Seth

Meet the ancient Egyptian god of storms and chaos - Seth! This god, equated with evil, was the son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, and was depicted with lily-white skin and red hair or as a brutish animal like a pig or an ass. Seth was a wild character ever jealous of his older brother, the god Osiris.

Seth's most important story in Egyptian mythology tells of how he murdered Osiris then scattered the parts of his body so that he could take over the throne of Egypt. But unbeknownst to Seth, the goddess Isis, Osiris' wife, was pregnant. She gave birth to the god Horus and nursed him, and raised him secretly to keep him hidden from Seth's wrath. Occasionally Osiris himself left the underworld to instruct his son in the ways of war. Then, when Horus was old enough and well trained he made himself known to Seth. He challenged the evil god to a battle to avenge his father's death and won!

And so Horus, son of Osiris, was proclaimed king of Egypt. Seth naturally contested this decision, arguing before the gods that he alone was strong enough and brave enough to protect Ra, the mighty sun god, so he should have the throne. Seth managed to sway some of the gods to his side but Isis won them back to realize that Horus was the true king. Horus' case was soon further strengthened when the gods decided to consult Osiris himself in the underworld and he demanded to know why his son was not on the throne. He threatened to unleash demons on them if Horus was not crowned. And so Ra, supreme god, proclaimed Horus king of Egypt.

This story ends in different ways. One way is that Seth then went to live in the sky with Ra. Another story says that Seth was then condemned to carry Osiris on his shoulders for eternity for his wickedness. And yet another less harsh story says that the goddess Neith proposed that Seth should be given the two foreign goddesses Anat and Astarte as wives to console him for losing the throne of Egypt to Horus. Not a bad consolation prize eh, considering that Seth was already married to the goddess Nephthys, Isis' sister.

Seth was not always considered an evil god. In fact, he was quite widely worshiped in prehistoric times. Over time Seth became equated with evil and the desert as he represented the wild and harsh aspect of the natural world, such was his character.

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