Set

Nationality/Culture

Egyptian

Pronunciation

SET

Alternate Names

Seth, Sutekh

Appears In

The Book of the Dead

Lineage

Son of Nut and Geb

Character Overview

In Egyptian mythology Set (or Seth) was the evil brother of the god Osiris (pronounced oh-SYE-ris) and the goddesses Isis (pronounced EYE-sis) and Nephthys (pronounced NEF-this). The son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut (pronounced NOOT), Set tore himself from his mother's body before he was fully formed, and then used pieces of animals to complete his own body. Among the many animals associated with Set were the pig, donkey, scorpion, antelope, hippopotamus, and crocodile.

Major Myths

Originally a sky and storm god, Set was highly regarded at first, and his cult—or organized body of worshippers—was one of the oldest in Egypt. Each day he rode across the sky in the sun ship of the great god Ra (pronounced RAH); each night as he traveled through the underworld , or land of the dead, he killed the mighty serpent Apophis (pronounced uh-POH-fis) to protect Ra. In time, however, Set became jealous of the other gods, and his treachery against them turned him into one of the chief forces of evil.

Above all, Set envied his brother Osiris, who ruled as king of Egypt while Set served only as lord of the desert. Determined to destroy his brother, Set arranged a great feast to which he invited Osiris and the other gods. He had carpenters construct a large and magnificently decorated box, which he placed at the entrance hall of his palace. When Osiris arrived, Set tricked him into getting inside the box. As soon as Osiris stepped into the box, Set ordered his servants to nail down the lid, seal it with molten lead, and throw it into the Nile River. Osiris drowned.

Their sister Isis, who was also Osiris's wife, searched for her husband and eventually found the box. She brought Osiris back to life long enough to conceive a son, Horus (pronounced HOHR-uhs). Set, however, found Osiris's body and cut it into pieces. Then he scattered the pieces throughout Egypt. Nephthys, Set's wife and sister, helped Isis locate the pieces and bring Osiris back to life. After that, Osiris went to rule the underworld as king of the dead.

Horus later fought Set to avenge his father's death. In a series of great battles, Horus defeated his evil uncle. Horus would have killed Set, but Isis took pity on Set and asked Horus to spare his life. Ancient Egyptians viewed the batde between Horus and Set as the ultimate struggle between good and evil.

As the cult of Osiris grew in Egypt, worship of Set declined. Eventually, Egyptian priests declared Set to be an enemy of the gods. His name and image were removed from many monuments, and he became associated with Apophis, the monstrous serpent that he had once defeated each night to protect Ra.

Set in Context

The conflict between Set and Horus may reflect actual historical conflicts between the two regions of Egypt known as Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. The Shabaka Stone, an artifact that contains a recording of an Egyptian document dating back to at least 2000 bce, states that Geb solved the battle between Set and Horus by giving Horus the area of Lower Egypt to rule, and giving Set Upper Egypt to rule. This does mirror the historical division between the two halves of Egypt, and the subsequent takeover of Upper Egypt by Horus may reflect the eventual unification that brought together these two halves. The people of Upper and Lower Egypt often worshipped different gods, so real-life battles for control of the region may explain the stories of two gods fighting for power.

Key Themes and Symbols

The main themes of the myth of Set are envy and the lust for power. Set betrayed and killed his own brother because he was jealous of the region his brother controlled, and wished to take it as his own. Set then battled his nephew in an attempt to gain control of the lands. Earlier myths present Set as a dedicated protector of Ra, but these are not the most well-known or enduring tales associated with the god.

Set in Art, Literature, and Everyday Life

In ancient Egyptian art, Set is often pictured with the head of an unidentified animal that resembles an anteater, or possibly a jackal— both animals that lived in the area. In modern times, Robert E. Howard introduced a god named Set in his Conan the Barbarian series of stories, but Howard's serpent god does not resemble the traditional Egyptian Set. The Marvel Comics series Thor also includes a character named Seth, based more closely on traditional Egyptian mythology.

Read, Write, Think, Discuss

Set plans to murder his brother Osiris so that he can take over the kingdom of Egypt in addition to the desert he already controls. In this way, he resembles leaders such as Adolf Hitler and Alexander the Great, who conquered nearby lands in order to expand their own empires. Do you think conquering foreign lands and cultures to expand the size of an empire is by definition evil? Why or why not?

SEE ALSO Egyptian Mythology; Horus; Isis; Nut; Osiris; Ra; Serpents and Snakes