Seth

From ArchaeoWiki

Stela of Aapehty, depicting the workman in adoration of Seth in anthroporphic form. Probably from Deir el-Medina, later 19th Dynasty. Limestone: height: 9.85 cm, width 7.72 cm, thickness 5.01 cm. British Museum EA 35630

Seth was a multi-faceted deity within the ancient Egyptian pantheon, known from the earliest periods of documented history and undergoing considerable development in function throughout Egyptian civilisation.

Origins

Seth's origins appear to have been with a wilderness (desert) deity who embodied the forces of chaos and confusion within the cosmos.

Mythology

By the Middle Kingdom period, Seth had been absorbed within the prevailing solar theology of Egypt as the protective deity who positioned himself in the prow of the solar bark of Re in order to fend off the attack of the serpent Apophis. By then, the god had already been included amongst the Heliopolitan Ennead as son of the female sky deity Nut and brother to Osiris, Isis and Nephthys.

Significantly, Seth was identified with the Canaanite deity Baal by the Hyksos.

Function

Pectoral depicting Horus and Seth. Middle Kingdom, Dynasty 12, probably reign of Senwosret II or Senwosret III. Electrum with remains of lapis lazuli, carnelian, and amazonite inlays: height 3.8 cm. Myers Museum, Eton College

Forms and Iconography

Cult and Worship

In the Late Period, Seth's original association with chaos and destruction and his role as god of the desert and foreign lands had linked him with the foreign enemies of Egypt, such as the Assyrians. As a result, the public and private veneration of Seth had largely ended by the Twenty-fifth Dynasty.

Bibliography

• Allon, Niv [2007], "Seth is Baal—Evidence from the Egyptian Script", Ä&L 17 (2007), pp.15-22.

• Kaper, Olaf Ernst [1997], "The Statue of Penbast: On the Cult of Seth in the Dakhlah Oasis", in van Dijk, J. (ed.), Egyptological Memoirs, Essays on Ancient Egypt in Honour of Herman Te Velde, [Egyptological Memoirs 1], Groningen: Styx Publications, pp.231–241. ISBN 9056930141.

• Osing, Jürgen [1985], "Seth in Dachla und Charga", MDAIK 41 (1985), pp.229–233.

• Vandier, J. [1969], "Le dieu Seth au Nouvel Empire—À propos d'une récente aquisition du Louvre", MDAIK 25 (1969), pp.193-197, pl.VIIb.

• te Velde, Herman [1968], "The Egyptian God Seth as a Trickster", JARCE 7 (1968), pp.37-40.
  • [1977], Seth, God of Confusion: A Study of His Role in Egyptian Mythology and Religion, second edition, [Probleme der Ägyptologie 6], Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1977. ISBN 9004054022