Seth is one of the more complex gods in the Egyptian pantheon because he represented the more dangerous elements active in the world. He was the god of the desert, the dangerous arid lands that surrounded the fertile Nile valley. As an extension of this, he was associated with storms, chaos, violence, and even foreigners. He was also sometimes seen as a trickster, akin to the Norse god Loki.
But Seth was seen as a necessary balance in the world, which is why he was also envisioned sailing with Ra on his sun barge to protect it from the chaos serpent Apophis. While Seth was seen as challenging Ma’at, cosmic order, it seems that the Egyptians believed that Ma’at only thrived when challenged, giving Seth a vital role.
Nevertheless, Seth was eventually vilified as an invading foreign god and was increasingly demonized.
Ennead of Heliopolis
Seth was one of the gods that made up the Ennead of Heliopolis, a pantheon whose creation myth originated in the Egyptian city of Iuna, known as Heliopolis to the Greeks.
According to this myth, in the beginning, there was nothing but the primordial waters of Nun. Atum, closely associated with the principal sun god Ra as Atum-Ra, then emerged from those waters, creating himself. He next created the air, Shu, and moisture, Tefnut, who gave birth to the earth, Geb, and the sky, Nut.
Geb and Nut were deeply in love, and Nut became pregnant, but there was nowhere for her children to exist. Shu entered between them and lifted Nut up into the sky, holding the pair apart. This created a world in which Nut’s children could be born and rule.
Her children were Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. Some stories also suggest she gave birth to Horus the Elder. As the eldest son, Osiris was given leadership of this new world, often succeeding his older male relatives. But Seth was jealous of his brother’s position.
Killing of Osiris
Several different versions of the story of what happened next exist. In fact, in some Seth is described as the brother of Osiris, and in other versions, his son.
The most common version of the story, Seth tricked Osiris into making himself vulnerable by lying in a coffin-like chest and then killed him. To prevent him from coming back, Seth cut Osiris’ body into 14 pieces and spread them across Egypt.
Isis, with the help of her sister Nephthys, who was also reportedly Seth’s wife, gathered pieces, but they could not find his penis because it had been eaten by a fish. Nevertheless, Isis used her powerful magic to bring Osiris back to life and impregnate herself. But in his incomplete state, Osiris was not fully alive, so he could not return to the world of the living. Instead, Isis used her magic to create the underworld for him to rule, making life after death possible.
Contendings of Horus and Seth
Isis had to hide from Seth to give birth to and nurse Horus, but he eventually grew strong enough to challenge Seth for rulership of the world. This story is mostly recorded on the Papyrus Chester Beatty, which dates to 1149-1145 BCE. It starts with the gods being assembled to decide who should rule, Seth or Horus. While Horus seems like the rightful heir as Osiris’ son, many of the gods think that he is too young to rule. Therefore, the presiding gods decide on a trial by competition on an island in the middle of the Nile. Isis also snuck onto the island to help her son.
The pair engaged in a variety of competitions. First, they both turned themselves into hippopotami to see who could hold their breath for the longest. Seth, who was associated with the hippo, had the advantage, so Isis speared him with a copper harpoon while underwater, forcing him to surface, and annulling the competition.
There were other competitions, including a boat race and magical duels, with similar outcomes. In one instance, Isis added Horus’ semen to lettuce, which Seth ate, causing him to become pregnant and be humiliated in front of the other gods. In retaliation, during one of his fights with Horus, he gouged out his eye, which was later magically restored by Hathor and became a symbol of healing.
The competition went on for 80 years. Eventually, the gods chose Horus as Osiris’ rightful successor, with Ra, who had supported Seth up until the end, finally agreeing.
Sexuality and Homosexuality
Other versions of the encounter between Horus and Seth exist. One story suggests that Seth genuinely desired Horus and also wished to dominate him, so he asked him to have sex. Horus agreed, if Seth would share some of his strength with him. However, Seth’s semen, which was considered a potent substance by the ancient Egyptians, made the god ill.
Another story suggests that Seth entered Horus’ room to assault him, but that Horus woke up and secretly caught Seth’s semen in his hand. His mother then cut his hand off and threw it in the Nile. She then collected some of Horus’ own semen and put it on the lettuce she knew that Seth would eat.
Later, Seth claimed that he had impregnated Horus, therefore dominating him, to prove to the gods he was the worthy king. But when Seth called his semen forth, it did not emerge from Horus, but from the Nile. Isis then intervened and called forth Horus’ semen, which emerged from Seth’s head, showing that Horus had in fact dominated him.
Some versions suggest that Seth gave birth to a gold disk on his head, which was the moon, and replaced the eye of Horus that Seth had destroyed. Thoth, a moon god, takes the disk and places it on his own head. But in other versions of the story, it is Thoth who gives birth to the disk.
Some versions of the contendings also suggest that Seth’s testicles were damaged during the fighting, suggesting emasculation.
An Ancient God of Many Meanings
Seth, whose name means strength, was an important god from the Old Kingdom onward. The earliest possible depiction of Seth comes from a tomb dating to the Amratian Culture of prehistoric Egypt (3790-3500 BCE). He may also appear on the mace head of King Scorpion, one of the most prominent kings from predynastic Egypt. He also appears in the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts of the First Intermediate Period, and the Book of the Dead during the New Kingdom.
Egypt was called the two lands, which referred to the fertile black lands along the Nile and the arid red lands of the desert. Seth was the god of the Red Lands, which were also considered the lands of the dead, giving him an underworld aspect. He was also the god of oases, suggesting he represented the threat of the desert, but also protection. He was also considered the protector of soldiers, hunters, merchants, and anyone who spent a considerable amount of time traveling far from home. This led to an association with foreign lands and the people who live there.
He seems to have been a popular god for personal devotion. From the Middle Kingdom onwards, thousands of steles depicting Seth were made to ask the god to grant wishes, such as success in litigation, protection of late relatives in the afterlife, and increased virility. Perhaps the Egyptians liked flirting with the dark side and the idea of making a deal with the devil.
Protector of Ra
While Seth’s strength was a dangerous force, it was essential to maintain the balance of the universe. This is why he was needed on the sun barge of Ra to protect it from the chaos serpent Apophis as it passes through the underworld each night. Seth’s chaotic strength was necessary to protect the barge.
This seems to link back to Ra’s support of Seth throughout his contendings with Horus. Seth is sometimes described as the Chosen One of Ra, or even the Son of Ra. He was also one of the most powerful gods, wielding a scepter known to weigh more than 4,500 pounds. This probably explains references to his ‘mighty arm.”
In some representations of this from the Late Period, Seth is represented with the head of a falcon, usually associated with Horus.
God of Foreigners
When the Hyksos took control of Egypt during the Second Intermediate Period (1650-1550 BCE), they chose Seth as their patron god. He was already an important god in Upper Egypt and associated with foreigners. They may also have believed that he shared similarities with their god Bal, who was also a violent storm god. They set up a major cult center for him at the city of Avaris in the Delta.
When the Hyksos were overthrown and expelled from Egypt, despite growing xenophobia, the cult they established for Seth at Avaris thrived, now protecting against foreign influence. Many Egyptian troops stationed there became priests of Seth.
Ramesses I, the founder of the 19th dynasty, came from a military family from Avaris with ties to the cult. Several Ramesside pharaohs were even called Seti in honor of the god. A statue of Ramses III survives, showing the pharaoh crowned by both Horus and Seth. From the reign of Ramses II, there is a famous Year 400 Stella that marks the arrival of the Hyksos in Egypt and commemorates 400 years of Seth’s rule over Egypt. It shows Ramses II making an offering of two vases of wine to Seth, whom the inscription calls Son of Nut. The stela was set up at Avaris.
Nevertheless, as continued foreign invasions plagued Egypt, Seth took on a more negative role. From around the 20th dynasty, the contendings of Horus and Seth were seen as a metaphor for the contendings of the Egyptians against foreigners, and Horus’ victory was widely celebrated. The Greeks identified Seth with their monster Typhon.
By the 26th dynasty, Seth was presented as an evil god and was generally demonized.
Appearance and Symbolism
In art, Seth usually appeared with a human body and the head of an unknown creature, just called the Seth animal, and sometimes as the full animal. It has a downward curving snout, long ears with squared-off ends, a thick, forked tail with sprouted fur tufts in an inverted arrow shape, and a slender canine body.
In Egyptian astrology, Seth was commonly associated with the planet of Mercury.
Temples and Worship
As well as his temple at Avaris, there is evidence that Seth was worshipped at Ombos, Kom Ombi, Oxyrhynchus, and in the Fayyum region. He was also worshipped at the city of Sepermeru, also called the gateway to the desert, where had had a temple called the House of Seth.
There was also a temple for Nephthys, often considered Seth’s wife, there, and they often had temples close to one another at important towns located on the outskirts near the desert. The pair were also known to have cults in oasis towns such as Kharga, Dakhlah, Dier el-Hagar, Mut, and Kellis. The temples of both Seth and Nephthys were known to have prophets.
Despite the close association between Seth and Nephthys, while Seth was demonized in the Late Period, the cult of Nephthys continued strongly due to her association with resurrecting Osiris with her sister Isis.
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