'The Contendings of Horus and Seth'

"THE CONTENDINGS OF HORUS AND SETH"

Beginnings of kinship or ideas of primogeniture vs experience



Source: The family tree of the Heliopolitan Ennead
Artist: unknown

Origins:

'The Contendings of Horus and Seth' were set between "2040-1674 BCE dating back to the early Middle Kingdom"¹ but pre dynasty in Egyptian history. The competition between the two gods was heard far and wide and is still a famous story to this day in Egyptian mythology. The dispute at court was to see who was rightful to become the next king of Egypt after the current king Osiris(god of the underworld) was murdered by Seth(God of war and chaos, Son of Nut) his brother. Horus( god of war and sky ) was the son of Isis(goddess of healing) and the Osiris so many believed that he should be the successor to this father but others believed since Seth was Osiris's brother and was wiser and stronger than he should be the successor. The two gods had a judicial trial which was judged by the Ennead(group of 9 power full deities). This is where the ideas of kingship and primogeniture were first introduced to the Egyptians.


Source: Horus VS. Seth: Homosexuality, Hippos and Familial Violence
Artist: unknown


What is Kingship in Egypt?

Kingship is a big part of Egypt and its history, it plays a big part in its mythology.  In Egypt, kingship is known as "nsyt" ² Kingship has existed throughout the different dynasties of Egypt. Kingship existed for the first dynasty' which started "(c. 2925–c. 2775 BCE)"³  and the final dynasty was the twenty-fifth ( 746 BC TO 653 BC) ⁴  During the different dynasties, kingship was passed from "one generation to the next"⁴  usually handed down from father to firstborn male child.  It is also said that the kings of each dynasty were the "reincarnation of gods"⁴  and were the "manifestation of the divine"⁴. People saw the kings of Egypt far beyond the realms of normal people and they had power.  Though in 'The Contendings of Horus and Seth' it is clear that it was not the begging of the kingship but it does have significance to the story since both Hours and Seth are fighting to see who is worthy to become the next king of Egypt.

Source: Horus VS. Seth: Homosexuality, Hippos and Familial Violence
Artist: unknown


Ideas of primogeniture vs experience?

The idea of primogeniture is defined as "titled to the firstborn"⁵  in a family and in Egyptian mythology it was how the role of the king was passed down to the firstborn male child from "one generation to the next"⁴. 'The Contending of Horus and Seth' explores the idea of primogeniture since it is a myth about the primogeniture male child on the throne(Horus) vs the more experienced uncle(Seth).   

When it came to the passing of the role of king it was never passed on to the person with more experience in Egyptian mythology. This was also significant in the 'The Contending of Horus and Seth' as Seth was the more experienced competitor to the throne since he was wiser and stronger. In the Myth, it is clear that the more favourable man is the bloody related son of the previous air than the man with more experience but in this, cause it happened for the better.


Source: Eye of Horus
Artist: unknown


What was the Evidence for both the beginning KingShip and primogeniture vs experience?


Kingship

Kingship has some importance in 'The Contending of Horus and Seth' since the Myth is about a competition between two Gods to see who is fit for the next king of Egypt. Though the main plot of the myth is driven by who will be the king it lacks evidence when it comes to exploring the begging of kingship. Since the myth was set pre the dynastic period kingship within humans had not yet begun either.  Rather the myth focuses on what is required to be the next king but doesn't go into depth on how kingship came to be in Egyptian culture. This doesn't mean there are no mentions of the early stages of kingship because the myth does mention the "first king of Egypt"⁶ which is Osiris. The next god who was to become king after the murder of Osiris was selected from a judicial practice which in this case was Horus since the "lowing five kings were related to each other by kinship"⁷(p.22). This shows the correlation between Kingship and primogeniture in Egyptian mythology.


Primogeniture vs Experience

Primogeniture vs experience is a key aspect of 'The Contendings of Horus and Seth' due to the way kingship was viewed by the Egyptians in the myth.  The myth explores the idea of who is the fit to be the next king of Egypt and it is clear that the decision is heavily based on Primogeniture vs experience.  In the Myth, Seth is the embodiment of the experience and he is confident in his strength as he proclaims "let him be sent outside with me and I shall let you see my hand dominating his hand (1,9—  10)"⁷(p.23). Since Seth is more experienced he is often perceived in the myth as getting his own way as he was seen as the"stronger mother (Isis) brother"⁷(p.25). Seth's dominance in the court can be seen multiple times, once when he demands to the Ennead that the trial should carry on in a place where his sister Isis(mother of Horus) can not attend.  If his demands were not met he threatened "I shall take my sceptre of 4,500 nemes  (of weight)  and  I will kill one of you each day!  (5,1-2)"⁷(p.25) which resulted in his demands being met which made it clear that the Ennead lacked superiority over Seth. Seth's dominance also overshadowed the Judicial council again as he suggested what was to be done to come to a verdict. One of Seth's suggestions was for Horus and himself to transform into hippopotamuses to determine who could stay underwater for a longer period. He also tries to get Horus to eat his seamen as another way of gain superiority over him which doesn't go as he had planned and backfires on him. Horus's lack of experience is emphasised in the Myth as well since he does not ever take control of the court like Seth did instead it is his mother Isis who fights for him such as when she revises the plan to make Seth eat Hours seamen.  Throughout the myth, it emphasises Seth's "superior strength which allowed him to for example slay Apophis(god of chaos)"⁸ Re(God of the sun) was eager for Seth to become the king and sided with him. Words such as "strong are used to describe Seth to further emphasis the importance of experience within the myth in contrast to the words such as "young" used to describe Horus pushing him to be weak and inexperienced.

Horus on the other hand represents the idea of primogeniture since he is the son of Osiris who was the previous king. The idea of primogeniture in the myth is a key factor in why Horus was chosen to be the next king of Egypt. Both gods Thoth( a god of the moon and education) and Onuris(god of war and hunting) exclaimed "Shall one give the office to the mother's brother while the bodily son is there?  (4,6—7)"⁷(p.23) which expands on the idea of primogeniture as it is seen to be more fitting to give the role to the firstborn male child. The importance of primogeniture is emphasised also within the fake story that Isis makes up as she transforms into a beautiful woman to deceive Seth. The story goes as Isis is a single woman with a child and her cattle are being threatened to be taken away by a stranger and needs Seth's help. replies Seth  Seth's eager response yes "Shall one give the cattle to the stranger while the son of the man is there?  (6,12—13)"⁷(p.24) contradicts what he is trying to do in his current situation.  


Source: Deities in Ancient Egypt - Seth
Artist: unknown

Which would 
be better for Egypt as a country and why?

'The Contendings of Horus and Seth' has aspects that are a myth about Primogeniture vs Experience. I personally believe that when it is time to choose a king in Egypt it shouldn't be handed down primogeniture from the previous king to his son. Instead, it should be passed down to whom has the characteristics and morals of a King meaning to someone who has more experience. The reason why this is a better choice is because the more experienced are wiser and they know how to run a country and what is best for it. This is true because in modern-day society most presidents and prime ministers of the world are older people which more experience in life. If the role of kingship was to be handed down in a primogeniture way to an inexperienced son there are bound to be repercussions for the country and even chances of manipulation involved. However, in 'The Contendings of Horus and Seth', I do believe that Horus was the right choice out of the two candidates since Seth is a murderer. But overall, I think that when choosing a king based on experience is the best choice for Egypt.

 

Bibliography 



Footnote

  1.  Author: NA,  Title: "HORUS VS. SETH: HOMOSEXUALITY, HIPPOS AND FAMILIAL VIOLENCE,"
  2. Published by: University College London, Title: Kingship in Ancient Egypt
  3.  Author: Edward F. Wente, Title: Ancient Egypt, Page: 1
  4. Contributed by: Kathleen Kemezis, Title: 25th Dynasty, Ancient Egypt 
  5. Edited by Kenton Bell, Title: Open Education Sociology Dictionary, 
  6. Source: DK find out, Title: Egyptian Gods
  7. Author: Marcelo Campagno,  Title: Judicial Practices, Kinship and the State in  'The Contendings of Horns and Seth*
  8. Author: RobertA. Oden, Title:Jr. "THE CONTENDING S OF HORUS AND SETH" (CHESTER BEATTY PAPYRUS NO. 1): A STRUCTURAL INTERPRETATION


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