The article examines the mythological plot of the overthrow of the serpent Apop by the god Set in the religious tradition of ancient Egypt, and also analyzes the origins of the development of this plot in the New Kingdom and its connection with the Syro-Palestinian religious tradition.
Keywords: Set, Apop, Baal, Baal-Set, Ramessids, scarab, falling of the serpent, pictorial tradition, defender of Ra, great God.
THE WINGED SETH AND HIS CONNECTION TO THE SOLAR DEITY
The article treats the mythological plot of the god Seth overthrowing the snake Apophis within the religious tradition of Ancient Egypt and analyses the roots of its development in the time of the New Kingdom as well as its ties to the Syro-Palestinian religious tradition.
Keywords: Seth, Apophis, Baal-Seth, Ramessides, scarab, overthrowing the snake, figurative tradition, defender of Re, great god.
In ancient Egyptian religion and mythology, an important role is played by the mythological topos about the defeat of the enemy in the form of a serpent opposing the sun god. The eternal battle, repeated with each new appearance of the sun, is a battle in which Ra fights with the serpent Apop, who embodies all the evil of the world order [Meeks, Favar-Meeks, 2008, p. 39]. This battle of the sun is mentioned in various hymns dedicated to the sun god, as well as in books describing his journey. All stories about the struggle of the sun with enemies are based on a common content-the struggle of light and darkness, the sun and the water element. Every Egyptian sun-protecting god fought and defeated the hostile forces that represented the watery chaos that preceded the creation of the world. The direct protectors of the sun god can be various deities [te Velde, 1967, p. 166], but a special role in this mythological plot is played by the god Set, who acts as the protector of Ra and fights with the serpent Apop [1].
One of the most famous images, where Seth, standing on the stern of a solar barge, impales Apop with a ...
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