Through the Eras

Religioncon, making the king the earthly embodiment of the cosmicHorus.BATTLE WITH SETH. In the earliest version of themyths surrounding Horus, he was involved in a strugglewith his brother, Seth, for the throne of Egypt. Thisis apparently a reflection of the political situation inwhich the city of Hierakonpolis (a major cult center forHorus) gradually expanded and engulfed the town ofNagada (ancient Ombos), a center of Seth-worship. Thisversion of the myth must be reconstructed from allusionsin the Pyramid Texts. For unstated reasons, Sethattacks Horus, and a violent struggle ensues. Horus losesan eye, and Seth loses his testicles. Eventually, the missingpieces are restored to their rightful owners, and thetwo gods go before a tribunal of the gods of the HeliopolitanEnnead, with either Geb or Atum presiding.The verdict of this tribunal is that Horus is the rightfulruler of Egypt, because he is the older of the two.SON OF OSIRIS. With the entrance of the god Osirisinto the Egyptian pantheon, the protagonists in the mythshift roles. When Osiris becomes equated with the deadking, the living king, Horus, comes to be thought of asthe son of Osiris, since the dead king was usually the fatherof the living ruler. The conflict between Horus andSeth then shifts to become a conflict between Osiris andSeth, and serves to explain why Osiris is dead. He waskilled by his brother Seth. Horus then assumes the roleof a son avenging the wrong done to his father and fightingfor his rightful inheritance, which in this instance isthe throne of Egypt. Horus also takes on two aspects:Horus the elder, ruler of Egypt, and Horus the Child(Greek, Harpokrates), the son of Osiris and Isis. Hence,the purpose of the trial before the gods serves two purposes:the need to punish Seth for the murder of Osirisas well as the need to determine who should inherit thekingdom of Egypt from Osiris.BATTLE FOR INHERITANCE. The New Kingdomstory “The Contendings of Horus and Seth” is a narrativedetailing the events which take place during the trialof Horus and Seth before Atum and the gods of the Ennead.Unlike earlier myths, this one leaves out the issueof Seth killing Osiris and deals strictly with the issue ofinheritance. Each god has his supporters, and the tribunal’sjudgement sways first one way, and then theother. The gods appear to be petty, petulant bickererswho cannot make up their minds. Finally, Seth suggestsa contest between the two. They are to transform themselvesinto hippopotamuses to see who can stay submergedunderwater the longest. Due to Isis’sinterference, first on one side and then the other, thecontest is indecisive. Seth then commits a sexual assaultagainst Horus, intending to call forth his semen fromHorus’ body in the presence of the judges, therebydemonstrating his superiority over Horus. Again, Seth’sefforts are thwarted by Isis, who rids Horus of Seth’s semen,and tricks Seth into unwittingly ingesting Horus’semen. Finally, in desperation, Seth suggests the twogods build and race boats of stone, with the winner beingdeclared the rightful heir. Seth proceeds to build aboat of stone, while Horus builds his boat of pine woodplastered over with gypsum to give it the appearance ofstone. When the race begins, Seth’s boat sinks while Horus’continues on the course. Seth transforms himselfinto a hippopotamus and scuttles Horus’ boat. Again,there is no clear winner. Finally, the judges decide towrite a letter to Osiris, and ask who he would have ashis heir. Osiris chooses Horus, who becomes the rulerof all Egypt. Since in this myth Seth is not guilty ofkilling his father, he is given the consolation prize of beingsent to live in the sky with Re, where he becomesthe god of storms and thunder.POISONED CHILD. Another series of stories relatethe events of Horus’ childhood. After Isis finds herselfpregnant by Osiris, Re-Atum suggests she hide this factfrom Seth, lest he try to destroy the infant Horus.When Horus is born, Isis hides him in the marsh atKhemmis. Isis leaves the infant alone while she goes insearch of food. When she returns, she finds the babyweak and unable to suckle. A local wise woman diagnosesthe child as suffering from a poisonous sting, eitherof a scorpion or snake. Isis cries out for help, andthe sound of her anguish brings even Re in his solarbarque to a stop. The god Thoth arrives to aid Isis, andrecites spells which remove the poison from the child.Texts describing such events in the life of the infantHorus were carved on stone stelae known as cippi.These stelae depicted the infant Horus standing on thebacks of crocodiles, grasping snakes, scorpions, andother dangerous animals by the tails. Water poured overthe stele was thought to absorb the power of the spells,and was drunk by those seeking a cure for snake biteor scorpion sting.AMUN, HIDDEN ONE. Amun, whose name means“the hidden one,” was originally associated with the areaof Thebes. When Theban families rose to prominenceand became the rulers of all Egypt, first in the TwelfthDynasty (1938–1759 B.C.E.) and again in the EighteenthDynasty (1539–1292 B.C.E.), Amun’s power andinfluence also increased. As the Eighteenth-dynastykings expanded Egypt’s empire into Asia, they attributedtheir successes to Amun’s blessings, and rewardedArts and Humanities Through the Eras: Ancient Egypt (2675 B.C.E.–332 B.C.E.) 219