Do what thou Wilt,

This is simply a look at some of my favorite examples of art honoring Set from the Egyptian kings. Despite the popular belief of Set having always been evil, he was venerated throughout history, especially in the 2nd and 19th dynasties. Again, these examples are simply some personal favorites from a huge selection. The best research for further reading is Joan Lansberry’s Setfind website: http://www.joanlansberry.com/setfind/setfind.html

Twin Steles of Set-Peribsen

Peribsen was a pharaoh of Egypt’s second dynasty, and is best known for taking a Set- rather than Horus-name while king. Each pharaoh in history has a special name they took, and the symbol it was originally put inside was called a “serekh”. Usually this had a Horus falcon on top of it, the symbol of the solar tradition, but in the case of Peribsen it had a Set-animal and that alone.

Peribsen fought to curb the abuse of power by high officials and bring their power back in line. His rule is described as a time of religious and cultural advancement, but it appears he may have only ruled over Upper (southern) Egypt, the domain of Set (where Lower Egypt was the domain of Horus). The mythology of Peribsen was that he had created himself by his own will, born to try and restore Egypt to its old traditions. He created a cult center for Set near Ombos, though Peribsen was happy to let the people worship whichever gods they chose. In this sense he was both a pluralist and henotheist, accepting the existence of all the gods but preferring Set personally.

Tracing from Joan Lansberry

Seal Impressions from the Tomb of Peribsen

British Museum #EA 35595

Some historians once thought that Peribsen was a hated heretic, and even claimed he tried to instill a form of Setian monotheism. However, the evidence discovered since then has shown this to be untrue. In fact, Peribsen’s funerary cult was still strong two entire dynasties later in the 4th dynasty, and underwent heavy restoration during the later 19th dynasty of Egypt.

The “Kissing” Horus and Set of Khasekhemwy

Tracing from Joan Lansberry

Khasekhemwy followed Peribsen, and put both Horus and Set on top of his serekh. Following the time of turmoil surrounding the struggle between the Stellar and Solar tradition, Khasekhemwy brought peace back to Egypt and unified the country. At the same time he kept in place the work done by Peribsen to curb abuses of political and religious power. Khasekhemwy sought to embody both Horus and Set back in unity, how things originally ended in the myth before the religion of Osiris changed the story. To my knowledge he is again the only king to have such a name with the Set animal on the serekh.

Stele of Horemheb

A full discussion of Horemheb can be found here: https://settetura.wordpress.com/2020/04/15/horemheb-the-greatest-king/

Offering Table of Seti I

Rogers Fund, 1922, Metropolitan Museum 22.2.22





Seti I was the son of Ramesses I and father of Ramesses II, the latter of which was alive through Seti’s entire rule. “Seti” literally translates to “Man of Set”. Like the pharaohs before him, Seti continued to restore Egypt from the damange done by Akhenaten on all levels of society. It is during the reign of Seti in which we see Egypt finally returned to its pre-Aten glory.

Seti was mainly focused on rebuilding temples and shrines, as well as beginning many new mining projects. With Egypt strong once again, Seti turned his focus to foreign policy and the expansion of the Egyptian empire. He defeated the Hittite threat and increased the size of Egypt greatly. Seti also kept an eye on the state and ruling class, ensuring they did not take advantage of the people.

From Joan Lansberry

Tomb Ceiling of Seti I

Here Set is represented as Ursa Major in the form of a Bulls leg. In some takes on the myth, Tawret holds Set chained in the northern skies separate from the gods (the Zodiac), after his leg is cut off and tossed up. This one may be my absolute favorite.

Seti’s Lowkey Devotion to Set When Needed

Black granite statue of Seti I, Dynasty 19, reign of Seti I (ca. 1294-1279 B.C)

Rogers Fund, 1922, MMA 22.2.21

From Joan Lansberry

Rameses II’s 400 Year Stele

The scene depicts Rameses II, shown honoring the god Set in the form of the foreign god Ba’al. This stele was intended to reclaim Set as a true and ancient god of the Egyptians, and not a deity of the foreign rulers. Doing so allowed the worship of Set to thrive again as a true Egyptian deity. That Set is shown in the form of Ba’al was not intended to show Set as foreign, but rather that this god was another form of Set! With the boarders of the empire expanding, it became more and more important to understand the existence of other pantheons, which the Egyptians did by envisioning them as simply different interpretations of the same gods. It further shows the pluralistic nature of these rulers.

In modern times it has been determined that behind Rameses stands Seti I, and that the 400 year anniversary seems to date to the reign of Horemheb when Seti’s father, Rameses I, was his close friend and priest of Set following the Armana heresy.

From Joan Lansberry

Some of my own embarrassing attempts:











Please definitely check out Ms. Lansberry’s amazing site and book: “Images of Set.”

Love is the Law, Love under Will.