Property of Sekhmet

Somewhere - and I am determined to find it again - I read that Apophis has one redeeming feature: that when it comes time for the cosmos to end, he's involved in the necessary process of destruction. That gives him a positive cosmic role, much as Set has a positive role in warding off Apophis's nightly attacks on the sun god. I mentioned this idea on Tumblr, provoking a great deal of alarm and warning that Apophis is strictly off-limits, which has only prompted me to start a little research project on the wriggly fucker. :) ETA: Eventually I figured out what I'd misremembered: Atum destroying creation and turning into a snake in BD 175.

Assmann, Jan. "The Iconography of the Solar Journey". In Egyptian solar religion in the New Kingdom: Re, Amun and the crisis of polytheism. London ; New York : Kegan Paul International ; New York : Distributed by Columbia University Press, 1995.

Apophis takes a thorough beating each time he attacks the sun-god, with numerous gods participating. In The Book of the Day, the fight is on at noon and through the early afternoon (the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth hours). The battle is, naturally, referred to in language that "presupposes" the good guys win: "It is not the struggle that is represented here, but the state of the enemy defeated and harmony restored." The sun-god himself doesn't engage; Apophis is fought off with Isis's magic and Set's spear (or by Thoth's knife). The sun-god's protective uraeus spits fire at it, which Assmann connects to the noon heat of the sun and to sacrifice. The victory is less like a show of force, writes Assmann, and more like the execution of a judgement.

The place where the battle takes places is called the "sandbank", which Assmann connects to the Egyptian word for midday: "standstill". Apophis, as snake or turtle, has swallowed up all the water, leaving the solar barque high and dry; Seth stabbing Apophis forces him to vomit up the water so that the boat can be on its way. This "sandbank of Apophis" was also used as an expression for drought and famine: the stranding of the barque symbolises not just the daily battle, but any crisis which threatens life ("famine, disease, sickness, snake bite, uprising, war etc.") Hence spells which treat a scorpion sting or what-have-you as a cosmic disruption. There are also spells against Set' disruptive activities which invoke the same image of the stranding on the sandbank.

The victory is followed by general jubilation; Assmann quotes a celebration from the Book of the Dead of Nedjmet, and remarks that "Overcoming the obstacle of the sandbank means the salvation of Nedjmet."

Borghouts, J. F. The Evil Eye of Apopis. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 59 (Aug., 1973), pp. 114-150.

Another standstill is prompted by Apophis's hypnotic gaze. In the Coffin Texts (and in the Book of the Dead Chapter 108), when the solar barque comes in the evening to the mountain of B3ẖw, it encounters a thirty-cubit long snake (somewhere in the vicinity of 150 metres. Whew!). "A standstill comes about among the crew / and a great bewilderment (sgw.t) during the course." Boasting of his great magic, Set counters Apophis's gaze: "You who see from afar, / just close your eye!" (In Behind Closed Eyes, Kasia Maria Szpakowska describes this moment thus: "he was commanded to cease his malign gawking"). Borghouts notes that this is amongst the earliest examples of Set's positive role as the sun-god's protector. Also, he suggests that what's happening here is Apophis's attempt to steal or harm the Eye of Re with the use of his own eye. He discusses various other texts and spells which refer to the serpent's "face" (gaze) and to blinding him.

Discussing an image of Wnty (a frequent name for Apophis) in the form of a crocodile in the tomb of Ramesses IX, Borghouts notes that he's more usually associated with the tortoise and the scorpion. This crocodile figure vomits up the Eye of Re. Strikingly, this seems to be a positive role for Apophis: "The crocodile rather represents divine being, a kind of equal of Re, and the latter rejuvenates himself passing through its body. It looks like Re meeting his other, chaotic counterpart, but without feelings of enmity; is it the depth and the primeval surroundings meeting-place which annihilate the contrasts?" The serpents W3mmty, equated with Apophis, has a positive role, guarding the resting-places of the gods. The Nḥb-k3w and Ḏsr-tp serpents are ambiguous, sometimes equated with Apophis, at other times beneficent.

Finally, the ritual game where pharaoh hits a ball before a goddess has been interpreted as deflecting Apophis's eye! Significantly, it's done before Hathor, Tefnut, and Sekhmet - the Eye of Re.

Faulkner, R. O. The Bremner-Rhind Papyrus: III: D. The Book of Overthrowing 'Apep. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Dec., 1937), pp. 166-185
-- The Bremner-Rhind Papyrus: IV. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 24, No. 1 (Jun., 1938), pp. 41-53

I can't write a better introduction than Faulkner's: "The main purpose of these texts is the magical protection sun-god in his daily course across the sky from the attacks of the storm demon ʿApep... but they are secondarily directed to the protection of Pharaoh, the earthly representative of the solar divinity, from his foes also, 'whether dead or alive'." Significant passages, and the names of malevolent creatures, are written in red (though so is the name of Set, who acts as the sun-god's defender). Spells spit on, trample, spear, bind, stab, and set fire to Apophis; he is burned in effigy (drawn in green ink - interesting) both to ward off his attack on the barque and to prevent thunder-storms (I wonder if this signifies some connection with that other cosmic enemy, Set?). 

Quite a lot of telling Apophis to fall down, fall on his face, etc, which I suppose suggests the serpent is rearing up to attack. Sekhmet does a lot of burning, as do Wepes (Wepset?) and Pakhet, amongst others. In fact, Apophis is so comprehensively annihilated that it's surprising he keeps coming back for more. Given that so much of the spells is directed not at Apophis, but at the foes of pharaoh, I wonder if Apophis in fact symbolises those enemies -- and with the king of Egypt the lynchpin of cosmic order, those enemies must be constantly "annihilated" -- thoroughly defeated.

(Also in this papyrus: Re tells the story of creation, including his generation of Shu and Tefnut, their returning to him his Eye (or the Eye returning them to him, in a variation), and the creation of humanity from his tears.)

Morenz, Ludwig D. On the Origin, Name, and Nature of an Ancient Egyptian Anti‐God. Journal of Near Eastern Studies, Vol. 63, No. 3 (July 2004), pp. 201-205.

As it turns out, Apophis doesn't even turn up until the First Intermediate Period (as far as we know); the earliest attestation we have comes from a Ninth Dynasty tomb which mentions "the sandbank of Apophis". The practice of "mutilating" his name begins later, with the Coffin Texts (where it is apparently inconsistent), in which he increasingly appears during the Middle Kingdom. (Morenz suggests he might have been around before this in popular religion, and was incorporated into elite theology at this time.)

Apophis was not referred to as a god, and did not receive cult (and was therefore not represented by statues, though of course he routinely appears in art, eg tomb paintings). He dwelt in water (compare similar Ancient Near Eastern water monsters, such as Leviathan). His name, ʿ3pp, means something like "great babbler": he makes noise, but it is "anticommunication", just roaring or meaningless shouting. "Apophis is just noisy," remarks Morenz. (Interestingly, he also notes that the language of the gods was transcendent, something "transhuman".)

Pinch, Geraldine. Egyptian Mythology. Oxford University Press, 2002.

"Apophis was first mentioned in the twenty-first century BCE. A much later creation myth explained that Apophis sprang from the saliva of the goddess Neith when she was still in the primeval waters. Her spit became a snake 120 yards long." (This is the creation myth from Esna.) ETA: According to Mpay Kemboly, it was Re's spit, not Neith's.

Jan Zandee's Death as an Enemy gives numerous examples of Apophis being restrained and/or punished.

Falsone, Gioacchino. "Anath or Astarte? A Phoenician Bronze Statuette of the Smiting Goddess". in Religio Phoenicia: acta colloquii Namurcensis habiti diebus 14 et 15 mensis Decembris anni 1984. Namur, Société des études classiques, 1986.

This article discusses the rare bronze figurines of goddesses in the "smiting god" pose - left foot forward, both arms bent 90°, right one raised, weapons held in both hands (usually lost). The particular statue being discussed also wears the Isis/Hathor horned sundisc, which other Syro-Palestinian goddesses wear (possibly including Anat) but "in a peaceful attitude".

"Athtart (Ashtart/Astarte) is less often mentioned and more obscure [than Anat], but may have had some similar functions. Some scholars have stressed her war attitude and her roles in hunting and chariotry. Later she becomes more sensual and less warlike. In the Iron Age, in fact, Anath seems to disappear or, at any rate, loses her importance, while Astarte assumes her functions and becomes the chief female deity of the Phoenician pantheon." (p 74)

te Velde, Herman. Seth, God of Confusion: a study of his role in Egyptian mythology and religion. 2nd ed. Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1977.

Gardiner, Alan H. Hieratic papyri in the British Museum. Third series, Chester Beatty gift. London, British Museum, 1935.

Dawson, Warren (1936). Observations on Ch. Beatty Papyri VII, VIII and XII. Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 22, 1936, pp 106–108.

In the Contendings of Horus and Set, the goddess Neith suggests that Set be married off to Anat and Astarte, while Horus gets the throne. "However," remarks te Velde, "the gods do not entertain this proposal."

However, Set is linked sexually with Anat in Papyrus Chester Beatty VII, which possibly tells the story of Set raping (?) Anat while she was bathing, and how "the poison" ("the same Egyptian word was often used for 'seed', 'semen', and both senses are here intended together", remarks Gardiner) went up to his own forehead, making him sick. Anat begs Re to save Set. Re addresses her as "'Anat the divine, she the victorious, a woman acting as a warrior, clad as men and girt as women", and says ("cryptically"): "[Is it not?] a childish punishment (for?) the seed-poison put upon the wife of the god above [ie, Re] that he should copulate with her(?) in fire and open her(?) with a chisel?" In the end Isis arrives in the form of "a Nubian woman" and heals Set (and thus the patient, afflicted by scorpion poison).

te Velde notes that Set has sex with 'Anat "who 'is dressed like man'", and quotes W.R. Dawson in a footnote: "The method by which Seth took his pleasure of 'Anat is interesting, as it further illustrates his already well-known homosexual tendencies." (p 37) However, both authors seem to be assuming that Anat was bathing fully clothed. ETA: Dawson's point is that Anat was on her hands and knees; otherwise, she would have drowned. But he also concedes that it wasn't anal sex, since "defloration resulted". tl;dr Egyptologists are weird.

Gardiner: "That 'Anat became the consort of Seth is also implied by the obelisk of Tanis", on which Anat is called "the great cow(?) of Seth". (p 62)

There are Amduat images over at my Tumblr, dwellerinthelibrary, which focusses on mythology, especially the irresistable visuals of Ancient Egypt. (I can see have a bit of tidying up work to do over there, though!)

The cosmic drama comes to its climax in the seventh hour, as Apophis tries to stop the sun-boat, preventing the sun-god's rebirth and "repeat[ing] the murder of Osiris". (And this battle takes place every night! The Egyptians lived with a constant threat the universe will come to its end. It's like growing up in the eighties.) Apophis dries up the water, and the barque can no longer be towed; it sails on by magical power, provided by Isis, Set (called "the eldest magician"), and the sun-god, who is protected by the Mehen-serpent, while the goddess Selkis puts Apophis in shackles and her assistants chop him to bits.

The sun barque still has a long way to go and a lot of work to do before dawn. The middle register of the eighth hour is another long scene of the barque being towed, including "the four rams of Tatenen, the god of the depths of the earth". Again the ram symbolizes the four ba-souls of Re, here identifying him with Tatenen. (Exactly which four gods those four ba-souls represent changes with the source, in typical Egyptian fashion.)

The upper and lower registers are each divided (by doors again called "knives") into five caverns. The hieroglyph for "cloth" appears repeatedly (often with someone sitting on it), with fresh clothing being provided for the afterlife and as part of the general business of rebirth. Osiris (also protected by the Mehen-serpent) sits in judgment on his foes, who are decapitated (by a cat-eared demon). The sun-god sends the stars "on their way, since their stable orbits are a sign of the continuous order of the cosmos".

This bit blows my mind. "The texts in the vaults describe how the Ba-souls of these beings respond to the generous promises of the Sungod. Human ears hear their jubilation as cries of animals and sounds of nature, like the humming of bees, banging on metal, the screeching of tomcats, the crying of birds, the roaring of bulls, etc. The Sungod, however, is able to recognize what their distorted voices are shouting."

The work of renewal continues in the ninth hour, with bread and beer provided to the dead by three "idols" sitting on what look like neb-baskets. The darkness is illuminated by twelve fire-breathing ureai. In the tenth hour ("With Deep Water and High Banks" – the barque is afloat again, at least part of the time), the solar eyes are restored; eight forms of Sekhmet stand before a seated Thoth, who holds the whole eye. Horus rescues the bodies of drowned people from decomposition (as Isis rescued the parts of Osiris' body from the Nile).

The leftmost figure of the eleventh hour is the "Time Lord" (well, the "Master of Time", with three faces: the sun disc in the middle, and two crowned heads looking left and right (ie backwards and forwards), representing the two Egyptian concepts of time, nḥḥ and dt. Next, Atum repeats the gesture made by Sokar back in the fifth hour, holding (lifting?) the wings of a serpent, with the paired eyes appearing on either side of him. The renewed sun-disc now appears in the prow of the barque; it's preceded by fire-breathing goddesses riding "double serpents", and by twelve gods carrying the Mehen-serpent. Isis and Nephthys, in the form of ureai, carry the red and white crowns.

Meanwhile, the condemned are punished once more, "at depths not visited by the Sungod… 'completely deep, completely dark, completely infinite'", in pits into which armed goddesses and the serpent "Who Burns Millions" spit fire. ("You have not come into being," declares Horus of the Netherworld, "you are upside down!" Take that!)

Finally we've reached the twelfth hour, where gods (including the sun-god) and the blessed dead walk through the body of the Mehen-serpent from tail to mouth, emerging rejuvenated. The sun-god has been reborn as Khepri, and Shu lifts him to the horizon. Osiris remains behind in the Duat - shown as a corpse lying against its curved wall. (Both authors remark that the helpful Mehen-serpent points in the direction as the barque, while Apophis points in the opposite direction. "Nevertheless, later Egyptian texts speculate about Apophis having not only an evil, but also a positive, regenerating aspect." – which makes me think of Set's dual role as Osiris' enemy, but Re's ally against Apophis.)

Hornung has briefly summarized the Amduat, pointing out a few key or interesting highlights, and I've summarized his summary! I'm struck, though, by how much internal logic there is, how much sense it all actually makes (even without the help of Abt's Jungian interpretation, which I've only glanced at). What's also striking is that the Egyptians expended so much thought on the details of what happened in the netherworld – the commands of the creator god were apparently enough to explain goings-on in the realm of the living. Or can we squint and see the complexities of the underworld renewal as a dark reflection of the constant processes of renewal in the natural world?

Thanks again for the loan, kylaw!

Theodor Abt and Erik Hornung. Knowledge for the Afterlife: The Egyptian Amduat – A Quest for Immortality. Living Human Heritage Publications, Zurich, 2003.

According to this Ptolemaic (300 BCE) papyrus, Seth turned himself into a leopard in order to approach Osiris (to steal his body?). Anubis overcame Seth, branded him all over with a hot iron, skinned him, and wore his pelt. Thus the leopard-skin robes worn by Egyptian priests. Blimey!

Here I am back from jury duty with a pile o' material about this moon / left eye business. But the first of my photocopies is about three different amulets, so, in typical random style, let me scribble my notes about the irrelevant one first. :)

The author, Carol Andrews, discusses a therioanthropomorphic amulet at the BM (EA 57334) with, unusually, the head of a wild boar. For the Egyptians, the boar symbolises chaos and evil; Andrews argues that this is probably an amulet of Set, but might possibly be "the rare Libyan deity Ash, who presided over the western desert and vinegrowing areas of the Delta". Ash could be represented with Set's head, and his name could be ridden with the Set animal as a determinative.

Now, as well as taking the form of ol' square-ears, Ash is (possibly) shown at least once in three-headed form - lion, snake, and vulture - not unlike the three-headed Mut, aka Sekhmet-Bast-Ra, of the Book of the Dead Chapter 164 - lioness, human, and vulture. (Margaret Murray makes an interesting connection between the three-headed Ash and a similar figure in the 1545 Cosmographia Universalis.)

ETA: Also from Margaret Murray: Ash is shown with Set's head, wearing the white crown, and "associated with a royal vineyard", on Second Dynasty seals from Abydos and Naqada - specifically, the royal tombs of Perabsen and Kha-Sekhemui. He appears in human form as "Lord of Libya", with Amentet, in the Fifth Dynasty on a "sculptured slab of Sahure". He's also mentioned in the Pyramid Texts and the Book of the Dead. The last known attestation is the 26th Dynasty coffin which portrays him with three heads. Also unusual about 'Ash is his lack of a tail, the band across his chest, and the snake he carries in his hand.

Murray remarks that "Multiple-headed gods are always rare in Egypt and are, I think, foreign deities and not indigenous." In his description of the coffin, Alan Shorter describes such "composite divinities" as cropping up "not unfrequently in reliefs and paintings of the later
periods".

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Andrews, Carol. "The Boar, the Ram-Headed Crocodile and the Lunar Fly". in Studies in Egyptian Antiquities: A Tribute to T.G.H. James (Occasional paper 123). London, British Museum, 1999. pp. 79 - 81.
Murray, Margaret. The God 'Ash. Ancient Egypt and the East, December 1934 (volume 2), pp 115-117
Shorter, Alan. A Possible Late Representation of the God 'Ash. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology, Vol. 11, No. 1/2 (Apr., 1925), pp. 78-79.

Via ratmmjess: The Hohlenstein-Stadel Lion Man, "the oldest imaginary being in the world".

On Flicker, a lion-headed Horus at Edfu.

Photographer Joan Lansberry's site includes great snaps from the Brooklyn Museum, the Sekhmet head that hypnotised me during my own visit, and the Predynastic birdlike lady nicknamed "the Nile Goddess". Plus more Sekhmets at the Met and a whole page of Set.

Striking gods from the Beltane Fire Society's Samhuinn 2009 celebration.

BBC: Oldest evidence of arrows found

This journal's about goddesses, but I've been curious about the Ancient Egyptian god Set (aka Seth, Setekh, Sutekh), the god of storms, the desert, and foreign countries. Set is the murderer of Osiris and enemy of Horus, yet also stands alongside Horus in the prow of the solar barque, the boat that carries the sun-god Ra, fighting the serpent Apophis who's trying to end the world. At times he was an outcast - even identified with Apophis - but at other times an important state god. He could even be united with Horus and worshipped as "he with the two faces". How can a god of evil also be an ally of good?

( Read more... )
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Morenz, Seigfried. Egyptian Religion. Methuen, London, 1973.
Sauneron, Serge. The Priests of Ancient Egypt. Cornell UP, Ithaca, 2000.
te Velde, H. Seth, God of Confusion: A Study of His Role in Egyptian Mythology and Religion. Brill, Leiden, 1977.