THE EGYPTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF GNOSTIC THOUGHT

effectively emphasises the idea of plurality (in hieroglyphs three equals the plural 50
).
Another Heliopolitan variant depicts Atum forming a triad with the two goddesses,
Hathor-Nebet-Hetepet and Saosis, and their names can indicate the male and female
sexual organs: htpt “bliss” etc., and iw.s-c3.s “she comes while she grows large”.
Likewise the word for Atum’s mouth, from which Shu and Tefnut emerge, denotes
the vulva in erotic literature. This emphasis upon the original latent duo, the theogonic
extension into three, and then various enneads, ogdoads, hebdomads etc. is at the very
heart of a large number of Gnostic cosmologies.
Of equal importance in establishing Egyptian mythological precursors of
Gnostic thought is the equivocal figure of Seth. It is not necessary to go into the
murky origins of this god except to say that a distinct lack of assimilation may have
resulted from his origination with the original inhabitants of Egypt near Ombos. From
Old Kingdom to Graeco-Roman times he remained a deity apart to the extent that he
was finally identified as the Greek Typhon as a personification of evil. 51
From the
earliest times Seth is the enemy of Osiris and Horus and was well known for his
negative qualities. 52
The Seth-animal determinative is used for words “indicating
concepts divergent from the normal order” 53
and overall, the impression of Seth’s
rhetorical presence is that of a disturber of the peace. In philosophical terms he
embodies the principle of the dysteliological – plague, illness, abortion, catastrophe,
storm etc. In theological terms he embodies the spirit of non serviam, a lawless
presence associated with his desert abode, literally beyond the pale of social order and
justice. In Egyptian texts he is often associated with the power of darkness forever
threatening the sun and the moon. 54
Seth’s most important theogonic function is as the manifestation of disjunction
among the gods. It will be recalled that Seth and his consort Nephthys appear
alongside Osiris and Isis and this in itself disturbs the harmony of the hypostases, for
two pairs are produced by Geb and Nut as opposed to the previous pattern of only
one, and Seth is born prematurely by striking a blow to break through Nut’s side (De
Iside 355E 55
). In anticipation of this Isis lives in fear of Seth in Nut’s womb and Seth
becomes associated with abortion. 56
Furthermore, Seth and Nephthys do not form a
divine syzygy or pair and, according to Plutarch (De Iside 358B 57
), Seth is abandoned
by his concubine Thoeris. The homosexual episode with Horus is yet another
50
More specifically, it reifies adjectives and denotes abstraction.
51
W.B. Emery, Archaic Egypt (1961; reprint, Hammondsworth: Penguin Books Ltd., 1987),
120; Griffiths, De Iside et Osiride, 259: “the reasons for the identification of Seth and
Typhon are not far to seek. Both were protagonists in war against the established order
among the gods, Typhon opposing Zeus, and Seth Horus.”
52
Jan Zandee, “Seth als Sturmgott,” ZÄS 90 (1963): 155.
53
te Velde, Seth, the God of Confusion (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1977), 24.
54
Griffiths, De Iside et Osiride, 487.
55
Griffiths, De Iside et Osiride, 136-37.
56
te Velde, Seth, the God of Confusion, 29.
57
Griffiths, De Iside et Osiride, 146-47.