Anthropomorphic Deities and the God Seth

The blog post for this week is written by Judit Blair, who has a Masters in Ancient Near Eastern religions and a PhD in Hebrew and the Old Testament, both from the University of Edinburgh. Judith is a Teaching Fellow at the Centre for Open Learning (COL) Edinburgh University and a Tutor at Glasgow University where she teaches such courses as Ancient Egypt and the Bible, Aspects of Ancient Near Easter Demonology, and Ancient Monsters. Judith is also a member of Egyptology Scotland and the EES.

 

The second week of the latest Egypt Centre online course Gods, Goddesses and Demons of Ancient Egypt focused on male anthropomorphic deities. A total of thirty-seven gods and demons, as well as five deified humans were introduced in alphabetic order. The list included major gods such as Atum, Ra, Thoth, or Seth who were worshipped throughout Egypt and had many cult centres; minor deities, e.g. Bes, who although popular, had no formal cult, as well as deities such as Andjety (Busiris) and Ash (Western Desert), who were ancient, local gods, closely associated with and assimilated by other known deities (Osiris and Seth respectively). Ken introduced some rare and obscure figures too, for example Kheded (fig. 1), associated with fowling and marshes, of whom there are only about eight known attestations, Sehaqeq, the demon of headaches, who appears in a few Ramesside spells from Deir el-Medina and is once depicted as a young man with his tongue on his backside and covering his face with his hand (Lucarelli 2010: 4). Weneg, a son of Ra, appears only once in PT 952c and there are no known depictions of him.

Fig. 1: The god Kheded

The classification of some of these beings is ambiguous as some scholars regard them as gods while others would classify them as demons. A good example is Bes, who has been regarded as a popular household deity, a minor god (Hart 2005: 49; Wilkinson 2003: 102) as well as a spirit or benevolent demon (Gahlin 2001: 198). In this blog I would like to focus on my favourite deity, Seth.

Seth, Lord of Chaos

Seth had an ambiguous and complex character existing somewhere between the transitory and the everlasting, on the boundary that separates order from chaos (Hornung 1970: 158). His early significance is quite different from his later image. He was originally worshipped in Ombos; here he was regarded as the chief god of the Eastern Desert and the rich gold mines there (fig. 2). However, following the myth of his murder of his brother Osiris and his attempt to take the throne, he appears to represent evil, disorder and everything foreign (Turner 2012: 14).

Fig. 2: Wooden statue of Seth (W458)

Earlier works on Seth (e.g. Te Velde 1967) tend to focus on three specific aspects of the god’s character: murderer, homosexual, and lord of foreign lands. This approach sets him apart within the Egyptian pantheon and labels him as an “irregular deity whom the ancients had to deal with the best they could” (Shanley 2015: Abstract). More recent research has challenged these perceptions and shows that Seth, perhaps misunderstood, was an integral part of the Egyptian pantheon (fig. 3), and like the other members, had a “fluid and flexible character that changed in relation to the context in which he was found” (Shanley 2015: Abstract).

Fig. 3: The god Seth

The name of Seth and its meaning

The name of the god Seth occurs in many different forms in Egyptian texts. In the Pyramid Texts (except that of Unas where it is written with the Seth-animal hieroglyph) it is śtš. Te Velde (1967: 1) gives the spellings: śtš; stš; śtẖ; stẖ; ś(w)tḫ; śtḫ; ś(w)t(y); st(y); śt, arguing that these are all various spellings of the same name (fig. 4).

Fig. 4: Varient writings of the name Seth

The meaning of the name is uncertain, with various suggestions proposed. According to Te Velde (1967: 7) the Egyptians seem to have attached three meanings to his name: instigator of confusion, deserter, drunkard. The Seth-animal hieroglyph is used as a determinative in the writing of some words, which refer to something disruptive, fear-arousing and troublesome (Te Velde 1967: 22–23; McDonald 2007: 10).

Iconography

Seth can be represented in animal form (the Seth-animal) or as a man with the Seth-animal head or human head. The earliest occurrence of the Seth-animal is possibly on the mace-head of King Scorpion, although there are suggestions that it can be seen on some Nagada I finds (Te Velde 1967: 7–12). In semi-anthropomorphic form, Seth can be represented wearing the Double Crown. On a stela from the Manchester Museum (Stela of Anhotep, AN 4528) he is standing before an altar (fig. 5). The inscription at the top reads: “Seth of Nubt, lord of provisions, great of strength, powerful of arm” (Turner 2012: 74). A stela from Cairo Museum, which dates to the reign of Thutmose III shows a similar representation of Seth (fig. 5).    

                  

Fig. 5: Cairo Museum stela of Seth wearing the Double Crown (author's photo)

Seth is also often depicted together with Horus. For example, on the side of the throne of Senwosret I, the two gods are shown cooperating in the uniting of Egypt. The pharaohs Seti I, Ramesses II, and Ramesses III all have scenes/statues showing them being crowned by Horus and Seth (fig. 6). There are also examples of Seth with a bull’s head, a falcon’s head, and an ass’ head (Te Velde 1967: Plates VIII, IX and VI).

Fig. 6: Ramesses III with Horus and Seth. Cairo Museum (author's photo)

Worship

Seth is an ancient deity; some scholars have hypothesized that items possibly depicting the Seth animal dating from the Naqada I Period might point to a worship at this time (Turner 2012: 24). Close to the First Dynasty king Aha’s tomb ten donkey burials were discovered, and it is possible that as the donkey was an animal associated with Seth. These burials could be an indication of his worship (Turner 2012: 33). What is most interesting is the fact that the queens of the First Dynasty bore the title “she who sees Horus-and-Seth”. This title remained in use throughout the Old Kingdom. Two Second Dynasty kings favoured Seth; Peribsen’s serekh was topped by the Seth animal, and Khasekhemwy had both the Horus falcon and the Seth animal on top of his (Hart, 144). Seth appears on a number of monuments from the Middle Kingdom; Amenemhat I, Senwosret I, and Senwosret III all have scenes depicting Seth as a royal god who plays a part in the king’s sed-festival (Cruz-Uribe 2009: 211; Turner 2012: 50).

There is abundant evidence for the prominence of Seth in the New Kingdom. He played an important role in the sed-festival of the king. There is even evidence that he continued to be worshipped by the people during the Amarna Period. After this, Horemheb acknowledged the god, and, during the time of the Ramesside kings he became their family god, achieving perhaps the highest status he has ever held. The warrior kings of the New Kingdom recognised Seth’s war-like attributes, and had likened themselves to him on the battlefield (Turner 2012: 77–97; Te Velde 1967: 135–138). Ramesses II placed a great importance on the worship of Seth (fig. 7). His army consisted of four divisions, of Amun, Ra, Ptah and Seth. Seth was a state god.

Fig. 7: Ramesses II with Horus and Seth. Temple of Nefertari, Abu Simbel (author's photo)

The complex character of Seth is also reflected in his portrayal in the religious texts. The Pyramid Texts and Coffin Texts portray him in a negative, positive, and neutral light. His power and strength are aspects emphasised in the positive texts along with his role as the protector of the solar bark. The Book of the Dead portrays Seth frequently in a negative light, but he is also shown as a positive force in the same spells. He is the defender of Ra’s barque against Apepi (fig. 8). His positive side was also reflected in the fact that his name was incorporated into people’s personal names, and this points to the fact that he was not only a state god but also venerated by the ordinary people of the period. However, after the New Kingdom the importance of Seth began to fade. During the Late and Graeco-Roman periods, Seth became demonised. Plutarch and other Greek writers identified Seth with Typhon. This name carried such “unfavourable” connotations that it could be regarded as a term of abuse (Te Velde 1967: 149).

Fig. 8: Seth spearing Apepi

References

Cruz-Uribe E. (2009). “Seth, God of Power and Might”. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 45: 201–226.

Gahlin L. (2001). Egypt. Gods, Myths and Religion. London: Lorenz Books

Hart G. (2005). The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. London and New York: Routledge

Hornung E. (1970). “Review of Te Velde’s: Seth, God of Confusion”. Orientalistische Literaturzeitung 65: 17–20.

Lucarelli R. (2010). Demons (benevolent and malevolent). In Jacco Dieleman, Willeke Wendrich (eds.), UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology, Los Angeles. http://digital2.library.ucla.edu/viewItem.do?ark=21198/zz0025fks3  

McDonald, A. (2007). “A metaphor for troubled times: the evolution of the Seth deity determinative in the First Intermediate Period”. Zeitschrift für ägyptische Sprache und Altertumskunde 134, 26–39.

Shanley A. J. (2015). God of Confusion?: An Examination of the Egyptian God Seth in New Kingdom Expressions of Royal Ideology. Phd Thesis, Emory University, Faculty of the James T. Laney School of Graduate Studies

Te Velde H. (1967). Seth, God of Confusion: A study of his role in Egyptian mythology and religion. Leiden: E.J. Brill.

Turner P. J. (2012). Seth – A misrepresented God in the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon? Phd Thesis, University of Manchester, Faculty of Life Sciences

Wilkinson H. R. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames & Hudson.