Seth's Role In Ancient Egyptian Religion

Seth, or Set, is the ancient Egyptian deity of storms, deserts, evil, chaos, evil, and foreign lands. Seth is an extremely authoritative and significant in the ancient Egyptian belief system as he brutally liquidated his own relative Osiris. Seth's role as his brother's usurper remains exceedingly pertinent to ancient Egyptian religion as it would lead to the birth of Seth's arch nemesis Horus, the battles the two fought, which included physical conflicts and boat races, and Seth leaving the Delta to go into exile in the vast and empty Egyptian desert. Seth's actions shook the roots of the divine family tree for the rest of ancient Egyptian history. Seth is characterized as a tan-skinned male who has the head of a perplexing and arcane animal. …show more content…
Furthermore, Seth's role reaches far more than his brother's killer, as he was the primitive protector of Ra, the Sun god. As ancient works put it, Seth stood guard at the front of Ra's solar barge, or ship, and guarded Ra from the dark serpent Apep, who embodied chaos and darkness. Other depictions of Seth with Ra is the god of the deserts acting as guide for Ra. Near the end of ancient Egypt's 2768 year existence, Seth became controversial and thus began a period of time entitled the "Demonetization of Seth" in which Seth's negative character traits were greatly emphasized. This period of time occurred directly after was invaded by numerous foreign nations, and seeing as Seth is the patron of foreign lands, he was now seen in a negative light. Seth was now regularly disparaged and vilified for his actions, especially the killing of Osiris. Though many in the Delta now saw Seth as destructive and horrible, the residents of the barren sections of Egypt still worshiped and extolled Seth as a rightful divinity. To be an ancient Egyptian citizen during this time of history meant seeing people degenerate and degrade