Monday, February 25, 2013

Seth Misunderstood?

Seth – A Misrepresented God in the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon?
Philip John Turner.
ISBN 9781407310848. £25.00.
114 pages; 18 figures.

This study examines aspects of Seth which suggest that throughout Egyptian
history he was continually worshipped and indeed, at times, enjoyed some
prominence, notably in the Pre- and early-Dynastic periods, during the
Hyksos interlude of the Second Intermediate Period and during the Ramesside
era of the 19th and 20th Dynasties. Whilst previous authors have devoted
some scholarship to these various aspects of Seth there have been very few
attempts to bring all these together and to demonstrate that rather than
being something of an ‘outsider’ to the Egyptian pantheon, he actually had
an important role within it, and as such was continually worshipped
throughout ancient Egyptian history. In sum, the author examines the role of
Seth as he was perceived by the Ancient Egyptians at specific times
throughout their history. To achieve this aim a chronological approach is
taken beginning with Seth’s role in Predynastic Egyptian religion and then
progressing through the early Dynastic and Old Kingdom, the First
Intermediate period and the Middle Kingdom, the Second Intermediate Period,
the New Kingdom, the Third Intermediate Period, the Late Period, and
culminating with the Graeco-Roman Period up to the death of Cleopatra.