What do you think?
Rate this book
Seth - A Misrepresented God in the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon?
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.
114 pages, Paperback
First published February 28, 2013
3 people are currently reading
9 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 of 1 review
April 12, 2024
The closest thing to a standard treatment of Seth is Herman te Velde's Seth, God of Confusion, which underemphasized some of Seth's more positive aspects and, being more than 50 years old, doesn't cover relatively recent evidence that changes the picture of Seth's worship late in Egyptian history. Turner aims to improve on prior coverage of the god by te Velde and others, which he frequently cites, but the book comes across more as a survey of their work and the evidence they based it on than as a truly new analysis of Seth. Nor does it really give a general picture of Seth's characteristics, being so focused on individual pieces of evidence and developments over time.
Most of the book is chronological, running from the Predynastic to the Greco-Roman era. In each chapter it points to the major evidence for Seth's worship in that period and to previous studies on the topic. Turner dwells too briefly on most pieces of evidence and usually just describes well-established interpretations of them. When he does advance a novel or unorthodox idea, it tends to be shaky and not argued for in depth. He argues, for instance, that in the late Predynastic Period the Seth worshippers from Naqada migrated to Lower Egypt after being defeated by King Scorpion of Hierakonpolis, thus establishing the cult of Seth in the Delta and inspiring the mythological conflict of Horus and Seth. Trying to reconstruct Predynastic history on the basis of mythology is a questionable proposition. Toby Wilkinson's Early Dynastic Egypt (which Turner cites on the same page where he argues this thesis!), dismissively calls a previous attempt to advance this hypothesis "a romantic suggestion".
Among the more helpful chapters of the book is that on the Greco-Roman period, which gives detailed synopses of all the stories in Papyrus Jumilhac that involve Seth. This is handy, given that the only full translation, or even synopsis, of the papyrus that I know of is in French and very hard to find. However, the same chapter has little more than passing mention of the evidence of Seth's worship in outlying areas such as the oases in Roman times, a topic on which the detailed studies are also hard to find. The only chapter that lies outside the chronological framework discusses Seth's role as a god of the lands outside Egypt, which fleshes out his relationship with gods such as Ash and Baal but is, again, too brief. There are also three appendices, collecting all the references to Seth in the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead.
Anyone looking to research Seth in depth should look at this book. If nothing else, it serves as a sourcebook and annotated bibliography about the god. For a more general understanding of Seth, te Velde's book, despite its deficiencies, is still the one to get.
Most of the book is chronological, running from the Predynastic to the Greco-Roman era. In each chapter it points to the major evidence for Seth's worship in that period and to previous studies on the topic. Turner dwells too briefly on most pieces of evidence and usually just describes well-established interpretations of them. When he does advance a novel or unorthodox idea, it tends to be shaky and not argued for in depth. He argues, for instance, that in the late Predynastic Period the Seth worshippers from Naqada migrated to Lower Egypt after being defeated by King Scorpion of Hierakonpolis, thus establishing the cult of Seth in the Delta and inspiring the mythological conflict of Horus and Seth. Trying to reconstruct Predynastic history on the basis of mythology is a questionable proposition. Toby Wilkinson's Early Dynastic Egypt (which Turner cites on the same page where he argues this thesis!), dismissively calls a previous attempt to advance this hypothesis "a romantic suggestion".
Among the more helpful chapters of the book is that on the Greco-Roman period, which gives detailed synopses of all the stories in Papyrus Jumilhac that involve Seth. This is handy, given that the only full translation, or even synopsis, of the papyrus that I know of is in French and very hard to find. However, the same chapter has little more than passing mention of the evidence of Seth's worship in outlying areas such as the oases in Roman times, a topic on which the detailed studies are also hard to find. The only chapter that lies outside the chronological framework discusses Seth's role as a god of the lands outside Egypt, which fleshes out his relationship with gods such as Ash and Baal but is, again, too brief. There are also three appendices, collecting all the references to Seth in the Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, and the Book of the Dead.
Anyone looking to research Seth in depth should look at this book. If nothing else, it serves as a sourcebook and annotated bibliography about the god. For a more general understanding of Seth, te Velde's book, despite its deficiencies, is still the one to get.
Displaying 1 of 1 review