#;; LIKE NUT IN EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY!!
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piromina · 7 months ago
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OVERANALYSIS OF THE BURNING SPICE UPDATE TRAILER BECAUSE YOU KNOW I HAVE TO
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we open up like this. pretty ominous words ... and you wonder which one is the demon and which is the god. burning spice and golden cheese seem to be very similar, possibly the most parallels that one could draw from the ancients and their respective beasts.
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And then we get this shot. Obviously it's showing the soul jam, but there are also some things behind it. One resembles a snake ... APOPHIS ANYONE? this has THE most Egyptian mythology symbolism ever. if golden cheese represents ra, which makes one hundred percent sense considering her kingdom and wealth and radiance and all that, and the fact that she resembles a falcon, then the snake on this wall HAS to represent apophis. it can't not. heck, in some versions of the story apophis was A FORMER SUN GOD. like crk def knows what they're doing.
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there's also this tiger character ... nutmeg tiger I'm pretty sure? something like that. they seem to be under the influence of burning spice, as well as all the creatures around them. they seem to be at a higher "position" than all these other guys, though. maybe a willing host?
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and there is this. this is really interesting. the fact that Golden Cheese is the one to say this is very intriguing. as far as we knew, the ancients had no knowledge that the beasts even existed until pure vanilla's trip. he wrote the letter to dark cacao, and it was all "you won't believe this - but the place called BEAST-yeast has BEASTS in it!!!" and dark cacao was equally surprised. they didn't know. they thought they were the first ever wielders of the soul jam. but golden cheese ... seems to know a bit more than she lets on to the rest of the group. and a bit more than us. what the heck is the spice swarm?
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also, the return (and release) of smoked cheese!! man I missed this guy. he seems to be working with golden cheese in this shot, but then what was his little deal at the end of the first teaser about? it does make sense, though, that he would try to at least be against burning spice - his entire goal is to get the soul jam because he thinks the current wielders aren't worthy - but to me it seems like he might have his own third side in this battle. he'll probably convince both sides he's working with them, knowing this dude. he wants the power of abundance and destruction, a second half he knew nothing about, the ability to make a change in the kingdoms and the lives of everyone in them.
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and these two images are probably the most interesting of them all. they seem to be part of some sort of ancient papyrus or prophecy or something like that. golden cheese is yelling about the "great destroyer." could it be possible he was some sort of legend in their kingdom, a prophecy just waiting to unfold? could golden cheese have known about this threat since the beginning? could the beasts' corruption have been inevitable from the start, written in the stars ... and could the witches have known about it?
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antiquitiesandlabyrinths · 1 year ago
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. . .Osiris
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Osiris (Great and Beautiful is He) is the God of the Underworld; its King and Pharaoh ruling over the Duat. He is pictured here on the far left, His skin green and His body in mummiform. This is commonly how He is depicted; as a green-skinned, mummified man.
Son of Nut, the Sky Goddess, and Geb, the Earth God, Osiris was the first King of Egypt in accordance with Kemetic mythology, although there are stories that recount Geb, His father, being King before Him. There are a great deal of myths and stories that surround and involve Osiris, and I suppose it is important to at least skim over them before discussing hard facts about Him, as it gives some reference as to who He is and what the culture surrounding Him is like.
Osiris Myth
After the world was created, the Demiurge (who changes according to myth, and can be Neith, Ra, Amun, Ptah, or others) produces children; in the most popular form of this creation story, it is usually Ra who births the first Gods. They are Shu and Tefnut, Air and Moisture. Shu and Tefnut then form a union and birth two children of Their own: Nut and Geb, Sky and Earth. Nut and Geb were very much in love and refused to separate from each other, which, of course, caused a problem, because if the sky and the earth are eternally in contact, there is no space for anything to live and walk upon the earth. Ra made it so Nut and Geb were forever separated, by having Shu, air, stand atop Geb and hold Nut up as the sky. But Nut was already pregnant. When Ra discovered this, He was enraged, and forbade Nut from ever giving birth on any day of the year.
Nut cried to Djehuty (Thoth), and Thoth devised a plan. He went to Khonsu, God of the Moon, and set up a gamble, saying that every round of the game Senet Khonsu lost, He would have to give Nut some of His moonlight. Khonsu ended up losing so many times that Nut had enough moonlight for five days––five days that weren't in the calendar. This allowed Her to give birth on those five days, and on each day She had a different child; Ausir (Osiris), Wr-Heru (Horus the Elder), Sutekh (Set, Seth), Auset (Isis), and Nebet-Het (Nephthys). Nut and Geb were still forever separated by atmosphere (Shu), but the five Gods were birthed, and Osiris, as the eldest son, became King of the Living World.
As a side note, all Gods do have ancient Egyptian names which are different from Their Greek and now modern names. For convenience's sake, and to avoid confusion, I will use the names They are most known by; Their Greek/modern names. And as another side note, there are a lot of variations on this story. I will be piecing together a lot of different ideas but I will be leaving some things out for the sake of cohesion.
When Osiris came to Egypt, He found the people there to be chaotic and lawless. As King, He instituted laws and spread ma'at, which is truth, justice, harmony, and order. Egypt flourished under His rule and the people were incredibly happy, as all were equal, and with the fertility of the God-King, the crops were always bountiful and food was plenty. He brought not only law and prosperity, but also the right way to worship, and the teachings of agriculture.
Set, God of chaos, confusion, the desert, and of foreigners, and the youngest brother of the Ennead, grew to be quite jealous of His older brother. There are many variations and the most popular variation of this story comes from the end of the New Kingdom (1550-1070 BC), where Set fashions a fabulous coffin in the perfect measurements of Osiris, throws a party, and tells the party-goers that whomever the coffin fits may have the coffin as a gift. When Osiris fits perfectly, Set quickly shuts and bolts the coffin and throws it in the Nile (this version of the myth gives an origin to the idea that people who drowned in the Nile were holy). His coffin drifts downstream and into the Mediterranean, where it washes ashore in Phoenicia, in Byblos. The coffin wedges itself into a growing tamarisk tree, a tree which envelops the coffin. Eventually the tree is cut down and used as a pillar in the palace in Byblos.
Isis, Osiris' wife and sister, searched far and wide for Her husband, and did eventually find Herself in Byblos. The story is quite long and complicated, but in the end She convinced the King to give Her the pillar, and when she returned to Egypt, She hid Osiris in a swampy area of the Nile delta, and bade Her sister, Nephthys, to watch over Him while She went in search of healing herbs. But Seth heard that Osiris was back, and so after interrogating His sister-wife, Nephthys, He found Osiris, cut His body into pieces, and threw them into the Nile.
Isis was horrified at what transpired in Her absence, but She immediately set to work on finding the many pieces of Her husband with the help of Her sister, Nephthys. They managed to find every piece of His body except His phallus, which had been eaten by an oxyrhyncus fish, a fish that was thus forbidden to eat.
With the pieces of Osiris reassembled, and the healing powers of Isis in full power, Osiris was brought back to life, but incomplete. Isis assumed the form of a kite, and from above drew out the seed of Osiris, impregnating Herself with Their child: Horus the Younger. But Osiris, still incomplete, could not properly rule over the land of the living any longer.
This is why He is the ruler of the dead––He was once the king of the living, was killed, and was resurrected, and this is what every ancient Egyptian expected and hoped would happen to them: that they would die and be resurrected. In tombs and mortuary temples you will always see Pharaohs associating themselves with Osiris.
But this long myth I have just told you is not the only version of the story, and in my opinion, it is definitely the longest version of the story. Back in the Old Kingdom and Middle Kingdom there were several different versions; for example, Set's motive is different, ranging from revenge for Osiris kicking him, to revenge for Nephthys (Seth's sister-wife) sleeping with Osiris (which eventually births Anubis). Some texts claim that Seth took on the form of a wild animal, such as a crocodile or a hippopotamus, and killed Osiris that way. In others, Osiris is drowned. In some, the steps surrounding the coffin are skipped, and Osiris is simply cut up, and His pieces scattered around Egypt; a version which explains the many cult centers of Osiris claiming to be a place where Osiris is buried. Osiris' resurrection is also often helped along by other Gods such as Thoth (God of wisdom) and Anubis (God of embalming). In some versions, Set is killed for His actions. In most He is simply defeated and driven from the land, as chaos is necessary for balance and harmony, and thus cannot be killed. And the story that I have told is from the Late Period, recorded by Plutarch, and does not really go along with many Egyptian accounts, which often find Osiris' penis intact.
So that is the Osiris myth with all of its' intricacies and changing rhythms over the course of 4,000 years of Egyptian history. It embodies a huge amount of cultural practices and religious ideas within ancient Egypt, including the idea of truth, harmony, and justice, as well as resurrection, the afterlife, healing, and the workings of the cosmos. I've decided to leave out the later parts involving Osiris' son, Horus, and His fight with Set, for now because this does not directly involve Osiris, and that is our topic for this post.
Tradition, History, and Culture
Worship of Osiris dates back to the Old Kingdom, but the idea of Osiris is likely older than this. Before Osiris was actually Khentiamenti, an agricultural God centered in Abydos, a city which would later become the cult center of Osiris. Khentiamenti means 'Foremost of the Westerners', a title for the ruler of the dead, as the dead resided in the west, where the sun set each day. But Osiris Himself is not found mentioned in any texts or carvings until the 5th Dynasty, where He is depicted as a man wearing a divine wig. Later on He would take on the form we know Him best in––wrapped in a white mummy shroud, wearing an atef crown with ostrich plumes on the sides.
The mummy shroud He is depicted in forever associates Him with death and with the essential story behind Him, which is why I found it so important to start off with the Osiris Myth. This myth is also why He consumed and took the place of Khentiamenti; the name Khentiamenti, Foremost of the Westerners, instead became a title for Osiris as the King of the blessed dead. Another common epithet/name of Osiris is Wennefer (Omnophris), meaning 'The Beautiful One', 'The Beneficent One', and more archaically, 'One Whose Body Did Not Decay'. Among these names He was also called 'The Lord of Love', 'The King of Living', and 'The Eternal Lord'. From the Early Dynastic Period up until the end of the Ptolemaic Dynasty, when Rome conquered Egypt, Osiris was one of the most highly worshipped and revered Gods of Egypt.
Osiris was associated with the Nile river, with its' renewal and life-giving abilities, as one of Osiris' domains and powers was fertility, as well as rebirth. Another of His duties, evidence of which originates in the New Kingdom, was to act as judge of the dead; being King, He sat on the tribunal with the 42 Judges in the famous Weighing of the Heart ceremony. In this ceremony, which took place in the afterlife, the deceased would have to stand before the court and place their soul up for judgement. If it weighed lighter than the feather of Ma'at, representing all justice, truth, and harmony, then the heart acted well in life and would be allowed eternal happiness in the Field of Reeds. If not, the heart, and thus the person, would be consumed by Ammit and committed to nothingness. So Osiris would sit in on this tribunal and judge who entered His kingdom, as it was His domain. In this role, and in His role as King of the Living, as well, He was the embodiment of harmony, law, and justice.
"Most of his appeal was based on his embodiment of the cosmic harmony. The rising Nile was his insignia, and the moon’s constant state of renewal symbolized his bestowal of eternal happiness in the lands beyond the grave. In this capacity he also became the model of human endeavors and virtues..." (The Complete Gods And Goddesses Of Ancient Egypt, p.307)
As I mentioned earlier, Abydos became His cult center, as it was the cult center of the God who came before Him, whose traits He subsumed. It became a very popular burial site, as legends would say that Abydos was where Osiris was truly buried, and the people wanted to be buried as close as possible to Osiris. At one point they believed an ancient tomb there––which was actually the tomb of an Early Dynastic King––to be the tomb of Osiris, which they much revered, and left so many offerings in clay pots that Arabs would later call the site 'Umm el Qa'ab'; Mother of Pots. But this was not the only burial site of Osiris; since many variations of the myth include Set chopping up and dismembering Osiris into many parts, ranging from 14 to 42 different parts. These parts were scattered across Egypt, so many cities and nomes could claim that they had a part of Osiris buried in their domain. For example, far in the south, the island of Bigah claimed to be the burial site of Osiris' left leg, and thus the source for the yearly Nile inundation.
Going back to the Osiris Myth, after Osiris died and became the ruler of the dead, His son took His place as King of the Living: the falcon God, Horus (Heru the Younger). After the brief bout of chaos brought about under Set's rule, Horus took over (after much deliberation from the Gods) and order was restored. Because of this story, Pharaohs would not only associate themselves with Osiris in death, but with Horus in life. Each Pharaoh, as they came to the throne, would become the living embodiment of Horus on earth, the son of Osiris. In this way, Isis was also the mother of every Pharaoh, and their protector. And, to added extent, each Pharaoh would have a personal name, and then a Horus name granted to them when they ascended to the throne.
"It is for this reason that Osiris is so often depicted as a mummified pharaoh; because pharaohs were mummified to resemble Osiris. The image of the great mummified god preceeded the practice of preparing the royal body to look like Osiris... The king's appearance as modeled after Osiris' extended throughout his reign; the famous flail and shepherd's staff, synonymous with Egyptian pharaohs, were first Osiris' symbols as the flail represented the fertility of his land while the crook symbolized the authority of his rule." (Osiris, World History Encyclopedia, Joshua J. Mark)
Osiris can also be represented by a number of physical symbols, such as the crook and flail that He carries in almost all representations of His earthly form. The crook, which is the striped hook He carries, represents power/authority, and is a symbol of the Pharaoh. The flail, which is the instrument in His other hand, represents the fertility of the Nile, and as an extension, the fertility of Osiris Himself. But the crook and flail, though both seen typically as symbols of Pharaonic power, are actually the tools of a shepherd. There is reasonable evidence, thusly, to suggest that the physical origins of the idea of Osiris may not be that of a great King, but of a ruler of a shepherd tribe in the Nile Delta, whose rule was so beneficent that it led to him being worshipped as a God. For Egyptologists, this theory comes from His association with Andjety, a predynastic God-King worshipped in the Delta who also bore the crook and flail as His symbols. This, however, has not and likely cannot be fully proven. But the postulation is still interesting nonetheless!
Osiris' ba soul had its' own culture of worship, a practice of soul-worship that is prevalent in the cults of several other Gods, such as Hathor (HwtHer). In this form, Osiris was known as Banebdjedet, meaning 'The Ba of the Lord of the Djed,' which in English terms means 'The Soul of the Lord of the Pillar of Continuity', as ba means soul, and djed is the symbol for a pillar, which represented the backbone of Osiris. Interestingly, the name Banebdjedet is feminine, as the letter t denotes a feminine word or name in ancient Egyptian; although there are also variations on this name that exclude the t in favour of the alternative, Banebdjed. Banebdjedet, Osiris' ba soul, was worshipped mainly in Mendes, a city in Lower Egypt, in the Delta.
This leads to an interesting point concerning the androgyny of Osiris, a subject I found while researching for this post. Osiris' fertility comes from His castration and then being healed by the mother Goddess, Isis. Not only that, but both men and women identified themselves with Osiris in death. Then the name for His ba personified as another God is feminine, although representations of Banebdjedet are overwhelmingly male. Before anyone attacks me, I am not claiming that Osiris is a genderless God or King––just that He has some traits of androgyny, which I find interesting and love to study in ancient cultures, and I thought it would be good to mention for anyone else similarly interested.
Worship, Festivals, and Cult Activities
When it comes to the practices surrounding Osiris' cult, we actually know a good deal of information regarding the activities of worshippers and priests. Osiris' cult and worship was so widespread and lasted long enough that it could be recorded by the earliest Greek historians, and remained carved in temple walls for thousands of years. Among the most well-known cultic tradition is the Osiris Bed.
The Osiris Bed is rather well documented, as it was an object placed in tombs. It was not a bed for the deceased to lie in, but instead a box made of wood or clay, moulded into the shape of Osiris, in which the fertile Nile soil was placed and seeds were planted. These boxes were then wrapped in white mummy linens, and the seeds sprouted through, representing the resurrection and fertility of Osiris, and the crops that grew each year in cycles. One of the most famous of these beds was found in King Djer's tomb, a King from the Early Dynastic Period; the 2nd King ever of the unified Egypt. Coincidentally (or, perhaps, not so coincidentally) King Djer's tomb was the tomb which pilgrims believed to be Osiris' burial site.
While the Osiris Bed is far from the only practice and tradition of the Osiris cult, it does show the rich cultural practices and symbolism present in His worship. Let's look at some other examples of the practices of Osiris' cult.
Similar to the Osiris bed were Osiris gardens, which were essentially the same concept; fertile soil was planted inside a vessel shaped into the form of Osiris, and seeds were settled within to grow. These beds were tended to during festivals instead of being buried in a tomb.
There were a great many festivals, and each of them quite popular according to their time period, dedicated to the story and symbolism of Osiris. Some festivals started with recounting the mournings of Isis and Nephthys, Osiris' sister-wife and sister, in the form of a drama acted out in a call-and-response format. Another drama acted out for the glory of Osiris was more in the form of an actual fight that anyone could participate in; it was modelled after The Contendings of Horus and Set, which I briefly mentioned as a long and drawn-out argument between Horus and Set over who deserved Osiris' vacant throne after He had died. On this occasion, people would battle out and reenact the events of the story until the side of Horus finally won and victory was achieved. Afterwards, the celebrations commenced in honoring the restoration of order, and the gold-encased shAwyt-nTr (the Holy Statue) of Osiris would be taken out and lavished with offerings. Osiris, in the form of this statue, would be paraded throughout the city of Abydos before being placed in a shrine outside, where He could participate fully in the festivities, and be admired by the commoners who would usually never behold the face of Osiris. This emergence of Osiris from the dark temple's inner sanctuary to the light of the city resembled and represented His resurrection from death into life again. Although this particular festival was celebrated mainly in Osiris cult center of Abydos, it was also celebrated in other cities such as Bubastis in the Delta, Busiris, Memphis, and Thebes, in Upper Egypt.
The Mysteries of Osiris was a series of plays performed annually, and in dramatic, passionate form. It was one of the most popular observances of worshippers, and it told the story that I first told to you––of Osiris' life, His death at the hands of His brother, His resurrection at the hands of His sister-wife, and His ascension into the role we now know Him for. The roles in this reenactments were often taken up by high-ranking officials, and afterwards, the Contendings of Horus and Set would take place, which I just mentioned. These plays would take place over several days.
One festival was called The Fall of the Nile. During this time, the waters of the Nile would recede, and the worshippers of Osiris would go into mourning. One of Osiris' representation on earth was the Nile, and the Nile represented His fertility and life.
Another festival was celebrated on the 19th day of Pakhons, one of the months in the Egyptian calendar, which is roughly equivalent to May in our Gregorian calendar. On this day, the followers of Osiris would go to the river with shrines containing vessels of gold and metal, and would pour water into the Nile, exclaiming, "Osiris is found!" Mud and spices were mixed and moulded into the shape of Osiris, as well, to celebrate His return. Another festival similar to this one was called The Night of the Tear, and took place during modern-day June.
The last festival pertaining to Osiris that I will mention is the Djed pillar festival, held in modern-day January. The Pharaonic court and family would participate, raising djed pillars to welcome Osiris and the harvests that coincided with His return.
One last and interesting tradition that may seem familiar to Christians, at least in a small way, was the baking of bread in the shape of Osiris; bread as the flesh of the God, a sort of predecessor of communion wafers. But in reality the traditions of the Osiris cakes are completely different, and there were several different ways of going about it, depending on which nome you were from. In Dendera, wheat-paste models were made in the shape of each of the 16 dismembered parts of Osirs, and each model was sent out to the town where each respective part of Osiris was found by Isis. In Mendes, figures of Osiris were made of wheat and paste. On the day of the murder, they were placed in a trough, followed by water being added each day for several days. Afterwards, this mixture was kneaded into a dough, put into a mold of Osiris, and buried on the temple grounds.
Conclusion
This has been a somewhat brief glimpse into the cult, history, and traditions surrounding the Great God, The Beautiful Lord Osiris. If I can clarify anything please let me know and I will do my best!
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deinemuddalutscht · 7 months ago
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Just me rambling about the husbands of Nephthys
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The belief that Nephthys was the wife of Set largely comes from the writings of the Greek author Plutarch. Plutarch was a prolific writer and a priest at Delphi who likely obtained his information about Egypt during his travels to Alexandria. Although he accurately recounts much of Egyptian mythology, his writings are influenced by his philosophical views. By the time Plutarch wrote in the 2nd century CE, religious traditions had begun to merge, especially in Alexandria, where the cult of Isis was extremely popular.
Plutarch recounts a story in which Osiris unknowingly fathers a child with Nephthys, believing she was his wife, Isis. Nephthys, afraid of her husband Set's reaction, abandons the child, and Isis later finds and raises him as Anubis, who becomes her guardian. Interestingly, Plutarch also refers to a tradition where Nut’s children have different fathers: Horus and Osiris are Ra's sons, Isis is Thoth's daughter, and Nephthys and Set are the only children born in wedlock with Geb. Wikipedia states that Horus the Elder is a form of Horus that is the son of Geb and Nut, but this is only partly true: This claim comes from Plutarch, but Plutarch also claims that Horus the Elder is a son of Osiris and Isis, conceived by Isis and Osiris in the womb of Nut, and then born alongside the other children. Essentially, Plutarch tried to explain the multiple origin stories of Horus by stating that Osiris and Isis had supposedly three sons, all named Horus, and early Egyptologists somehow accepted this explanation. According to Plutarch, the three half-brothers also have different hair colors: Osiris has black hair, Horus white, and Set red. Additionally, Plutarch recalls a festival where Egyptians insulted red-haired people to mock Set's power on Earth. This has nothing to do with Nephthys’ marriages, but it's too amusing not to mention.
Overall, Plutarch paints a rather negative picture of Nephthys: Not only is she an adulterous wife who cheats on her husband, but she also has nonconsensual sex with Osiris, abandons her child in the desert, and even betrays Isis by revealing where she is hiding with her dead husband and child to Set. Plutarch also refers to Nephthys as Aphrodite throughout the text.
While many early sources link Nephthys and Set as a couple, there is little concrete evidence from ancient Egyptian texts directly confirming their marriage. Osiris, Nephthys, Set, Horus, and Isis are the core figures in the Osiris myth, and they all interact with one another inside th myths, except for Nephthys and Set. However, they are paired in other contexts, such as in descriptions of the Ennead. For example, in the Pyramid Texts, Nephthys and Set are paired together for specific roles, but they are not explicitly called a married couple. Some texts from later periods refer to Nephthys as Set’s wife, or mention Set having a wife, though these accounts are often times ambiguous and don't firmly establish this as a widespread early tradition. Therefore the tradition reported by Plutarch, in which Nephthys is the mother of Anubis by Osiris, finds little support in indigenous Egyptian sources, though it was likely not entirely invented by him.
As far as I can tell, we currently have no Ancient Egyptian texts that name Nephthys as Anubis’ mother, either by Set or Osiris. I know Wikipedia lists Anubis and Wepwawet as sons of Nephthys and Set, but no actual source is given for this information. Anubis is sometimes regarded as the son of Nephthys and Ra, though. The only real Egyptian source for Nephthys abandoning Anubis that I could find is in the Papyrus Jumilhac (“Nephthys, her bravery existed with him [Horus]. She had him [Horus] hidden as a small child in papyrus. His name is Anubis and his image is as Mehit-imyut.”). However, we should note that it is unclear whether Nephthys hid her son Horus-Anubis as Isis hid her child, or if she helps Isis hide the baby Horus-Anubis. In this text, Nephthys hiding her child is framed positively, not as the action of an adulterous woman abandoning her illegitimate child for selfish reasons.
Nephthys was sometimes regarded as Osiris’ wife in the underworld, just as Isis was on earth. Osiris and Nephthys are depicted as a couple in some contexts, as seen in the statue of Ramose from the Louvre (E 16378). Nephthys is sometimes given the title Onnophret, the feminine form of the Osirian epithet Onnophris or wn.nfr, meaning "the beautiful existent."
Interestingly, an erotic spell from the 4th century, mostly written in Greek with some Old Coptic passages, tells the story of how Isis goes to Thoth (specifically identified as her father in this version) and tells him about Osiris sleeping with Nephthys. Thoth then gives her a love spell to win Osiris back. However, it is unclear whether Isis is upset about Osiris taking a lover or a second wife. Alternatively, Nephthys could even be Osiris' first wife in this scenario, with Isis as the jealous sister.
There is one text I found that names Nephthys and Set as a married couple within the context of the Osiris myth. It's called the Ptolemaic Berlin Papyrus 8278, and it contains a story that goes as follows:
The first nine lines of Pap. Berlin P. 8278 are quite damaged. However, the main topic is the expulsion of Set from Egypt. The first readable paragraph tells how Set will be kept away from Egypt for the rest of his life. The text refers to him as a donkey, which is a very late interpretation of the Set animal. Then, there is a dialogue between the men of Horus and the men of Set. They discuss the punishment inflicted on Set. The men of Set would like the men of Horus to set him free. Set is described as copulating, drunk, and dead of thirst. From an explanatory gloss, we learn that Set went to an oasis with the Eye of Horus and swallowed it, leading to his drunkenness. Then, an unidentified speaker states that he has shown the way to Horus. After this, the god Thoth insists that Set is drunk and accuses him of harming Osiris. It is mentioned that Set "has been seized" and "has failed." All the gods start speaking to him, pointing out his failure. Finally, it is Isis’ turn to insult Set. She accuses him of taking water "in his own hand" (an explanatory gloss equates water with Osiris). Set is called "camel, pig, hippopotamus," and "the Failed One." Set speaks for the first time but avoids the accusations, instead lamenting his failed attempt to have anal sex with Nephthys, likely due to his drunken state. He recalls grabbing Nephthys' tail and trying to copulate with her ("Voice of Set: [The] female donkey was taken when I was seizing her tail. I was given deceit… Nephthys was taken when I was on her anus… although she belongs to me as a wife").
Nephthys was also sometimes regarded as Horus' wife, as seen in the magical stela of Nesamun ("All fertile lands, all deserts, all mountains, and all waters and what is in them are united under the feet of Horus, son of Osiris, with whom Isis was pregnant and with whom Nephthys is married. May they dispel your feverish heat, may they remove your inner restlessness."). Papyrus Ramesseum IV even speaks of an unnamed daughter of Horus and Nephthys ("Hemen slept with his mother Isis after he had impregnated his aunt Nephthys with a daughter").
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talonabraxas · 18 days ago
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"I am Horus, the great Falcon upon the ramparts of the house of him of the hidden name. My flight has reached the horizon. I have passed by the gods of Nut. I have gone further than the gods of old. Even the most ancient bird could not equal my very first flight. I have removed my place beyond the powers of Set, the foe of my father Osiris. No other god could do what I have done. I have brought the ways of eternity to the twilight of the morning. I am unique in my flight. My wrath will be turned against the enemy of my father Osiris and I will put him beneath my feet in my name of 'Red Cloak'." -Coffin Texts Spell 148 Horus - The Elder Talon Abraxas Most people can’t differentiate between Horus the Elder and Horus the Younger. Horus the Elder, or Horus the Great, was the son of the earth god Geb and sky goddess Nut. On the other hand, Horus the Younger was the child of Isis and Osiris.
In Ancient Egyptian mythology, Horus was the god of the sky and the sun. Although there were many patron deities of the sky, the experts believe that this god was the most important one. In images, Horus is often shown as a man with a head of a hawk.
The name translates to “the Distant one.” This tells us that the god lives high in the sky and is untouchable. He was born as soon as the world was created. His parents Nut and Geb divided responsibilities between three brothers: Osiris governed the land, Horus the sky, and Set the underworld. Over time, Osiris became very powerful, making Set jealous, which is why he ultimately killed his brother.
According to a different story, Horus has a close connection to Hathor and most likely his wife. Like many other gods, Horus protected Ra as he glided across the heaven in his barge. In most cases, this deity was shown as benevolent and protective.
Over time, Horus absorbed many other falcon deities. Most of these were minor deities such as Montu or Dunanwi. There is a lot of debate regarding all the gods that Horus absorbed and was connected to. Eventually, the deity became one with Anubis creating Horus-Anubis god.
Like other Ancient Egyptian gods, as Horus gained popularity within the country, the religious powers tried to increase his importance by merging him with other deities. That way, Dunanwi’s followers would start praying to Horus as a unique entity.
Experts consider Horus the Elder as one of the first Ancient Egyptian deities. He probably came from a minor, local falcon deity and would gain human traits with increased popularity. According to archeological findings, some of the first pharaohs who reigned during the Predynastic Period were called “Followers of Horus,” indicating that the god was around since the earliest time.
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aimee-maroux · 2 months ago
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February Newsletter: Hearts, Hearts Everywhere! 💕
Hello my lovelies,
I wrote in my goals for 2025 that I want to regularly post newsletters this year and lo and behold, this is the start!
Happy Valentine's Day and I hope you enjoy this curation of love-themed stories and articles. 🌹
Guide to your Athenian Wedding 💍
The ancient Greek "wedding season" was early in the year due to the anniversary of Zeus' and Hera's wedding on 27 Gamelion. In our calendar the month of Gamelion roughly lies between January and February due to following the moon phases rather than the sun. So it's the perfect time to learn how to throw a big, fat, ancient Greek wedding! Learn all about it here!
Greek Mythology's Sweetest Love Stories 🥰
I only published it two days ago but in case you missed it: I made a list of sweet, happy love stories from Greek mythology including happy gay couples. Did I include your fave? These are mine but what is your favourite love story in Greek myth?
Pre-order Punderworld 💸
@sigeel's pun-filled retelling of the story of Hades and Persephone goes into round 2 in September 2025. You can follow the comic's regular updates on webtoons and Tapas but it's well worth to own in "dead tree form" for the beautiful cover art alone. Pre-order Punderworld Volume 2 in print or e-book format at a discount and support an absolutely amazing indie creator!
Anthesteria 🌷
According to Hellenion's calendar, the Athenian Anthesteria festival in honour of Dionysos was this week. In antiquity it lasted three days, from the 11th to the 13th of the month of Anthesterion. A revival has been celebrated in Athens last weekend. The Anthesteria festival celebrates the beginning of Spring and in particular the maturing of the wine stored at the previous vintage, whose pithoi (storage-jars) were now ceremoniously opened. If you want a fun and entertaining introduction to the Anthesteria (with some brief strap-on action no less!), I highly recommend the comic Anthesteria by @a-gnosis. Follow her for regular updates of her most recent comic Queen of the Dead.
Girl On The Net Valentine's Dates 💏
If you have a special someone (lucky you!) and are looking for romantic date ideas to show them your love and celebrate your hots for one another, Girl On The Net has a dozen cute and sexy date ideas for you! Most of her ideas don't even cost a penny and focus on having fun and getting to know your partner even better. My personal favourites are the "taste test" and the "little joys bucket list". Seriously a whole list of great ideas! Check them out here.
Egyptian mythology Valentine's card 💌
My brilliant Egyptian mythology-loving illustrator @sinistersinita created a beautiful Valentine's card of the Egyptian god Seth last year for you to enjoy and download. Find it here!
Wanton Weekly Erotica Newsletter 📝
I have submitted two of my stories to the Wanton Weekly newsletter to see if I get any interest. The numbers are still out but I like the idea of a weekly newsletter with sexy stories, comics, and podcasts published in the past week. The format could be more reader-friendly in my opinion but check it out for yourself.
Latest Erotic Mythology Posts 🔥
The Sweetest Love Stories in Greek Mythology
Fiction: A Little Luxury (F / F)
Fiction: Glorious and Terrible (Penthesileia / Erinyes)
My Goals for 2025 and my 2024 in Review
Fiction: Energized (Amphitrite / Hera)
Fiction: Nuts for the Cindermaid
Migrated Posts: These are not new but now available on the website too instead of just Patreon.
Non-Fiction: Apollon and Branchos Introducing the real life myth of how Apollon and Branchos kissed in the woods and then they were boyfriends.
Non-Fiction: Apollon's Prophetic Children and Lovers The most famous and renowned seers in Greek mythology are either Apollon's children or lovers.
Upcoming: Even more lesfic in form of a sapphic Klytaimnestra / Erinyes foursome and a bit of fairytale magic with the second part of Nuts for the Cindermaid. Latest prompt ahead in the polls is Loki masturbating with Thor's hammer (not a euphemism), so look out for that too!
May Queen Hera smile upon your relationship and Golden Aphrodite add the needed spice. 💖
Love, Aimée
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pesedjet · 5 months ago
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hi guys. i know my entire blog is like. ancient egypt based. and thats because ancient egypt is my number one special interest. but you also know whats my number two special interest? ennead.
like idgaf if you dont like ennead. like genuinely. that is your own personal opinion. i, some random fuckass on the internet, is not here to tell you that you should like ennead. it deals with very heavy topics that i, myself, find uncomfortable.
however.
it is also apparent that some of you guys havent read ennead. which, ynknow. is fine. you do not need to read things that make you uncomfortable. however, i think the discussion about whether or not ennead is a good "kemet mythology" interpretation would be benefited if you guys read—nay, skimmed—over a good chunk of s1. or hell, even looked outside of the mythology/religion aspect and into the bl biosphere as a whole.
why is x character light skinned? because that was mojito's artistic interpretation. also, light-skinned bottoms paired with a larger, buffer dark-skinned top is a very prevalent trope in bl/yaoi. why is ra a woman? because shes based off raet-tawy, the feminine form of ra. why is osiris the bad guy? because that was mojito's interpretation. why is rape (towards seth) so heavily prevalent in ennead? because the men in seth's life saw him as a mere object, and the repeated assault not only reinforces the toxic masculinity osiris has pushed onto him, but also that he is worth nothing. unfortunately, it is integral to his character in ennead (as we seen in s2-ep107, the only person who treated him as a person and not as a body to fuck is horus).
ENNEAD IS NOT SUPPOST TO BE A 100% INTERPRETATION OF THE EGYPTIAN MYTH. MOJITO HAS LITERALLY SAID THAT. the more yall harp about the "inconsistencies" (that are very much artistic interpretation on mojitos part), the more i want to rip out my hair. (in my opinion,) ennead also has one of the better ancient egyptian god designs that arent mecha/bulky/extremely pop-culture based. is it better than more personal interpretation of the gods? no, it cant beat that. but the fact you guys think its orientalism drives me nuts.
edit: also, i should add—it's much funner to digest ennead if you dont view it from the lenses of bl but instead some really slowburn mystery type of shit. dont discredit mojito, shes put a lot of work and love into the series (hell, the hieroglyphs in the manhwa are literally translatable) not for you bitches to go "actually, this shit fucking sucks"
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starsthewitch · 1 year ago
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its time for!! (after like 3 days)
🥁🥁🥁…
STAR! DOES! FACTS!
you miss me? because i did too!!
todays facts will be…
ANCIENT EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY!!
yippee!!
now, let’s get into the facts, shall we?
1. Who were the 9 main gods of Egypt? The nine Ennead gods of Egypt are Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Nephthys. They are the family of Atum the god of the sun, and are the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the sun god, Ra
2. Since Anubis is the god of death, does that make him evil? Actually it doesn’t! The Egyptian people viewed him as a good, protective deity. Anubis was portrayed with the color black, symbolizing regeneration and the Nile river's fertile soil
3. How many total gods were worshipped? There were well over 2,000 gods and goddesses worshipped in Ancient Egyptian mythology!
4. Most gods had the body of a human and the head of an animal! For example, Lady Bastet with her cat head and Sekhmet with her lioness head.
5. Who is the most well known God? That title goes to Amun-Ra, the sun god and also the god of creation. Amun-Ra is also the protector of the pharaoh, who is often depicted as an embodiment of Amun-Ra
6. Are there any lesser known gods? Yes! One of the more lesser known ones are Geb, who is the personification of the earth, god of healing colds, fevers, and scorpion stings. It is said that his laughter supposedly caused earthquakes. 
that is all folks for…
STAR! DOES! FACTS!
tomorrows facts will be about
ROMAN MYTHOLOGY !!
one of my personal favorites
see you all tomorrow!
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dailydemonspotlight · 5 months ago
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Kaiwan - Day 138
Race: Night Arcana: Star Alignment: Neutral-Chaos December 4th, 2024
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Israel's history wasn't always marked by complete Judaism- while it's traditionally seen as God's holy land, rarely any areas were completely dedicated to one religion in history. Small cults would poke out of the cracks, and deities belonging to other groups would often pop up, even in mythologic accounts. One such example of this fact is today's Demon of the Day, one with links to Saturn, Assyria, and Israel's distant past, all demonstrated in the Old Testament- more specifically, the Book of Amos.
Kaiwan is a very obscure and strange figure, only appearing, to my knowledge, once in the entire book, let alone the Old Testament as a whole; its name is derived from the Assyrian word καινἀνυ, meaning the planet Saturn, yet the name was pronounced as "ῥαιφάν." This name is one of the names given to the Egyptian god Geb, who was the god of the Earth and was anglicized as Saturn. This is due to how Geb was essentially one of the primordial gods of the Ancient Egyptian pantheon, being the one who represented the earth while his wife/sister (ew) Nut represented the sky. Saturn, too, was a major figure in Roman mythology, serving as a Titan who represented wealth and abundance, taking the same roles that the god of the Earth would take.
Now, where does this leave Kaiwan? It can be assumed that Kaiwan is, in effect, the same as Geb, simply being the version of Geb worshipped by the sinners of Israel. It could also be seen as possibly being a figure to the god Sikkuth like Geb was to Nut, as the passage that Kaiwan is mentioned in (Amos 5:26) mentions both Kaiwan and Sikkuth. Curiously, in the King James translation of the bible, Sikkuth is translated as Moloch, who was the rather infamous child-sacrificing deity of ancient Babylon in the bible.
The New Testament makes slight reference to Amos 5:26 in Acts 7:42f, as it cites Amos 5:26 and is used in reference to the sins of Israel that Stephen preaches against. Still, as a whole, Kaiwan and, by extend, Sikkuth are mostly kept to the Old Testament and described as a false god worshipped by small cults in Israel. Kaiwan and Sikkuth both are, in effect, the same as Saturn- they may represent different aspects of the god, and they were worshipped after the capture of Israel by Assyria. Both were also, predictably, connected to Babylon, as most false-god things in the Bible are. This could also be where the KJV got the translation of Sikkuth into Moloch from? I'm not too sure, honestly.
Overall, though, while there's not much to go over with Kaiwan itself- it's simply an alternate version of Saturn/Geb worshipped by people in Israel during the Assyrian occupation- the amount of oddities surrounding it and its conflation/relationship with Sikkuth make it an incredibly bizarre demon to look into. Now, as for the Star design, I'm not too sure where it came from outside of the association with Saturn and Space, but it does certainly make it a very recognizable demon right off the bat. Also, the reversed star inside the star does make for a pretty obvious pentagram analogue, tying in to Babylon. Overall, though, this is an incredibly fascinating demon, and I'd honestly recommend you look into it more yourself- maybe you'll find something I missed!
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thoughtfulfoxllama · 8 months ago
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Well, you asked, and I'm answering:
Egyptian Mythology and Mormon Theology: Comparing & Contrasting
This all began when I read the Book of Abraham, obviously. It didn't start with the Facsimiles however, but the Origin Myth of Egypt in Chapter 1, in which Abraham says that Egypt was founded by "Pharaoh," and was built after the order of Adam. But, before I can go on, we have to discuss what myths are
Myths
When you think Myth, you might think of something that's incorrect, such as the Flat Earth. But, in a scholarly sense, myths are stories, specifically linked to how the Divine interacts with mankind, and has lessons for the believer in that myth (often symbolically encoded, like Christ's Parables)
I have several neopagan friends, and most of them are not "mythical literalists," literally believing the myths are true. But, they're still important, because they tell them how their gods interact with Worshippers
On the other hand, the Book of Mormon is a Mythic Text. I believe it is a literal text, but it is also mythic, because it tells how God interacts with man
So, when I say Myth, I am not saying it was literally believed (because it may or may not have been), but I'm also not saying it didn't happen
The Creation
In the beginning, there was only the darkness of Nun (the Waters of Chaos, similar to Guinungagap in Norse Myth, or Matter Unorganized in the Temple Myth). From Nun, emerged Benben, the Home of the Gods. With Benben, came Ra, the God of Light (possibly in the form of Khepri). Ra [redacted because grossness], and from his Nose & Mouth came Shu (the God of Air), and Tefnut (the Goddess of Moisture)
Shu & Tefnut joined together, and bore Nut (the Sky Goddess) and Geb (the Earth God). Nut became pregnant with Quadruplets (or Pentuplets, depending on the Story). Ra forbade Nut from giving birth during the year, and so Nut (possibly using Thoth as an intermediary) won 5 days of light from Konshu (the Moon God), which is where the last 5 days of the year come from
This relates to the Creation Myth we believe in:
From Matter Unorganized comes a Creator, who separates the opposites (whether Wet & Dry and Land & Sky, or Light from Dark and Sea from Sky). Both take primeval Chaos (Isfet), and seek to impose divine Order (Ma'at), knowing it takes constant effort to maintain, and with Chaos seeking to take what is used to have (Entropy in modern terms, depicted by the Chaos Serpent in ancient cultures, such as Apophis in Egyptian Mythology, Tiamat in Babylonian, and Jormangander in Norse)
The Purging
Mankind began to dishonor the gods, leading to Ma'at being lost. Ra, in his rage, tore out his eye and set it upon humanity. This is how Sekhmet was born. She slaughtered anyone who came across her, leading to a flood of blood across the land. To preserve the righteous portion, Ra created Bastet (Goddess of Cats, which were called "Mau" in Egyptian, which is awesome), and sent her to trick Sekhmet into returning. She gave Sekhmet Beer, disguised as blood, and then Ra came to turn her into Hathor (Goddess of Joy, Dance, Motherhood, Beauty, and so on)
Likewise, in Mormon Mythology, we have the Great Flood. The sins of humanity displeased God. God decided to destroy humanity but preserved Noah & his family. One of these children (Ham) had a daughter (Zepta) who founded the Land of Egypt and placed her son on the throne
In both, humanity is left wasted by a Flood because of their sins. Righteous Humans are preserved and offer sacrifice when the disaster abates. A symbol of destruction (the Rainbow & Sekhmet), are turned into symbols of hope (the Rainbow as a promise, and Sekhmet becoming Hathor)
The Great Conflict
Picking up from Creation, Nut has 4 Children: Osiris, Isis, Nepthys, and Set
Osiris essentially civilized humanity. Humans lived as animals, and cannibalism was rampant (in every story I have read, specifically mention cannibalism. I guess the issue is it wasn't Word of Wisdom-approved cannibalism). He created cities, farming, beer, and his inventions stop after that last one...
Set desired the throne, and so had Osiris murdered and mutilated. Isis gathered 13 of the 14 pieces of his body from across Egypt (the 14th had to be remade), creating the mummification process. After a brief reunion, Isis bore Horus
Horus & Set fight several times, and Horus eventually wins the throne (don't ask how. Please)
Now, Osiris acts both as a Christ Metaphor, and an "Adam" Metaphor (Adam in the sense of the Temple Endowment)
Osiris as Christ- Christ is the King of the World. He came to a world where humanity was living out of order and taught them how to live. His brother (Lucifer), jealous of his kingship, had him tortured and killed. However, not only did he come back from the dead, it is through his resurrection that we are all able to be resurrected
Osiris as "Adam"- Abraham directly associated himself with Osiris (as I'll cover when I get to the Facsimiles). In essence, one must die. In ancient Egyptian temples (specifically kingship rituals), one must kill who they were, to become someone new, someone divine
This is in direct relation to the Temple Endowment, where one is ordained to become a king/queen, receives a name (like the Ren, an important part of the Soul in Egyptian Religion), learns about and embodies Adam, enters the Lone & Dreary World (the Land of the Dead), is brought to the Terrestrial World (his resurrection & the conception of Horus, which connects to the Law of Chastity being given here), and then crosses the Veil (becomes King of the Afterlife)
The First Pharaoh
Horus is born to a dead father and has a wicked uncle trying to kill him. He grows up a warrior, with the aid of his mother. His mother, having received the Ren of Ra, has unbelievable power, but is still unable to depose Set. After a display of his... Power, the other gods make him the Pharaoh. The descendants of Horus are the line of Pharaohs
We don't learn the name of the Pharaoh in Abraham, so I will call him Pharaoh. We only know that Pharaoh was a righteous and intelligent individual, but I believe we can piece together a more complete story. Zepta or her husband had a brother (I don't believe in a global flood, so maybe he was an important individual when she arrived, or maybe she fostered his ambition). When he died, the bother sought kingship and probably wanted to kill the pregnant Zepta
In some of the Apocrypha, Ham stole the Garments of Adam & Eve from Noah (and this is why Canan was cursed by Noah). Mayhaps, Zepta got these garments herself (there is a clear connection between the Name we receive in the Initiatory & the Name because we receive them together), and this was her power, and how she was able to crown her son. After all, Adam & Eve both had garments, but we only see where Adam's go (Canan to Nimrod to Esau to Jacob)
Misc
1.) Set works for Ra, keeping Apophis from destroying Ma'at. He is the God of Disorder, but you can't have Ma'at without a little chaos
Brigham Young said that every world has a tempter, and it is necessary for the Agency of Man (Opposition in All Things). And we can see Lucifer obeying God in the Book of Job
2.) The Field of Reeds is the Paradisiacal Afterlife. Everyone has their own plot of land to farm (which is always fruitful), they hang out with their friends & families and often throw feasts
Not only will the Earth become the Celestial Kingdom, and that it will be like it was before the Fall during the Millenium, but we often don't put those 2 together. Everyone gets their own plots to work, we are with our families, and it's not just laying back, but actually working (farming & hunting in the Field of Reeds, creating worlds without number in the Celestial Kingdom)
3.) The Heart of a person is removed by Anubis and weighed against the Feather of Ma'at. One must testify as to their righteousness, and if the heart weighs less than the feather, then one is sufficiently pure
Although not doctrine (in the sense of being in the scriptures or conference), it is a common folk belief in the Church (beginning with the Brad Wilcox talk "His Grace is Sufficient") that we will choose our Degree, based on where we feel comfortable. The Judgement is just our Testimony of who we are, and where we want to go
This post is already too long, so I will make another post for the Facsimilies
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silvereyedowl · 4 months ago
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It's really funny that the most common name for our galaxy comes from what is probably the weirdest origin myth about it.
There are a lot of stories where it's a road: sometimes the path of birds, or the "White Road", or spilled straw or cornmeal.
A lot of people saw it as the "River of Heaven", or something along those lines.
Some Australian Aboriginal peoples see it as a giant emu, based on the shape of the dark nebulae in its band.
In Māori mythology, it's a giant canoe.
The Ancient Egyptians saw it as spilled cow's milk, or possibly the goddess Nut.
To the San people, it was the embers of a fire thrown up to illuminate the sky.
🌟 🌟 🌟
And then there were the Ancient Greeks (and by extension the Romans), who looked at the Milky Way and thought "breast milk".
The most common version of the story goes that Zeus, noted for not being able to keep it in his pants, took his newborn son Heracles to breastfeed off of his wife, Hera (not his mother) while she was sleeping. When she woke up she was surprised and displeased and pulled the baby away, causing a spray of breast milk that became, well, the Milky Way.
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Like I said, definitely the weirdest origin story in my opinion.
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gorjee-art · 1 year ago
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God I love ur art so much I just wanna squeeze it to bits- but anywho- what's your inspiration behind ur designs? By the way the lamb is posed i just- really think of aztec art for some reason, but they're all so cool GRAAAAH
Oh my gosh thank you!! That's so lovely to hear, you've made my day! As for the inspiration of the bishops and lamb, they're a cacophony of a multitude of things. Ancient Egyptian mythology, Ancient Greek mythology, Aztec mythology, The Divine Comedy, and EVEN the bible. Since the cult of the lamb is just drowning in symbology I wanted to really coat it in things that make the bishops look like GODS. Leshy was inspired by Dionysus (whoever guessed that in the tags you were absolutely correct), Heket was inspired by Demeter, Kallamar was inspired by Seth and various mythological sea creatures, and Shamura (you'd be surprised) by The Art of War, not a specific god, but rather philosophers, particularly Miyamoto Musashi who was quite the ruthless samurai turned that retired into a philosopher and painter. Narinder and Lamb are interesting though cause they were inspired by the bible. Narinder was specifically inspired by Moses and their need to correct their past ways and Sisyphus in their long journey of atoning for their sin. Lamb is inspired by a multitude of saints, Saint George and Saint David specifically with of course a healthy dose of death symbology and omens.
Almost everyone in the Cotl fandom views Lamb in a universally similar way, cutely evil or morally grey. To that I say...I don't blame you! The content is dark and grim and Lamb does it all with a smile, but I can't help but think of moments where Lamb...cries, or is scared, even enraged! When your entire kind is seemingly wiped out and you are now dead, a god gives you a promise of abilities to return back to your realm as...better, powerful, with the power to bring back the dead. What else do you really have to lose? A mortal becoming what is essentially a force of nature is so deliciously tragic and must be explored. You are no longer the helpless sack of flesh and bone that was shivering at the sight of your family perishing, you are now death, that can decide to reverse that fate, to right the wrong of your cowardice. Much like a...specific cat trying to right the wrongs of their arrogance.
My muse just-- goes nuts for this stuff, and I'm having a blast just shoving my love of myth and tale into this very silly game.
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celticbotanart · 1 year ago
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Shuffle your favorite playlist and post the first five songs that come up. Then copy/paste this ask to some of your favorite mutuals 💌
I was tagged by @sideadde, thank you so much!! Sid tagged me on my personal blog but I'll just go ahead post this here since it's a music post - this blog has been pretty dead too as I mentioned on my previous post, so this is a good way of posting SOMETHING here, at least. SO, I dont have a favorite-FAVORITE playlist, so I'll just use this opportunity to activate my Brazilian music playlist - accurately named "Tropical Gothic" bc our music is very fun and lively but also a lot of them is more melancholic than y'all from outside might think kkkkkk
Let's do this!
Milton Nascimento - Peixinhos do Mar ("Little Fishes in the Sea")
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Starting strong! The song seems to be an adaptation from folk music and it shows - he says "Who taught me how to swim / It was, oh sailor, it was the little fishes in the sea", which is very whimsical. Then, it goes on and it also mentions how Portuguese came from overseas to Brazil, "bringing gunpowder, lead and bullets, we want to fight wars". You see what they did here, lol
2. Zé Ramalho ft Belchior - Garoto de Aluguel ("Rentboy")
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This one is a huge favorite of mine djkfhdjhgf It goes HARD on the tango, accordion and all, it's just SO good. Zé Ramalho and Belchior (and Milton from the previous track) are like... legends, they are incredibly important figures to the brazilian music history, especially Milton and Belchior, really. I highly recommend going for their stuff if you're interested in more MPB ("Brazilian Popular Music" in Eng)! The song itself, it's literally what it says on the tin lol. It's about this prostitute guy and how he goes on with his life. This one might or might not be in my OC Cassie's playlist kdjfhkdf
3. Nana Caymmi - Flor da Noite ("Night Flower")
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Jfc, this one. So atmospheric, and Nana's voice is very deep and smooth. And the fucking strings in this arrangement???? Iconic and gorgeous AF. It talks about someone reminiscing far into the night about past events, especially about a love that ended long ago. She keeps saying that if the person she loves meets someone else, than her former lover shouldn't talk to this new person about the past, and what's gone. It's such a beautiful song ahhh <3 3. Casa de Caba - Cílio ("Eyelash")
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Oh dang, it's another Brazilian Sea Shanty time! Or at least, that's how I see this one, with all the instruments they use and the vibes. He starts mentioning a bunch of imagery to tell us the character singing is tough and is here to fuck with people in ways they WILL dislike, lol, such as "I'm the eyelash falling in your eye, an eye that cannot see", "An ugly, poorly-made ceramic pot that never breaks"; at the same time he's also "the word that guides you, the caress that comforts you, the delivery food you order and always arrives quickly", haha. Then the chorus, he's pleading: "Janaína, Janaína, Mother of my February, take me back, to the seashore" - Janaína is another name for Iemanjá, or Yemoja, the mother of seas and deity of oceans in many afro-brazilian religions, who came from the Yoruba culture. He mentions February there in the lyrics because Iemanjá is celebrated here on Feb 2nd! :)
5. Margareth Menezes - Faraó ("Pharaoh")
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OH GOD YESSS! Probably the most creative track in here - the music genre is called "Axé" and very based on African / Afro-Brazilian instruments as you'll hear. Here, POWERHOUSE DIVA Margareth Menezes will fucking give you a fast course on literal Egyptian Mythology/History ("The ascension, not even Osiris knew how that happened /The order or submission of His Eye was transformed into true humanity"; "The Epic of Geb's Code, and Nut who gave birth to the stars"; "Osíris asked Isis in marriage / And the evil Seth, full of wrath, assassinated him"); then, she uses that as a way of saying we should look at our African roots in awe and joy, and how the black people is still fighting to this day for basic respect and equality, even originating from the land of legendary kings and queens and golden gods. It's SUCH a powerful song, and it's catchy af. Depending where you are, if you just scream "EU FALEI: FARAÓ!" (I said: Pharaoh!), people WILL answer to you with EEEEE, FARAÓ back lol that's how fucking iconic this one is and I love it so much
Hope you like the songs on this one! <3 Tagging @dravenxivuk @feykiller !
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inspofromancientworld · 14 days ago
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Gods of Antiquity: Vegetation and Agriculture Deities
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Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/unique-forests-2018-3#the-beauty-of-the-amazon-rainforest-covers-multiple-countries-and-is-considered-the-worlds-largest-tropical-rainforest-1
Vegetation yearly performs something that humans cannot, crossing from seeming death in the winter back into life in the spring only to die in the autumn then to repeat the cycle again each year. This repeated crossing of boundaries and the importance of agriculture and plants to people and the animals they live on make these deities critical in many pantheons and often have some type of journey that explains the dormancy of winter. In many cultures, there is an overarching concept of Nature or Earth as a mother, giving life and supporting it.
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Source: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Demeter_mourning_Persephone_1906.jpg
Among the Sumerians and others that followed their tradition, Inanna or Ishtar went to the underworld and the world and everything on it became sterile until she returned to the surface when her consort took her place for half the year. For the Egyptians, Osiris' death and resurrection is echoed by vegetation as well. The Canaanites had Ba'al, who, though associated more with storms, was important to agriculture because he spent the dry summers in the underworld and brought storms with his return to the world so that crops could grow. Demeter, the Greek goddess of the fertility of the earth, and in older versions might even have been the Earth-Mother, forbade things from growing while her daughter Persephone was in the underworld. Xipe-Totec holds connections to both agriculture and warfare as well as several other domains, but his festival on the spring equinox heralded the beginning of the rainy season and growth again.
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Source: https://vsemart.com/russian-artist-andrey-shishkin/
With trees being the source of fruits and nuts as well as wood and shade, they often had their own spirits and gods associated with particular trees, ranging from the animistic belief that all things possess a spiritual essence to gods like Hathor, the Lady of the Sycamore of Old Kingdom Egyptian mythology. Many cultures have an 'old man of the forest', a spirit or god who rules over forests, such as Leshy of Slavic mythology, Metsavana of Estonian mythology, and Tāne-mahuta of Māori mythology.
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talonabraxas · 4 months ago
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Horus 𓄿 Talon Abraxas
Horus (Also Heru-sa-Aset, Hrw, Hr, and Hor-Hekenu) is the falcon-headed god of ancient Egyptian mythology.
Like many other gods the nature of what he was and the legends and stories that went with him changed over the course of history. Horus was an amalgamation of other, related deities, all of whom were sun gods and associated with the royal prerogative and the sky. Because Horus was a combination of other gods, it is rarely correct to refer to "Horus" as Horus was as much a family of related deities (though many had differing parentages) unified in one being; something similar occurs in many Christians' interpretation of the one God who manifests in three parts.
Heru-ur (also called Harmerti) is the oldest version of Horus, and was a falcon creator-god who was known for restraining Apep. His eyes were the sun and the moon; during a new moon, he was blind and was called Mekhenty-er-irty ("he who has no eyes") and upon the return of his sight, he was called Khenty-irty ("he who has eyes"). While blind, Horus was quite dangerous, sometimes attacking his friends after mistaking them for enemies. He was a son of Geb and Nut and was the patron god of Letopolis.
As a child, Horus was called Har-pa-khered ("Horus the child" and called Harpocrates by the Greeks) and was a son of either Osiris and Isis or Banebdjetet and Hatmehit. He was depicted as a naked boy with a finger in his mouth, sitting on a lotus with his mother. In this form, he was a fertility god and was depicted with a cornucopia. Har-pa-Khered became very popular during the time of the Roman Empire, when he was depicted riding a goose or ram (note Banebdjetet, his father, was a ram god).
Later Horus became absolutely aligned as a son of the dead body of Osiris and Isis (alternatively: he emerged from Saosis' acacia tree). This is very often cited as "the" Horus in many scholarly works. In truth, this Horus was called Har-sa-iset or Harsiesis.
As Har-nedj-itef (Harendotes in Greek), Horus was Osiris' bodyguard in the underworld, called the Duat.
As Behedti, Horus was the patron deity of Behdet (cur: Edfu), where he was strongly associated with the falcon.
As Chenti-irti, Horus was a falcon-god of law and order.
Later still he became associated with the sun god Ra where they combined especially at Heliopolis and became Ra-Herekhty (also Ra-Heru-akhety, Her-akhety ("Horus of the two horizons"), Har-em-akhet ("Horus upon the horizon"), Horakhety, Harmachis (Greek)), god of the morning sun.
Anhur was Horus as a union with Shu.
In the 3rd millennium BC, Set became the patron god of the pharaohs (replacing Horus in the form of Har-mau or Harsomtus) after overthrowing Horus in the form of Har-wer or Haroeris. Later a story became popular that Set had killed Horus' father Osiris, and Set was thought of more and more as an evil god. So Har-mau was again made the pharaohs' patron in this myth: A war between Set and Horus ensued, lasting for eighty years. Har-mau tore off one leg and the testicles of Set, who in turn took out Har-mau's left eye (hence he is referred to as "the one-eyed god"). His eye was later returned to him. Horus won the war (with the support of Neith) and became the ruler of Lower and Upper Egypt. Seth was castrated or killed or moved in with Ra and became the voice of thunder.
Horus was the father of the four gods associated with the canopic jars of Egyptian funerary beliefs: Imset, Hapi, Duamutef, and Kebechsenef.
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genericpuff · 1 year ago
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Yo I have to ask because it's been driving me nuts. So I had to read it because I was curious. Have you heard of Ennead? I think it's on Tappytoons and I just had to know what was up with that comic because the ads on FB kept getting so many likes so I paid for it to read at least the first season, plus the art was really nice but I just... wow.
Unless I'm the only one feeling this way I think The Ennead just absolutely butchered Egyptian mythology just as bad if not worse than LO. If you haven't heard of it, it's a BL comic with the love interests being HORUS AND SETH. Yeah, makes no sense. The more I read it the more it felt like the author just wanted a BL story with an Egyptian coat of paint on it.
I can't stress how bad I think this one is. The main couple goals aside it really does the most to make Osiris to be a psychotic abuser who SA'd Seth and while Osiris is the one who basically caused all the chaos and seems to be the main villain Isis blames Seth for his own SA and even abuses his wife and blaming it all on her. She's perfectly aware Osiris caused all this but her revenge is specifically targeting Seth for "Ruining her life" or something like that. It's awful. I don't know why it's so popular. Unless I am missing something????
ngl I constantly forget TappyToons exist, it feels like some weird off-shoot of Tapas haha (I know it's not, those are just The Vibes). Thankfully I don't get those weird webtoons ads as often in my feed anymore, they've been replaced by reels and ads for streetwear brand clothing LMAO
I'm also admittedly not up to snuff on Egyptian mythology, so I can't really pitch in on Ennead's depiction of it, but judging by your take on it it sounds frustrating ! If I ever do check it out I'll definitely come back to this with an actual response but I can't make any promises that I'll be able to make the time for it, sorry ( ; ω ; )
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mask131 · 2 years ago
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Egyptian gods - The Ennead, Seth
To begin this brief and synthetized exploration of the deities and myths of Ancient Egypt, what better start than with the villain of the Ennead, the evil (but quite nuanced) antagonist of the Osirian myth – I am talking, of course, of everybody’s favorite hated god, Seth.
Seth is often compared to Hades from Greek mythology because both are “gods that keep being portrayed by those dumb Americans as a god of evil and the ultimate bad guy when in fact they originally weren’t all bad and just neutral”. Which is partially true… but very partially. Because unlike Hades, who REALLY wasn’t evil, Seth was actually a wicked deity. He was a bad guy, a nasty god, a massive jerk, and, yes, he was quite close to what a “devil” in Egyptian mythology would be.
I) Seth: The uncle that makes everything awkward at parties
Set is one of the four children of Geb, god of the earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky, forming the last generation of the Ennead alongside his brother Osiris and their sisters, Isis and Nephthys. Set married Nephthys, whereas Osiris married Isis. Seth’s most famous role in Egyptian mythology was being the villain of the “legend of Osiris”. Now… given this myth is VERY long I will try to simplify it as much as I can. Also note that the only complete and full record we had of this legend was a Greek translation by Plutarch – which was itself an attempt at compiling the various contradicting Egyptian stories about the Osiris myth. We do have some Egyptians versions of the “Osiris legend”, but they are all fragmentary and incomplete. So let’s try to shorten and simply MASSIVELY this whole mess.
In these early days of the world, the gods still walked on the Earth and ruled over humankind as pharaohs. Geb, the earth-god, was the pharaoh of humanity for a time, but then it came time for him to pass on the crown – and he selected his elder son, Osiris, as the new ruler of the world (the human world being just Egypt, because you know – Egypt is the entire world, of course). Osiris was a good ruler beloved and adored by all – and Seth didn’t like it. Seth was not only a jealous brother who disliked seeing all the love Osiris received, but also a power-hungry god who wanted to be the stole ruler of the world. At least this is the “Cain and Abel” dynamic of the most widespread and popular version of the myth – there are several alternative telling giving other reasons for the animosity between the siblings. Some say Osiris received the good lands of the north of Egypt, with its fertile valley and the Delta, while Seth received the more hostile and arid lands of the south, and Seth disliked this very much. Other claim that Seth actually was trying to get back at Osiris because he had an affair with Nephthys behind Seth’s back. And some make Seth massively petty and say he did all of his vile crimes because Osiris had kicked him once and he felt so humiliated he swore to destroy him…
All in all, Seth decided to take over his brother’s throne, and since Osiris wasn’t going to just nicely give it up, Seth decided to murder him. The Egyptian records we have of the murder all differ and contradict each other: sometimes Seth drowned Osiris in the Nile, other times he cut his body into little pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt, in a third he turned into an animal (a bull or a crocodile) to kill his brother… Plutarch tried to gather all of these stories into one narrative, which became the most famous one: Seth gathered a great number of co-conspirators to get rid of Osiris, threw with them a fake banquet/treacherous feast to which Osiris was invited, there was a game involving trying to see who would fit perfectly into a lavishly-decorated box, and when it came to Osiris’ turn (the box was of course a perfect fit for him), Seth and his allies sealed the coffin with melted lead and threw it into the Nile. But later, when the spies and servants of Seth informed him Isis had discovered her husband’s corpse and hid it in the swamps of the Delta, the treacherous brother took it back, cut into little pieces, and scattered it throughout the Nile (he did so because he knew the tricks of his cunning sister, and he knew she had great magical powers able to resurrect the dead). By cutting the corpse into little pieces, he hoped to destroy him entirely.
Problem is: Osiris left a son behind, young Horus, who was raised secretly by his mother in the swamps. When he came to age, he made himself known to the world and demanded the throne of his father back (since, of course, Seth had usurped it as soon as Osiris “went missing”). Seth, being the wicked uncle that he is, refused to give the throne back – and this started the greatest court case of all of Egypt’s history. A trial organized by a tribunal of the gods, and that went on for more than EIGHTY YEARS to settle the legal question: who, of Seth or Horus, should inherit the throne of Egypt (aka the world)? Technically Horus should have received it, since all of the gods agreed that he was the rightful heir, that his grievances against Seth was legitimate, and that Seth was a very poor ruler compared to the universally beloved Geb and Osiris. But Seth had one massive ally with him: the very president of the séances, the overseer of the entire trial, the Master of the Universe and Creator God, Ra (well I say “Ra”, but note that in the original text the identity of this “Universal Master” is left unclear - for the sake of simplicity I will call him Ra from now on, but know it should technically be “The Master of the Universe”). Every time the gods seem to arrive at a consensus (even the ones where they attempt to please Seth, for example giving the throne to Horus, but offering Seth in compensation two new wives, Anat and Astarte), Ra, who likes Seth and doesn’t want to make an enemy out of him (for reasons I’ll describe later), started again the debate, all so that Seth could obtain the only thing he ever wanted, the sole and absolute power over Egypt. Ra, the supreme master of the universe, even complied to every whim and tantrum of Seth – for example ending up banishing Isis from the debates when Seth grew tired of her constantly defending her son. However Seth’s own flaws lost him: seduced by a beautiful woman he had never seen before, he was so charmed by the sexy temptress that he confessed to her everything. Blinded by his lust, he answered to her questions, revealing that yes, he was the murder of Osiris, and yes, he had no legal right for the throne as Horus was the only true heir. He only realized afterward that the “sexy woman” was none other than Isis in disguise – and this time not even Ra could help Seth, since he had foolishly revealed on his own that he was an usurper and a criminal…
However Seth, always quarrelsome and full of hatred, was ready to stay down even after this legal defeat, and he challenged his newly-crowned nephew to a strange competition: see which of the two would hold their breath the longest under water when turned into hippopotami. During this competition, an incident causes Horus to kill his own mother in a fit of anger. She gets better later, as gods do, but this still makes Horus a criminal in the eyes of Ra, and Seth is of course the first one to volunteer to punish Horus, by removing his eyes (there’s a lot of stories about how, during a challenge or competition or duel, Seth was responsible for removing or destroying one or all of Horus’ eyes, which then became celestial bodies in the sky). This “hippopotami competition” and what ensues is but the first of a series of trials and challenges the two rival gods inflict on each other. The next famous episode is the one of the “homosexual meal” – as Seth and Horus are invited to share a meal, Seth tries and almost succeeds in raping Horus, an action that would have “degraded” his nephew as a weak bottom, so to speak, unfit for the crown, while the dominating, virile, “top” that is Seth would deserve the crown. [If you are familiar with Norse views on homosexuality, we are in a similar case, tops are good, bottoms are bad]. But learning about this, Isis reverse the situation by placing some of Horus’ semen into Seth’s salad (his favorite dish), so that when Seth brings the story in front of the tribunal of the gods, Horus calls forward his semen which manifests itself inside Seth’s belly, making it seem that it was Horus that topped his uncle, thus humiliating him in front of all the deities. In some fragmentary records, the semen actually makes Seth “pregnant” in an abstract way, as he “gives birth” to a golden disk which manifests on his forehead, or is taken by Horus to wear on his forehead. Another fragmentary record also depicts a different origin of the semen incident, as Seth actually expressed honestly his lust for his nephew and asked Horus to have sex with him, something Horus only agreed to if Seth gave him a portion of his divine strength and power – only for Horus to then fall ill, as the semen – especially the one of Seth – was perceived as a toxic, poisonous product by Egyptians). Many more challenges and episodes would be intertwined with this story, such as a boat race in which Horus cheats, prompting Seth to become an hippopotamus to try to kill his nephew, or an episode of Horus emasculating, taking or destroying one or all of his uncle’s testicles…
Ultimately, after more rigged games, mutual humiliations, many co-mutilations, it is said that this endless conflict between the two only ended up when Osiris himself was summoned from the Underworld to give his opinion to the tribunal of the gods concerning the matter… Only for Osiris to explain that it was ridiculous to doubt that Horus, his only son and direct heir, shouldn’t have his throne, that the entire harassment and bullying of the young god was absurd and unfair – and the new ruler of the underworld, doubling as a god of vegetation, ended up with huge threats to the divine court (such as causing massive famines or an invasion of undeads) if his son wasn’t left alone as the legal ruler of Egypt. This is what forced the gods and the Master of the Universe to finally declare Horus as the undisputable divine Pharaoh of Egypt, to forbid Seth from making any more claim to the throne or attempt at taking the crown, and some even say to banish the treacherous murderer to the depths of the desert.
II) Seth, the most ambiguous of the gods
As you can gather from this story, Seth is a bad guy. He is the jealous and bitter brother, the wicked and scheming uncle, the murderer and usurper, the fake king and the rapist. Seth was thought to be a god of all things bad, wicked, dangerous or hostile in Ancient Egypt. He ruled over the desert and sterility, he was the god that caused storms and thunder. He was a god of war and violence, a troublemaker and disturber, the sower of discord and troubler of peace, an herald of disorder and unreason. He symbolized the foreigner and the invader, and all those that were hated and distrusted. The Greeks even identified him to the monster Typhon out of all beings! 
However, Seth isn’t all bad… or rather, wasn’t all bad. We know that there was a process of “demonization” of Seth, who went from an unpleasant and morally-gray deity, to a full on “devil before Christianity”. Take the Osirian myth for example: in the legend of Osiris, Seth is seen as a rival and usurper, opposed to  the “hero/good prince/legal heir” that is Horus, and the conflict is only settled when Horus becomes the absolute ruler and Seth is banished. This is one of the key parts of the Heliopolis cosmogony, the one of the Ennead. BUT in an older theology, the one of Memphis, from the Old Empire, it was implied that Horus and Seth co-ruled over Egypt somehow, since they were the “Two Lords” of which the pharaoh was the heir: from Horus he inherited Lower-Egypt, and from Seth he received Upper-Egypt. Seth was in fact glorified during some eras of Egyptian history, such as the Ramesside era during which numerous shrines and sanctuaries were raised to him near the various oasis, so he could protect them. The various Thutmoses kings had an habit of invoking Seth during times of war, for their army, so he could transmit to the soldier his desire to win and his rage in battle ; and the Ramesside dynasty, originating from Avaris, the sacred town of Seth, (and in general the 19th and 20th dynasties rulers) took the habit of naming themselves “Sethi” in honor of the god. Another sacred town of Seth was Nagada, in Upper Egypt - it was believed that Nagada was the place where Nut (violently and painfully) gave birth to Seth. It seems that in this “original” perception of Seth, he was seen as a “needed evil”, in a “yin and yang” logic: he was the south whereas Horus was the north, and while Egypt had all sorts of pleasant things (Horus) Egyptians themselves recognized it had a lot of dangers that were part of its very nature (Seth). The Egyptians did recognize that disorder and chaos, as manifested by Seth, did exist before the order of Horus, and was needed to maintain some sort of balance - plus, while the desert that Seth personified was thought of as an arid and dangerous place, it also was recognized by the Ancient Egyptians as a source of wealth. The desert was the place that gave Ancient Egypt many of its riches - most notably gold, amethysts and turquoises. So Seth wasn’t all-bad, or rather he was a “necessary evil”. 
However, this glory-age of Seth took an end starting with the Late Period of Egypt, as from a “complementary” god of Horus, the yang to his yin, a key god in the balance of the world, he grew to a hated and reviled figure, and the enemy of the Egyptian gods. Hymns only sung of his defeat at the hands of Horus, his name became the one of a demon and was removed from all sacred texts, and by the 7th century BC, his statues and depictions were being destroyed. It was during this whole era that his association with the “foreigners”, as the god of everything foreign, became honestly xenophobic, since in the Egyptian mind “foreigner” became equivalent to “invader” and “oppressor” thanks to the various political and historical events (the Kushite and Persian Empires and they relationship with Egypt are sometimes invoked).
But one key feature of the “ambiguity” of Seth remained, an element that was even included in the Osirian myth and was invoked as the reason Ra had such a fondness and liking for Seth. Despite seemingly being the god of all things negative and destructive, Seth is actually one of the guardians of the existence of the world – as in, he is one of the protectors of the solar boat. Ra, the sun god, crosses the sky during the day on a boat, and when night falls, still on a boat, he travels throughout the depths of the underworld, until he can reach the surface again (sunrise). This travel into the bowels of the universe is extremely dangerous, as numerous vile beasts, demons and monsters try to attack Ra and his boat, and so Ra needs a whole host of deities to fight by his side during his nocturnal travels. Seth is the most prominent and bravest of those defenders of the Sun – for it is he that, armed with a spear or a knife, faces the monstrous Apophis, a gigantic snake that tries to attack Ra at his weakest with only one goal, devour the Sun so that the world may be plunged into eternal darkness. It is Seth, the warrior-god, that battles ferociously the primordial snake each night to make sure the sun may rise once more, and it is he that kills the beast of darkness each night – only to see the beast resurrect by the next day, and ready to swallow the Sun again… As such, Seth shows that while he might be a murderer, a power-hungry usurper and the divine patron of all rapist uncles, he is still one of the first defenders of the universe, and one of the sacred warriors that fight to prevent the end of all things. He might be the god of hostile and dangerous elements of the world, he still doesn’t seek its destruction. He is the kind of villain that wants to rule over the world, not ruin it. And in a strange, paradoxical double-play, while Seth is the one sowing discord and disorder among the civilization of the gods and the realm of mankind, he is actually during the nocturnal travels in the underworld a champion of order against the primal, world-ending chaos that is Apophis…
III) More weird things
The ambiguity of Seth doesn’t just rely in his mysterious dual role, but also in his very depiction. Seth, like most of the Egyptian gods, is depicted alternatively as a human with the head of an animal, or as said animal fully-bodied. But the animal that represents Seth is so bizarre and so unique that nobody knows exactly WHAT it is. This strange creature is mostly referred today as the “Set animal”, or the “Typhonian beast” (in reference to how Seth is perceived as Typhon by the Ancient Greeks). Many MANY theories and interpretations have been pushed forward. A first theory is that the Set animal was a creature that lived in Ancient Egypt but went extinct today. A second theory is that this animal is actually an artificial creature, invented exclusively to symbolize the disconcerting and disquieting nature of this god of chaos, trouble and stereility. And finally a third theory is that this animal is simply an hyper-stylized depiction of an actual animal. A lot of different options were brought forward: it could be a hyena, a wild dog, a giraffe, an okapi, a fox, a pig, an aardvark... A prominent candidate is the donkey, as we know the donkey was one of the sacred animals of Seth, and the most common beast to sacrifice to him. If you were quite rich or part of the upper-class, the sacrifice rather involved more extravagant or dangerous beast, such as the oryx antelope or an hippopotamus (a beast that, as you can see with the Osirian legend, was strongly tied to Seth, who was said to regularly take his shape). In fact we do have several Late Period depictions of Seth with a donkey head instead of his bizarre Typhonian beast head... But at the same time the Late Period depictions of Seth were quite bizarre and crazy in the middle of this big demonization and censorship-wave ; heck, we have a Late Period depiction of Seth with a FLAMINGO HEAD! Overall the Set animal is still a mystery today, though it only adds to the charm and charisma of this ambiguous god.
Seth was strongly associated with the color red. On top of it being a color of danger and aggression, Seth was also called the “Red Lord” or the “Red God” because he was supposed to rule over the “Red Land”, aka the desert with its burning sands, opposite to the “Black Land” of the “Black Lord”, aka the fertile, silt-filled lands of Horus. Among his many titles were included: Seth gateway to the desert ; Seth powerful-in-his-mighty-arm, or Seth lord of the oasis. In Egyptian astronomy, Seth was associated with the planet Mercury. Final trivia: “Seth” is actually the Ancient Greek spelling and transliteration of the deity’s name. Most of the Egyptian gods we know today by their Greek name – the actual, original Egyptian name of the god would be written Sutekh.
WARNING NOTE: This is by no mean an expert speaking about a well-known subject. It is just a random fan of Egyptian mythology putting together the things he knows, I might be dead wrong, this is just a “here’s what I know” post. There is also a lot of info I cut out for the sake of simplicity.
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