Changes

The ancient Egyptians followed a complex polytheistic religion where specific deities rose to prominence in particular locations and eras. The geographic focus of the religion was centered around a deity’s particular <i>cult center</i>, which was a city and a temple in the city where priests dedicated to that particular god lived and carried out rituals. The cult center was also where the deity’s specific cult statue was housed, usually in the deepest part of the temple, which could only be accessed by a select few. Some of the more notable cult centers in ancient Egypt were Thebes for the god Amun/Amen, Memphis for Ptah, and Heliopolis for Atum. These were three of the best known gods in ancient Egypt and their cities were among the most important, but there were a host of less popular deities that were also worshipped in a number of smaller cities. The enigmatic god Seth was one such deity.

===Seth in Ancient Egyptian Mythology===

Examining the appearance of Seth in ancient Egyptian religion and history, physically and metaphorically, can help elucidate important aspects of the Egyptian view of the world and god. The physical representation of Seth/Set/Sutekh is unlike any of the other Egyptian deities, whose physical representations were based on known animals, because the animal that represented him is so far unidentified. The hieroglyphic sign for Seth is an animal with a head of what may be an aardvark, the possible body of a canine, and a curiously forked tail. <ref> Faulkner, Richard O. <i> A Concise Dictionary of Middle Egyptian.</i> (Oxford: Griffith Institute, 1999), p. 254</ref> Seth was also represented anthropomorphically, with a human body and the ardvarkesque head, in hieroglyphic signs and art. Since the precise animal, or animals, that Seth was meant to represent remains a mystery, which only serves to make the curious god that much more enigmatic. As mysterious as Seth’s connection with the physical world may be, there is no doubt that he played an important role in Egyptian mythology. According to the Egyptian Heliopolitan creation myth, Seth was one of the first gods created.

===References===

[[Category: Myths and Gods]] [[Category: Ancient Egyptian Mythology]] [[Category: Ancient History]] [[Category: Ancient Egyptian History]] [[Category: Religious History]]