Who
Is Seth?
by Zahi Hawass
The Last article I wrote under the title: Seth Did Not Attend the Party, stirred much attention about the identity of Seth. My friends called me to ask whom I was talking about. The ones that do not have backgrounds in Egyptology inquired “Who is Seth?” the ones that have knowledge in Egyptology asked about the name of the person who did not attend Ali Radwan’s honoring party. They were extremely curious and wanted to figure out whom I was talking about so they guessed names of the people in our field that have similar characteristics to the god Seth.
Let me introduce you to the god Seth, then we will all understand about the
devil and it’s evil. It is true that the Devil is always around us however,
the devil is never victories in the end. The god Seth was the god of
confusion and the spirit of disorder. He is the best known as the god who
introduced murder on earth by killing his brother Osiris, the god who represents
good. Seth brought Osiris to an untimely and sordid demise. The
story of the first murder on earth is very interesting. Seth hosted a
party and at the party he presented a beautiful sarcophagus and he announced
that anyone who fit into the coffin could keep it. Osiris tried the coffin and
learned that it fit his body perfectly. The Devil came quickly and closed the
coffin and then threw it into the Nile. The faithful representative on earth,
the good lady, the goddess Isis searched for her brother who was also her
husband until she found that the coffin had become a pillar inside the palace of
the King of Byblos (modern day Lebanon). She hid in the palace working as a
servant until one day she had the opportunity to take the pillar. She swam with
the pillar to the shores of Egypt. Isis was the goddess of magic so she brought
Osiris back to life. When Seth saw his brother was alive he cut him into 14
pieces and dispersed him all over Egypt. Isis cried and with her tears the Nile
began to run and Osiris floated back to her. She collected his mutilated pieces
however, she found that his erection was missing so she restored it and returned
him back to life and they created the child Horus. Isis took the child to the
marshes to hide him and train him to take his revenge on Seth. Seth and Horus
battled to win the kingship of Egypt and the control of the earth. In one of
their battles, Horus lost his eye and Seth lost the semen of his testicles.
After time, they agreed on peace and decided that Horus would be the ruler of
Lower Egypt and that Seth would rule Upper Egypt. They also agreed, Horus would
be the lord of the black land and Seth would be the lord of the red land,
including foreign countries and the desert. In the end, the good god
conquered the devil and Horus became the King of two lands, Upper and Lower
Egypt.
The story of Seth is not only a tale from the past, it is still happening today. I don’t understand why in the world Egyptologist are plagued by jealousy and even hatred among foreign and Egyptian scholars. If you attend any of the egyptological meetings you will hear stories that you just can’t believe. In 1954, Zakia Shomien found the unfinished pyramid at Saqqara and it became the hot topic in the news all over the world. A year later, some of his colleges thought that an antiquities object was stolen from the collection. He could not stand to be accused of such a crime so he threw himself into the Nile. Another example of Seth today was a person who dedicated his life to the hate of his collages, he didn’t have time to learn or write and he only published two articles during his life. I owe this man a lot because without his attack I would never have accomplished all I have in my life. He is retired now, but still he has tried to spread rumors that the tombs we found at Giza are not the tombs of the pyramid builders but, in his opinion the tombs of guards and he falsely stated that I announced in the United States that the tomb were for foreigners. It is good to ignore these kinds of people because they always destroy themselves in the end. And this will raise a question that Seth sometimes does not destroy others but also destroys himself. Another modern Seth always gossips with false information about people. He does not follow exactly the steps of Seth.
I am sure that you are still asking, who was the devil who did not attend Ali Radwen’s Honoring Party? The answer is known by all that attended this beautiful event that touched my heart to honor my great friend. We did not care if Seth did not join us at the party to create lies, rumors, confusion and show jealousy, and we were reminded that the devil never wins but also the world can not live without him – Seth.