Set (deity)
The earliest representations of what might be the Set animal come from a tomb dating to the Amratian culture, also known as Naqada I, which existed between 3790 and 3500 BCE. This identification remains uncertain among scholars today. If those early images are ruled out, then the first clear appearance of the Set animal appears on a ceremonial macehead belonging to Scorpion II. Scorpion II was a ruler during the Naqada III phase of prehistoric Egypt. The head and forked tail of this creature appear clearly on that stone artifact. The meaning of his name is unknown, but it is thought to have been originally pronounced sūti with a guttural sound at the end. Egyptian hieroglyphs spell his name as st or swt. Late Egyptian spellings like st reflect changes in how people spoke the word over time. Eventually, the final consonant disappeared entirely, leaving spellings like swtj. The Coptic form of the name became Sēt, which serves as the basis for the English vocalization we use today.
In the Osiris myth, the most important story in ancient Egyptian religion, Set is portrayed as the usurper who murdered and mutilated his own brother, Osiris. Osiris's sister-wife, Isis, reassembled his corpse and resurrected her dead husband with help from the goddess Nephthys. The resurrection lasted long enough for them to conceive their son and heir, Horus. Horus sought revenge upon Set, and many myths describe their conflicts. An important element of Set's mythology was his conflict with his brother or nephew, Horus, for the throne of Egypt. The contest between them is often violent but also described as a legal judgment before the Ennead, an assembled group of deities. The judge in this trial may be Geb, who held the throne before they did, or it may be Ra or Atum, the originators of kingship. Thoth frequently acts as a conciliator in the dispute or as an assistant to the divine judge. In Contendings, Isis uses her cunning and magical power to aid her son. The rivalry of Horus and Set is portrayed in two contrasting ways that appear as early as the Pyramid Texts.
In art, Set is usually depicted as an enigmatic creature referred to by Egyptologists as the Set animal. This beast is not identified with any known animal, although it could resemble a Saluki, aardvark, African wild dog, donkey, hyena, jackal, pig, antelope, giraffe, or fennec fox. The animal has a downward curving snout, long ears with squared-off ends, and a thin forked tail with sprouted fur tufts in an inverted arrow shape. Sometimes, Set is depicted as a human with the distinctive head. Some early Egyptologists proposed that it was a stylized representation of the giraffe due to large flat-topped horns corresponding to ossicones. The Egyptians themselves used distinct depictions for the giraffe and the Set animal. During the Late Period, Set is usually depicted as a donkey or as a man with the head of a donkey. In the Book of the Faiyum, Set is depicted with a flamingo head. The word for donkey, written as aa, was determined with a Set animal. Set and the donkey were increasingly called Typhon in the late period.
During the Second Intermediate Period between 1650 and 1550 BCE, a group of Near Eastern peoples known as the Hyksos gained control of Lower Egypt. They ruled the Nile Delta from Avaris and chose Set as their patron deity. Originally Upper Egypt's chief god, Set became worshiped as the chief god once again by these foreign rulers. The Hyksos King Apophis is recorded as worshiping Set exclusively according to historical accounts. Jan Assmann argues that because ancient Egyptians could never conceive of a lonely god lacking personality, Set represented a manifestation of evil when worshiped alone. When Ahmose I overthrew the Hyksos and expelled them, Egyptian attitudes toward Asiatic foreigners became xenophobic. Royal propaganda discredited the period of Hyksos rule. The Set cult at Avaris flourished nevertheless, and the Egyptian garrison stationed there became part of the priesthood of Set. The founder of the Nineteenth Dynasty, Ramesses I, came from a military family from Avaris with strong ties to the priesthood of Set. Several Ramesside kings were named after the god, most notably Seti I meaning man of Set and Setnakht meaning Set is strong.
According to Herman te Velde, the demonization of Set took place after Egypt's conquest by several foreign nations in the Third Intermediate and Late Periods. Set had traditionally been the god of foreigners, so he also became associated with foreign oppressors including Kushite and Persian empires. It was during this time that Set was particularly vilified, and his defeat by Horus widely celebrated. Set's negative aspects were emphasized during this period as the killer of Osiris who hacked Osiris body into pieces and dispersed it. Greeks later associated Set with Typhon and Yahweh, describing them as monstrous forces of raging nature. They depicted all three as donkey-like creatures, classifying their worshippers as onolatrists. Set and Typhon both had sons of deities representing Earth who attacked principal deities like Osiris for Set or Zeus for Typhon. Throughout this period, in some outlying regions of Egypt, Set was still regarded as the heroic chief deity. Ancient Egyptologist Dr. Kara Cooney shot an episode called The Birth of the Devil in the Out of Egypt documentary series where she describes the process of demonizing Set.
Set was worshipped at temples of Ombos near Naqada and Ombos near Kom Ombo, at Oxyrhynchus in Middle Egypt, and also in part of the Fayyum area. More specifically, Set was worshipped in the relatively large metropolitan locale of Sepermeru especially during the Ramesside Period. There, Set was honored with an important temple called the House of Set Lord of Sepermeru. One epithet of this town was gateway to the desert fitting well with Set's role as a deity of frontier regions. At Sepermeru, Set's temple enclosure included a small secondary shrine called The House of Seth Powerful-Is-His-Mighty-Arm. Ramesses II himself built or modified a second land-owning temple for Nephthys called The House of Nephthys of Ramesses-Meriamun. Papyrus Bologna preserves a most irritable complaint lodged by one Pra'em-hab Prophet of the House of Set in the now-lost town of Punodjem. In the text, the harried Pra'em-hab laments undue taxation for his own temple and responsibility for ships and district temples. Nothing is known about particular theologies of closely connected Set and Nephthys temples in these districts.
Set in modern religious contexts is recognized primarily through Kemetism and the Temple of Set. Kemetism is a modern revival of ancient Egyptian religion acknowledging Set as complex deity associated with chaos storms and warfare yet also protector against serpent Apep. The Temple of Set founded in 1975 venerates Set as figure of isolation and self-deification emphasizing personal enlightenment and exploration of left-hand path. In television series Doctor Who, Set using name Sutekh and portrayed by Gabriel Woolf is depicted as alien entity bent on destroying all life. He first appears in 1975 serial Pyramids of Mars where he schemes to escape an Egyptian pyramid imprisoned there millennia ago by Horus. Sutekh returned after nearly 50 years in 2024 Series 14 two-part finale The Legend of Ruby Sunday Empire of Death as God of Death in Pantheon. In recent digital reinterpretations of mythological figures, Set has appeared in small-scale mythology documentation websites and community archives. An anonymous author wrote Set as War God in Modern Digital Culture published the 7th of May 2025 and accessed the 9th of May 2025.
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Common questions
When did the earliest representations of Set appear in Egyptian history?
The earliest representations of what might be the Set animal come from a tomb dating to the Amratian culture, which existed between 3790 and 3500 BCE. If those early images are ruled out, then the first clear appearance of the Set animal appears on a ceremonial macehead belonging to Scorpion II during the Naqada III phase.
What is the meaning of the name Set in ancient Egypt?
The meaning of his name is unknown, but it is thought to have been originally pronounced sūti with a guttural sound at the end. Egyptian hieroglyphs spell his name as st or swt, and late Egyptian spellings like st reflect changes in how people spoke the word over time until the final consonant disappeared entirely.
How was Set depicted in ancient Egyptian art compared to other animals?
Set is usually depicted as an enigmatic creature referred to by Egyptologists as the Set animal, which has a downward curving snout, long ears with squared-off ends, and a thin forked tail with sprouted fur tufts. This beast is not identified with any known animal, although it could resemble a Saluki, aardvark, African wild dog, donkey, hyena, jackal, pig, antelope, giraffe, or fennec fox.
Why did the worship of Set decline after the Second Intermediate Period?
According to Herman te Velde, the demonization of Set took place after Egypt's conquest by several foreign nations in the Third Intermediate and Late Periods. Set had traditionally been the god of foreigners, so he also became associated with foreign oppressors including Kushite and Persian empires while his negative aspects were emphasized during this period.
Where were the main temples dedicated to Set located in ancient Egypt?
Set was worshipped at temples of Ombos near Naqada and Ombos near Kom Ombo, at Oxyrhynchus in Middle Egypt, and also in part of the Fayyum area. More specifically, Set was worshipped in the relatively large metropolitan locale of Sepermeru especially during the Ramesside Period where an important temple called the House of Set Lord of Sepermeru stood.
When was the Temple of Set founded and what does it teach about Set today?
The Temple of Set founded in 1975 venerates Set as figure of isolation and self-deification emphasizing personal enlightenment and exploration of left-hand path. Kemetism is a modern revival of ancient Egyptian religion acknowledging Set as complex deity associated with chaos storms and warfare yet also protector against serpent Apep.