Set: The God of Evil in Ancient Egypt
Hello, my dear readers. I have an intriguing story for you today. This post will discuss the ancient conflict between the god Horus and his uncle, the god Set.
Horus engaged in a fierce battle with his uncle Set for the throne of Egypt. Set was a formidable opponent; not only did he kill Horus's father, the god Osiris, but he was also considered the god of evil to the ancient Egyptians.
You might wonder, "How can he be a god and evil? Isn't that a devil?" It's not necessary for gods to be inherently good. As we all know, Zeus wasn't always benevolent. In fact, in ancient Egyptian mythology, there weren't devils in the way we understand them today. The concept of a devil who disobeys a supreme god and tempts humans didn't exist until the advent of the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
In earlier times, with the presence of ancient religions and idolatry, the idea of evil didn't require representation by a devil. Interestingly, Egyptian mythology didn't regard evil as something contrary to good that must be destroyed or symbolized by something terrifying. Instead, evil was seen as a part of the world's balance. Just like every story must have a bright and a dark side, gods represented concepts of the universe. Even though they were opposites, their coexistence created harmony.
What if I told you that, despite all of this, the concept of evil in ancient Egyptian myths wasn't represented by the god Set at all?
Who Represented Evil in Ancient Egyptian Mythology?
If you look at the image above, you'll see the parade of the god Ra—a scene that had to occur every night to allow the return of the sun and life. Look at that swirling snake; this was a symbol of destruction, annihilation, and the end of the world. Now, observe the figure stabbing it with a spear to protect the parade and allow the regeneration of life and the return of the sun—that is Set.
You might be confused: "You're saying that he was the god of evil and killed the snake so the sun would rise again. Isn't the sun a good symbol?" In this context, there are no simple answers. Set was a complex character. The ancient Egyptians didn't regard him as a symbol of evil because, as mentioned earlier, their mythology didn't distinguish between good and evil in the way we do today. The presence of Set allowed heroes to display their virtues, monsters to exhibit their ferocity, and their conflicts ultimately brought about peace.It was as if Set paid a price for being forever seen as the symbol of evil to achieve a greater good.
Who was Set?
The god Set was one of the most mysterious deities in ancient Egyptian civilization, and even his appearance is a mystery. The Egyptians named the animal that Set's face resembles as "Sha," but its hieroglyphic depiction doesn't match any known animal. Is it an extinct creature, a mythical one, or perhaps an existing animal whose appearance was altered by the Egyptians? When you look at him, he seems like a hybrid of a giraffe and an anteater or some kind of wild dog.
If you think his appearance is the hardest mystery, let me tell you that we don't even know the correct pronunciation of his name. Ancient Egyptians didn't write vowels, so it's impossible to identify the original pronunciation. It's possible that his name isn't Set; it could be Suti, Seth, sts, sth, s(w)th, s(w)t(y) , st(y) or st.
"We don't know his name, appearance, species, or job description. Where should we start?" Let's ask another question:
When did the worship of Set begin?
His worship is very ancient, predating the pyramids and even the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt into a single kingdom. The first recorded worship of Set was during what's known as the Pre-Dynastic Age, in a city in the south of Upper Egypt called Nubt. Some suggest it meant the "City of Gold" because it was close to several gold mines in the desert. Today, it's called Naqadah, and it appears to have been a significant place in ancient Egypt.
Set was worshipped in this region, which had a desert nature. What was Set the god of there? He was the god of sandstorms that struck the Nile River valley and threatened crops. From his earliest appearances, there was a connection between him and the damage that could happen to people. Therefore, people worshipped him to avoid the sandstorms he represented. Set symbolized anything terrifying and anything that could destroy that community close to the desert. They didn't worship him to gain blessings but to avert his wrath.
Since that place was characterized by red sand, Set was called "The Red Lord." A belief spread that humans and animals with red hair were his children ;) . In short, we see people in a geographic area—a desert with harsh conditions—who needed a suitable god for these circumstances.
Remember, we're talking about a time when Egypt was divided into two kingdoms: Upper and Lower Egypt. This was before King Menes (Narme) unified the two lands. Now, we have what some call "The Unification of the Two Lands." However, this unification wasn't good news for the god associated with the desert.
The Political Dynamics of Set's Worship
The unification transformed Egypt into a truly agricultural community. All the country's resources were directed toward agriculture. Therefore, the king's legitimacy was connected to his ability to secure agriculture and its resources. Set was a god that opposed agriculture and fertility because the ancient Egyptians associated him with sterility, as he didn't have children.
Set was the main god for a significant sector of Egyptians—merchants of caravans, miners, desert tribes, and anyone who traveled the trade routes. They worshipped Set because if they didn't, they believed they would face peril in the desert. Anyone who worshipped Set didn't accept the authority of the new king if he disrespected Set. In fact, the new king would gain more influence if he honored their god.
Here, we can describe this complex situation as a battle of political influence between a king and a god. We can see echoes of this conflict in the myth of Set and Horus, which wasn't merely about a clash between good and evil but about the political question of who deserved to rule the unified Kingdom of Egypt.
In the myth, Set and Horus engaged in terrible competitions for 80 years to determine who deserved to rule. During the conflict, Horus's eye was gouged, and Set's leg was cut off. In the end, because both gods were equally powerful, the council of gods accepted a compromise: Horus ruled the black, fertile land of the Nile Valley called "Kemet," and Set ruled the deserts and wild lands surrounding this area. To appease Set further, the council married him to two foreign goddesses, Astarte and Anat. He also became the companion of the god Ra; wherever Ra went, Set accompanied him.
If you think about the myth of Set and Horus, you'll find that it's different from other myths where the god of civilization and light defeats the god of chaos and darkness. That didn't happen here; the conflict ended with a peace treaty, where neither god was defeated or expelled. Both gods were satisfied, much like a political resolution to the real-life problem of unifying Upper and Lower Egypt.
As a result, every Egyptian king who ruled the unified kingdom was crowned symbolically by both gods, Set and Horus. The ancient Egyptians saw that Set protected Egypt from external threats. Since politics and religion were almost synonymous in ancient Egypt, we can say that the uniting of both gods was embodied in the king's persona. The king had Horus inside him because he was a ruler, as well as Set because he was a warrior. That's why some ancient Egyptian kings named themselves after Set—for example, King Seti I.
Set's Complex Nature and Role
If we discuss Set with today's concepts, we might think that no king would name himself after a god of evil. But they actually named themselves after a god that embodied fighting abilities. We can say that politically, Set was integrated, but there was a problem in the religious realm. Set appeared as a hero who protected Ra and killed the symbol of annihilation, but he also killed his brother and fought his nephew for 80 years. Something wasn't right.
To understand Set even deeper, we need to explore the ancient Egyptian vision of the creation of the universe. They didn't have a single myth for creation but accepted multiple myths that explained the existence of gods and their relationships. These myths differed from one city to another and even from one era to another, all attempting to explain universal phenomena.
The most important and famous myth is the myth of creation from Ra's city, Iunu, known today as Ain Shams. In this myth, the world was eternal water called Nu, inside it, the god Ra appeared, and then other gods followed until we reach four significant deities: Isis, Osiris, Nephthys, and Set. They were descendants of Ra, independent yet part of him and his will to manage the world's affairs.
From birth, Set was unique. His birth wasn't natural; he was born in a violent and destructive way. According to the myth, he tore his mother's womb, choosing when to be born. Despite his dramatic entrance, he was deprived of having children because he was sterile, unlike his brother Osiris, who symbolized fertility and regeneration.
When Set married his sister Nephthys, they couldn't have children. Nephthys then engaged in an illicit relationship with Osiris and gave birth to Anubis, the god of death and mummification. Feeling betrayed, Set didn't stand still. He killed Osiris and dismembered his body into 13 pieces, scattering them across Egypt. Isis, Osiris's wife, sought help from Nephthys to collect Osiris's body. After reassembling him, Osiris magically impregnated Isis with Horus before becoming the ruler of the underworld.
Horus, the son of Osiris, began fighting Set to avenge his father. Knowing this backstory allows us to sympathize with Set to some extent—the sterile god who was cheated on and betrayed.
Set's Battle Against Chaos
The fight between Set and Horus divided the gods themselves into factions supporting either side. They couldn't decide who was more deserving to rule Egypt. During this turmoil, Ra, the great god and father of all, noticed a catastrophe that could destroy the entire universe: Apep.
Remember the swirling snake I mentioned earlier—the symbol of annihilation? This monster sought to destroy the universe, and if he defeated Ra, everything would be annihilated. Apep wasn't a natural disaster but the embodiment of nonexistence and annihilation. He didn't want us to die and go to the other world; he wanted us to vanish from existence entirely.
Ra saw that all gods were occupied with their conflicts and realized that none of them could fight Apep alone—except for one god: Set. Since Set had killed a god before (Osiris), it wouldn't be difficult for him to confront a monster, especially because he was an immortal god.
Interestingly, the immortality of gods in ancient Egypt was periodic. Egyptians glorified natural cycles—the sun rising and setting, the moon's phases, the Nile's flooding followed by drought. They believed that even gods had a cyclical existence, meaning they had to die symbolically to be reborn. Even Ra had to regenerate himself every day. The only god who was immortal and didn't undergo this cycle was Set.
This unique trait qualified Set to fight Apep. Despite his dark past, Set fought on the side of good because his nature was the closest among the gods to Apep's. Only someone with a similar disposition could confront such a formidable adversary.
Set's Necessary Presence
After all, Set was part of the world and part of Ra. Therefore, his fight with Horus had to end in peace so he could be ready to fight Apep. This wasn't a battle that would end normally; it was a regenerative fight that happened every day, where Set would kill annihilation and bring victory to existence. The day Set fails to defeat mortality, we would not be there to witness it.
To build Set's character to be capable of this, the mythology had to give him a troubled past. He went through a brutal birth, killed his brother Osiris, and gouged his nephew's eye—as if he had the perfect résumé to face the ultimate threat and save Ra and the rest of the gods from annihilation.
It didn't stop there. Set's presence was necessary for other reasons. When he killed his brother, he set in motion events that allowed Osiris to become an immortal king in the other world. Set killed Osiris symbolically to help him discover his power related to regeneration and resurrection. That's why priests used a metallic tool symbolizing Set to perform the "Opening of the Mouth" ceremony during mummification, as if summoning Set's power to help the dead transition to the afterlife.
We can say that Set was evil to some extent, but he was a necessary evil. If you remove him, nothing would function correctly. Osiris wouldn't have gained his power of resurrection without Set's actions.
The Egyptians were fascinated by Set and even made the "Was" scepter—a staff with a fork-shaped end and a head shaped like the Sha animal, symbolizing Set. This scepter represented power and dominion, inspired by Set's courage, where it could be strong and destructive at the same time.
The Transformation of Set's Image
You might say: "After all of this, how can you call him the god of evil?" In reality, the Egyptians didn't label him as the god of evil. This description emerged when the original storytellers began to disappear from the scene, and new people told the story from their perspective.
When the Greeks entered Egypt in the 4th century B.C., they reconfigured the Egyptian gods to serve their political interests. They made a terrible mix between Set and Apep, considering them a single entity similar to the Greek monster Typhon. Set's followers were called the Typhonians and were accused of heinous acts.
Over time, Set's image deteriorated further. During the Roman rule, Set was associated with a donkey—a method of degradation. This association wasn't just to belittle Set but was also used to degrade Christianity in its early days within the Roman Empire. After the Roman Empire embraced Christianity, Set, or "The Red Lord," became a symbol of the devil.
Now, we can understand why he's called the god of evil and why he became a symbol of the devil known from Abrahamic religions. Like most idolatrous religions, ancient Egyptians didn't know of devils, but Christianity introduced the concept and associated Set with it. The similarity between the word "Set" and "Satan" in Hebrew, though etymologically unrelated, may have facilitated this association.
The connection between Set and the devil persisted into the modern era. In 1975, a cult named the "Temple of Set" emerged, performing rituals to summon the devil. After such a complex past, Set ended up as the devil in a modern cult—a far cry from his original role in ancient mythology.
Rediscovering Set's True Nature
The ancient Egyptian civilization declined over centuries. Its language was forgotten, and its temples and pyramids were buried in sand. For long periods, people who walked this land didn't know its history or the significance of its monuments. It wasn't until the 19th century that hieroglyphs were deciphered, allowing us to rediscover this ancient civilization.
The problem is that we saw it through foreign eyes, interpreting stories and myths according to our environment and culture. As a result, Set became merely a villain in an incomplete story, and it became difficult to understand his symbolism and complex nature within the ancient Egyptian context.
Unfortunately, even modern Egyptians who consider ourselves the successors of the Pharaohs, read their myths through foreign perspectives. They regard Set as a devil, which oversimplifies his true essence.
After this exploration, when we look at the image I showed you earlier—the parade where Set kills Apep, with Ra present and the sun rising—I hope we can see the deeper meaning behind it. It's not just a drawing of gods, snakes, and a procession but a rich narrative symbolizing the balance of existence.
Just as Set killed Apep every day, allowing life to regenerate, you can revisit and appreciate the ancient stories in my posts everyday and share them with your friends ;).
