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This page is about the origin of Egyptian gods like Horus and Set and their continuation in Jewish, Muslim and Christian angelology.
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By distortion and blending of myths, some Egyptian gods seem to have several identities.
Take
Ra (Re) for instance, the Falcon headed god
carrying a solar disk surrounded by a serpent on his head; representing the
creational waters; the
creational Light surrounded
by what the Jews would call
Leviathan. Through the ages, he received two identities; one as the
spiritual sun and the other as the physical sun.
Originally he was identified with
Atum,
the creator-god of Heliopolis that was his major cult center. Like the
Sumerian
Anu, Ra was thought to have emerged from Nun
(the Sumerian
Nammu)
by the power of his own will. Two theories concern his ascent from the
primeval waters:
he rose from the primeval waters enclosed around like petals of the lotus
blossom that enfolded about him when he returned at night. Further beliefs were
that Ra hatched from an
egg formed by Ptah. The
echo’s of these beliefs still resound as the Hindu
Egg of Brahma and the mantra “Om mani padme om”
(om- jewel in the Lotus- om).
Ra was said to be the "father of the gods,"
for he was their head and king, as well as the father of humanity, and all
living
creatures that were believed to grow from his blood, sweat or tears, or even his
sperm, that is to say; watery life-giving substances, originating from him; the
waters of Life. It is save to assume
that Ra is the same as Atum, the Hindu god Brahma and
Sumerian god Anu.
Later however, confusion set in and he became mistaken for the physical sun, which led to a strange mix of events and persona’s from different myths rolled into one. Ra became the son of Geb and Nut, (earth and heaven) which would equalize him with Enlil, who also was born from Anu and Ki (spirit/heaven and earth). As the physical sun he was said to have ruled by himself during the "First Time" or golden age. It was an age in Egypt when gods and men peacefully coexisted. However, occasionally the people felt Ra's close inspection was oppressive and rebelled. (Same as happened to Enlil.) It may be here that Jews living in captivity in Egypt and opposed to all polytheism, invented the term Yetzer ha Ra for the evil inclination. There was thought to be the time when Apep, (Apophis) the serpent, conspired with Ra's enemies to kill him at sunrise, but they were defeated in an all day battle. (a Day of Brahma; Day one of the Bible) Apep, known in Jewish myths as the Leviathan, however was more likely to be the “enemy” of the spiritual sun, then of the physical sun.
In order to reconcile these stories with each other it was taught that he was born in the form of a cow (of earth), who was born a calf each morning, grew to a bull (of heaven) by midday, and returned to fertilize his mother as Kamephis ("Bull of his mother"), and died each night, to be reborn as his own son the next morning. Because of these, sometimes incompatible aspects Ra suddenly had an eye with a mind of its own, that could wonder about at will. This Eye of Ra then represented the spiritual sun. There were variants of the story concerning the Eye of Re. One legend was that the Eye was sent by Atum to search for Shu and Tefnut who were lost in the waters of Nun. Being placed on Atum's forehead was the reward for the Eye of Ra. Another story is that The Eye once wondered on its own accord, and Ra sent Thoth, the moon, to fetch it back. Upon returning, the Eye discovered that it had been replaced by another Eye; the physical Sun. Thoth, however, mollified the original Eye, and Ra pacified it by placing it, in the shape of the uraeus serpent, on his brow "where it could rule the whole world." The Eye, or uraeus, would become the effective ruler of the world, and as such would be worn by pharaohs as a symbol of their majesty and their descent from the sun god.
Same
sort of thing happened to
Horus,
(Heru; origin of the word Hero)
the Falcon headed god carrying a double crown on his head
signifying his kingship over all Egypt. The Egyptian word " her"
(hor, har), from which the god's name is
derived means "the one on high", or "the distant one", probably in reference to
the soaring flight of the hunting falcon, if not a reference to the solar aspect
of the god. Horus Behdety was worshipped originally in the western Delta
at Behdet. He was a
son and
heir of Ra
(which makes him a
son of Anu)
a form of Horus that was assimilated into the Heliopolitan system of beliefs yet
not completely identified with Re. Behdety was a defender of Ra during his
earthly kingship against Set. He was usually portrayed as a winged sun-disk or
as a falcon hovering over the Pharaoh during battles. When shown as a
falcon-headed man wearing the double crown he carries a falcon-headed staff, the
weapon he used to defeat Set, from whose name the name Satan is derived.
Horus has seized Set, he has put him beneath you so that he can lift you up. He will groan beneath you as an earthquake. Pyramid Texts, Spell 356
This would equalize him with Michael and also with Enki, the son of Anu, who followed up his brother Enlil as firstborn son to rule the world. Later, when the Osiris cult had become the most important religion, Osiris was elevated to the level of Ra as spiritual Light, and from that moment on, Horus became the son of Osiris in stead of a son of Ra.
Set
(Seth, Setekh, Sut, Sutekh, Suty)
was one of ancient Egypt's earliest gods, a god of chaos, confusion,
earthquakes, thunderstorms, wind, the
desert and foreign lands.
Set,
similar to Amon
actually originated in Libya,
(Amazigh Berbers)
where followers appeared to have worshipped him under crocodile and hippopotamus
fetishes. At first
they
were centered in Upper Egypt but later they spread throughout the country. The
cults of Osiris and Set were existing next to each other until they merged, and
Set became the brother of Osiris.
He was identified with animals, such as
the hippopotamus,
(Behemoth)
the pig
(that each month eats the moon.)
and the
(reddish)
donkey, the crocodiles,
(Leviathans)
turtles
(like Behemoth, symbol of planets in the sea of space)
and scorpions. The scorpion, representing war, death, destruction, chaos and
wickedness, is the antithesis of the scarab which symbolizes life, the sun,
goodness, …and Horus. Because of this, the scarab is sometimes pictured
trampling the scorpion under its feet.
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Scorpio is the eighth sign of the zodiac and rules the period between October 24 and November 22. It was thought to influence the sex organs - so much so that some early Christians believed that sexual temptations were especially hard to resist at this time of year. Hebrews called this constellation Akrab (scorpion) which also means "war." Scorpio, rising at the onset of winter, is generally considered an enemy of the light and solar gods or heroes. He usually is the bad guy in mythology. The constellation of Orion is said to be the image of the Greek giant Orion (known as ShemiAza in Jewish myths), hunting companion of the goddess Artemis. It is said that he forever flees before the scorpion which Apollo, jealous of the attentions his sister paid the hunter, sent to murder him. When he discovered that his father was Helios , Phaeton tried to drive the chariot of the sun uncross the heavens. Scorpio, representing Typhon (Arrogant) lashed out at the misguided steeds causing them to rear and toss the youth nearly out of his chariot. Notice the wordplay; Typhon contra Phaeton. In other versions it is Zeus who even killed Phaeton. This can be interpreted as an excuse for an act of jealousy; Phaeton (Light) the son of his father Helios (Sun) takes over from him but is killed by the current upper god Zeus.
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Probably because of his Libyan origin, he was also believed to have white skin and red hair. Libyans in these days were known for their Aryan light colored skin, blond, reddish hair and even blue eyes.
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Tanmahu, an Egyptian very tall fair-skinned race, probably the Talmai of
Num.13.22, Josh.15.14, descendants of the Anakim,
(Anunaki)
the ´giants´ living in Canaan. Before Europeans discovered them, Canary
Islanders also were Neolithic (farmers), blue-eyed, blond and spoke
Guanche, considered to be a Berber language. Like Berbers,
"Libyans (Hamites)
are pictured upon the tombs of Beni Hassan
as tall and beautiful, with light complexion, blue eyes, and blond hair."
New Standard Bible Dictionary (1926); p234.
As so often; people fear what
they do not understand.
Animals with red, or reddish brown hair or skins, and even red haired men
were supposed to be especially under the influence of
Set,
who was associated by the Greek with Typhon.
Ramesses II (picture), as did his father Seti I, both had |
Set often was accompanied by the Sha, or the “Set animal”. The “Set animal” has long, triangular ears and a long, down-turned snout, a canine-like body with an erect forked tail; a trident actually. It showed great similarity with the Marduk dragon.
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The Marduk dragon or Mushushu originally was the "Pet" of Ninazu, the Sumerian snakegod. It actually served as a bearer of the Spear of Marduk, he used to kill Tiamat (the Planet Nemesis). As such the dragon and the spear resembled the emblem of Enlil; a spear flanked by thunderbolts; the original trident.
Set carries a scepter, which has his head on top and his forked tail (the dragon) at the other end. This scepter itself is a symbol of power; the lightning or electricity that indicates the animal life-force. In time this scepter as an attribute of life-giving power has been adopted by several other gods, Egyptian as well as foreign.
Before he was assembled into the Osiris myth, Set can be traced back all the way to Marduk and Enlil.
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Marduk (Asaluhi, NinAzu or Azael) in fact was a meteor or rogue planet called Nibiru, that crossed the Orion constellation, making havoc there and in our own solar system, causing “gods” to find shelter here on Earth. These gods were the Sumerian Anunaki led by Enlil who became known as the Greek Olympian gods led by Zeus; ‘Zazel, Az-azal, Az who was sent away, and the Egyptian Usiri; Osiris; Asar; Az-sar; prince Az, or the Norwegian Aesir. These gods “descended to Earth” and came from - and/or founded Az-tlan; the land of Az; Atlantis and apparently took over the scepter from Enlil; they became rulers on earth. Behind the scenes Enlil is still pulling the strings as the one holding the TRIDENT; They were the (fallen) angels that descended to earth and fell victim to the Yetzer ha Ra. It is after these events that the Osiris myth developed in which Osiris’ body was spread across fourteen different parts of the world; different parts of the Galaxy. |
In the Osiris myth, Set was the third of five children of Nut, thought to have been born in the Nubt (Naqada) area. Instead of being born in the normal manner he tore himself violently from his mother's womb.
You whom the pregnant goddess brought forth when you clove the night in twain -
You are invested with the form of Set, who broke out in violence. Pyramid Texts
A similar story is told about Enlil the Sumerian Uppergod.
Thus he summons his Might from within, and manifests without as a Great Wind. Focused, Penetrating, Directed, Enlil's might cuts through An's and Ki's embrace, on through the fluid body of Mother Nammu. A roar, a Bang is then heard, and so are the Bull of Heaven and Cow of Earth once and for all separated. Before all befores.
This story of a violent birth has its echo in the teachings of Zoroaster (Zarathustra) who said that, both Ahriman (Satan) and Ahura Mazda (Ormazd) were offspring of Zervan Akarana, who had vowed that the firstborn should reign as king. Ahriman thus ripped open his mother's womb, and Zervan pronounced that he should rule, but only for nine thousand years, after which period his twin brother should reign in his place.
The same thing is said about Typhon by the Greek.
On the third day Typhon was born, but not in due season or manner, but with a blow he broke through his mother's side and leapt forth. De Iside et Osiride; Plutarch, Moralia
Another name for Satan is Saklataboth.
.
"The first whom we created we named Saklataboth, which means 'the one who disturbs the heaven and earth.' We established him in command of all the armies (hosts) which we created, and they all obeyed him. Seven Cherubim were with him and sang hymns with him in honor of the holy Trinity, which is perfect. I, my father, and the Holy Spirit while the angels called him: 'the firstborn of the hands of God.' Enthronement of the Archangel Michael
.
It is obvious that the name Satan is derived from the name of Set (Set-an). Set was the same one as Enlil and Ahriman, the Hindu destroyer god Shiva (the Jeeva; the animal soul) and the Atlantean god Poseidon.
Poseidon was incorporated in Greek myths as the brother of Zeus, in a similar way that Set was incorporated in Egyptian myths as the brother of Osiris. Like Shiva, Enlil and Set he is responsible for Earthquakes, storms and floods, which makes him Lord over the waters but also endows him with power over the Earth. Poseidon, the ruler of the sea; the primordial creational waters, became a powerful god in Greek mythology who was also called the "Earth-shaker." This is because Poseidon (husband of wheat, the way Enlil was married to Ninlil, the goddess of wheat) originally was a Libyan upper god.
Moreover the naming of almost all the gods has come to Hellas (Greek) from Egypt:
for that it has come from the Barbarians (Berbers; Amazigh) I find by inquiry is true,
and I am of opinion that most probably it has come from Egypt,
because, except in the case of Poseidon and the Dioscuroi (in accordance with that which I have said before),
and also of Hera and Hestia and Themis and the Charites and Nereď,
the Egyptians have had the names of all the other gods in their country for all time.
What I say here is that which the Egyptians think themselves:
but as for the gods whose names they profess that they do not know,
these I think received their naming from the Pelasgians,
except Poseidon; but about this god the Hellenes learnt from the Libyans,
for no people except the Libyans have had the name of Poseidon from the first and have paid honour to this god always.
Herodotus, Histories, Euterpe 2;50.
When Zeus (‘Zazel, Az-azal) was elevated to King of the gods, Poseidon was fit in as a his brother. Zeus took over the kingship from Cronos, the way in Babylonian mythology Marduk (Asaluhi, NinAzu, Azael) took over the scepter from Enlil, and the way Osiris (Uziri, Az-sar, Azael) took it over from Set.
Set originally was regarded as an equal to the hawk god. This was Horus the Elder, a god of the day sky while Set was seen as a god of the night sky. They sometimes even were pictured as one figure with two heads, showing that they were two aspects of one entity.
Still Set was defeated by Horus and imprisoned in the earth.
Horus has seized Set, he has put him beneath you so that he can lift you up.
He will groan beneath you as an earthquake...
Pyramid Texts, Spell 356
.
This makes Set into an Earth shaker. Horus the Elder and Set were incorporated in Jewish mythology as Michael, who rules the Day, the Sabbath and Samael who rules the Night, Zebul. Or better yet, with Michael; Sabbathiel and Satan; Zebuliel or Beelzebul. It is well known of course that Michael defeated Satan and threw him out of Heaven and took over his job.
And there
was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels going
out to the fight with the dragon; .
and the dragon and his angels made war,
And they were overcome, and there was
no more place for them in heaven.
And the
great dragon
was forced down,
the old snake,
who is
named
the Evil One
and Satan,
by whom all the earth is turned from the right way;
he was forced down to the earth, and his angels were forced down with him. Rev. 12;7
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.
To Michael likewise the Lord said, Go and announce his crime to Shemi-Aza,
and to the others who are with him, who have been associated with women,
that they might be polluted with all their impurity.
And when all their sons shall be slain, when they shall see the perdition of their beloved,
bind them for seventy generations underneath the earth, even to the day of judgment,
and of consummation, until the judgment, the effect of which will last for ever, be completed. 1Enoch 10;12 (15)
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"At that moment he took a great, strong angel named Michael.
He enthroned him on the throne in place of the Firstborn.
And the entire splendor which had been taken from Mastema (enmity) was given to Michael:
the diadem of the light of joy was placed on Michael's head.
The staff of righteousness was given to Michael."
Coptic encomium on Michael, attributed to Chrysostom, (Paris 131(1),43)
From W.E. Crum, "Texts Attributed to Peter of Alexandria" Journal of Theological Studies 4 (1903) p. 396‑97 n. 3.
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The Romans borrowed from the Greek, the Greek borrowed from the Egyptians, the Egyptians from the Amazigh-Berbers and the Assyrians, and they again had their roots in Sumer where it all started. Horus contra Set, or Michael contra Satan lead us back to Enki taking over from Enlil. They were both sons of Holy An, the Holy Spirit. One the Firstborn in time, the other the Firstborn by matrilineal right.
Enki, the king of the Abzu (Portal of Wisdom), justly praises himself in his majesty:
"My father, the king of heaven and earth, made me famous in heaven and earth.
My elder brother, the king of all the lands, gathered up all the divine powers and placed them in my hand.
I am the good semen, begotten by a wild bull, I am the first born of AN. ...
I am the leader of the Anuna gods.
I was born as the firstborn son of holy AN. (Holy Spirit)"
Enki
and the world order, 61-80
.
Set originally was a good god; a defender of Ra. It was he who defended the Solar Barque each night as it traveled through the underworld, he was the only Egyptian deity who could kill the serpent/Leviathan Apep - Ra's most dangerous enemy - each night as it threatened to swallow the Barque.
Then Set, the strong one, the son of Nut, said
"As for me, I am Set, the strongest of the Divine Company.
Every day I slay the enemy of Ra when I stand at the helm of the Barque of Millions of Years,
which no other god dare do."
Eg. Book of the Dead
Even here, though, Set was thought to be a braggart, taunting Ra and threatening that if he wasn't treated well, that he would bring storms and thunder against the sun god. At this point in The Book of the Dead, Ra drives Set away from the Barque for his insolence, and proceeds on course without the god of storms.
He used to be Enlil, a brilliant and good angel; the King of the gods, at one time the most important of all powers because he was "life" itself and nothing happens without life. Animal life precedes intelligent life. The animal body precedes the spiritual body.
An animal body is sown, a spiritual body is raised. 1Co 15:44
Set stood on the Barque defeating the enemy of
Ra; the
Leviathan
Apep; dead matter surrounding the source. He speared Apep, the
Leviathan, the "snake of matter" with
his spear of life-force, which later became pictured as a spear piercing a
snake; a symbol that gradually was altered into a
Trident.
Set cleared the path for Ra with his power;
Set-On,
the power of Set,
that became known as "Satan" in Hebrew terminology. Satan originally was a
splendid and good angel. Life spread expansionary throughout the universe, and gradually
evolved into intelligent life-forms that were bright enough to realize that
there must be a God creating it all. The more intelligent these life-forms
(like Mankind) became however, the more the concept of good and evil
became clear; the tree of knowledge of good and bad; the freedom of mind to do
right or wrong. The more intelligent we become, the more the intention
might grow to do the right thing on one hand, but the more susceptible we are to
the gunas, the urges inherent to material life on the other. It is a
choice each one of us has to make.
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==> Continue
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Sources: http://touregypt.net/godsofegypt
Cotterell, Arthur, A Dictionary of World Mythology, New York, G. P. Putman's Sons, 1980, pp. 34-41, 46
Grimal, Pierre, Larousse World Mythology, Secaucus, New Jersey, Chartwell Books, 1965, pp. 30-33, 63-67
Ions, Veronuca, Egyptian Mythology, Feltham, Middlesex, Hamlyn Publishing Group, Ltd., 1968. p. 41-46, 67-68
Guiley, Rosemary Ellen, Harper's Encyclopedia of Mystical and Paranormal Experience, New York: HarperCollins, 1991, p. 197
Jordan, Michael, Encyclopedia of Gods, New York, Facts On File, Inc. 1993, p. 107, 233
red hair