times) because of the oracle.

Alexander the Great came to this place to hear the Oracle of Amun, who

declared him his beloved son. During the reign of Nectanebo II, Wenamun, “the

great chief of foreign lands”, engraved a relief performing himself kneeling

before Seth and other deities.

During the latter times, the cult of Seth was eventually forbidden: “They see how

Seth is fallen on his side, robbed of land in all his places, Sw laments, Wns

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mourns. Lamentations goes round in Oxyrhynchus. The oasis of Kharga and

the oasis of Dakhla are in affliction. Disaster goes about in them. Cynopolis

makes plaint; its lord is not in his territory. wADt (10th Nome of Upper Egypt) is a

desolate place. Ombos is pulled down. Their temples are destroyed. All who

belonged to them, are not. Their lord is not, he who thinks of enmity is not” (te

Velde 1967, p.115)

7.- Seth Lord of the Foreign Lands

The Sethian cult survived in the Oasis. According to te Velde (1969, p.113)

there are evidences of Seth as 'Lord of the Foreign Countries’ right from the

Middle Kingdom. Seth can be identified as both the god Anty of the Sinai and

the god Ash of Libya (te Velde 1969, p.114) as we have already seen. Seth is

assimilated, in the Merenptah Stele, to the Hittite Teshub, the god of the Storm.

During the Rameside period, Seth was revealed as Baal, the Semitic god

whose garment wears Seth of Avaris. Seth was the lord of Joppa as can be

extricated from ‘The Taking of Joppa’ tale (Maspero 1912, p.111). When

Rameses II signed the peace treaty with the Hittite king Hattusili III, the gods

witnesses were: Seth of the city of Hatti, Seth of the city of Arinna, Seth of the

city of Zippalanda, Seth of the city of Pitrik, Seth of the city of Hissaspa, Seth of

the city of Sarisa, Seth of the city of Alepo, Seth of the city of Lihsina, Seth of

the [city of Hurma]; [Seth of the city of Uda]; Seth of the city of Sa[pinuwa];

[Seth] of thunder (?); Seth of the city of Saphina (van de Mieroop 2007, p.220).

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8.- Seth Lord of the Sky

“The Son of Nwt” and “The Lord of the Sky” are the most common epithets

given to Seth and exhibited in many places: In the stele of Nakht already

mentioned; in a relief of Tutmosis III at Medinet Habu where the king receives

ankhs from Seth and says: “Seth, Lord of the Upper Egypt, Lord of the Sky”

(web 12).This epithet is also found in the peace treaty that Rameses II signed

with the Hittites, in the Stele of 400th Year, etc. Seth also appears as Lord of the

Northern sky in the Coffin Texts: “O Seth possessed of your power, great

longhorn dwelling in the northern sky” (Faulkner 2004 spell 407).

According to the Papyrus Jumilhac (Vandier 1961, p.108) at the end of the

conflict between the two combatants, Horus cut the foreleg of Seth as a bull

(xpS) and put it in the middle of the northern sky (te Velde 1967, p.108). The

foreleg of Seth became the constellation of meskhetyw which is Ursa Mayor

(Pogo 1930, p.309). It was tied down by a golden chain to a mooring stake, held

by a hippopotamus goddess, to prevent Seth from resting in the horizon (Carrier

2009, p. 507). Other version states that it is to prevent Seth from slain Osiris-

Orion (te Velde 1967, p.87). So the northern sky was the kingdom of Seth, and

the constellation of Meskhetyw his dwelling place. The Coffin Texts is written: “I

am bound to the northern sky and I will dwell in it with Seth” (Faulkner 2009,

spell 581). From the New Kingdom on, the foreleg of the bull changed into a

whole bull, as depicted in the astronomical ceiling of Senmwt:

29

Fig. 20

Seth has also been associated with the planet Mercury (Daressy 1916, p.10)

and so is featured in the Astronomical ceiling of Senmut (Pogo 1930, p.325).

During the Rameside period, Seth was considered both the evening and

morning star: “Seth in the evening twilight, a god in the morning twilight” (Parker

1974, p.60)

30

9.- Conclusion

I was really surprised to find out how many places and temples were devoted to

Seth, throughout the history of Egypt, in spite the systematic destruction

performed during latter times. This demonization is not easy to understand.

Ancient history shows that, usually, whenever a powerful enemy is defeated, his

emblems, gods, and customs were considered impure, ensuring that he would

be defeated not only in the battlefields but also in the minds of people. Seth was

defeated many times, but never for good. Unfortunately, there was a last and

definite time, when Egypt was ruled by foreigners. They were Persians, Greeks

and Romans, who ended the Pharaonic tradition. They did not understand the

mystery of the ‘Two Combatants”, the underlying duality in the core of Egyptian

civilization, and hence the need for a reconciliation. The Two Companions

(rHwy) have to be harmoniously combined within the person of the pharaoh

(Frankfort 1978, p.). The condition of a traditional Egyptian king is displayed

through the power of saying: “I have Pacified the Two Warriors” (Faulkner 2004,

spell 1125). That is why Seth has always had his places in Egyptian temples.

31

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