Set the Egyptian God of Chaos, Storms and War

Kelly Macquire
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In ancient Egyptian mythology, Set, also known as Seth and Suetekh, was one of the five gods born of Geb, the earth and Nut, the sky, after the creation of the universe. Set was the god of war, chaos, violence, confusion, the desert and storms and was the brother to Osiris, Isis and Horus the elder, brother-husband to Nephthys and uncle to Horus the Younger, the son of Osiris and Isis. Set is well attested to in the early history of Ancient Egypt, and in the Old Kingdom pyramid texts, he appears very frequently. After Osiris became the Lord of the Dead, the seat for the ruler of the living was up for grabs and there were two gods who wanted the job: Set and his nephew Horus. The story which is known as The Contendings of Horus and Set survives to us today from an Egyptian manuscript from the 20th dynasty and it recounts the eighty year battle over who is the rightful king of Egypt. Set began as a god who protected Ra against the serpent Apophis to make sure the sun would rise the next day, but by the New Kingdom he had transformed into a god that was basically evil and stood for all the things Egypt feared and hated like chaos, drought, destruction, and foreign invasion and influence. — LOVE MY GREEK POTTERY PRINT? FIND IT HERE! — Aster and Selene Shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/AsterAndSelene Aster and Selene Instagram https://www.instagram.com/asterandselene/?hl=en — SHOP MY OINOCHOE EARRINGS — Plato's Fire https://www.platosfire.co.uk/ — SUPPORT US VIA OUR PATREON— https://www.patreon.com/join/whencyclopedia — BUY OUR MERCH — https://www.worldhistory.store​/​ — CHAPTERS — 0:00​ Introduction 0:55 Who is the Egyptian God Set? 4:11 Osiris, Isis, Nephthys, Set, and Horus 7:28 The Contendings of Horus and Set 10:15 The Role and Worship of Set 11:59 Outro — WANT TO KNOW MORE? — Set https://www.worldhistory.org/Set_(Egyptian_God)/ Ancient Egyptian Religion https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Religion/ Ancient Egyptian Mythology https://www.worldhistory.org/Egyptian_Mythology/ Nephthys https://www.worldhistory.org/Nephthys/ Isis https://www.worldhistory.org/isis/ Horus https://www.worldhistory.org/Horus/ Osiris https://www.worldhistory.org/osiris/ Egyptian Gods - The Complete List https://www.worldhistory.org/article/885/egyptian-gods—the-complete-list/ — WATCH NEXT — The Egyptian Book of the Dead - A Guide to the Underworld https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpsjDFCbcek The Role and Lives of Women in Ancient Egypt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7y7glgLbhU The Ptolemaic Dynasty of Ancient Egypt: From Ptolemy I to Cleopatra VII https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Qi_yw5-qCg Akhenaten, the Sun Disk and the Amarna Period of Egypt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rb9pHlwj-p4 Hatshepsut: the Forgotten Woman who was a King of Egypt https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qw-_IHkKoI Shabti Dolls of Ancient Egypt - Helpers in the Afterlife https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ef2K3BRwU0M — ATTRIBUTIONS — You can find all attribution and credits for images, animations, graphics and music here - https://worldhistory.typehut.com/set-the-egyptian-god-of-chaos-storms-and-war-images-and-attributions-9014 The music used in this recording is the intellectual copyright of Michael Levy, a prolific composer for the recreated lyres of antiquity, and used with the creator's permission. Michael Levy's music is available to stream at all the major digital music platforms. Find out more on: https://www.ancientlyre.com https://open.spotify.com/artist/7Dx2vFEg8DmOJ5YCRm4A5v?si=emacIH9CRieFNGXRUyJ9 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ1X6F7lGMEadnNETSzTv8A — THUMBNAIL IMAGE — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SethAndHorusAdoringRamsses_crop.jpg en:User:Chipdawes; cropped by Beyond My Ken (talk) 20:05, 24 August 2010 (UTC) Public Domain - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain https://member.worldhistory.org/image/11437/set/ Elizaveta Gubanova CC BY NC SA 4.0 - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/deed.en World History Encyclopedia www.worldhistory.org #setegyptiangod #set #egyptiangod #egyptianmythology

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About the Author

Kelly Macquire
Kelly is a graduate from Monash University who has completed her BA (Honours) in Ancient History and Archaeology, focussing on iconography and status in Pylos burials. She has a passion for mythology and the Aegean Bronze Age.

Cite This Work

APA Style

Macquire, K. (2022, April 03). Set the Egyptian God of Chaos, Storms and War. World History Encyclopedia. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2750/set-the-egyptian-god-of-chaos-storms-and-war/

Chicago Style

Macquire, Kelly. "Set the Egyptian God of Chaos, Storms and War." World History Encyclopedia, April 03, 2022. https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2750/set-the-egyptian-god-of-chaos-storms-and-war/.

MLA Style

Macquire, Kelly. "Set the Egyptian God of Chaos, Storms and War." World History Encyclopedia, 03 Apr 2022, https://www.worldhistory.org/video/2750/set-the-egyptian-god-of-chaos-storms-and-war/.

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