Set Slaying the Apep

© Joan Ann Lansberry, February 6, 2010

TeVelde in "Seth, God of Confusion" says of Set:

"He is imagined as standing on the prow of the sun barque and conquering the monster of chaos by word or deed and in this quality he is invoked and adored:

"Hail to you, O Seth, son of Nut, the great of strength in the barque of millions, felling the enemy, the snake, at the prow of the barque of Re, great of battle-cry, may you give me a good lifetime..."2).
"O Seth, lord of life, who is upon the prow of the barque of Re, save me from all evil clamour of this year."3)
"A royal offering to Seth of Ombos, the son of Nut, the mighty one on the prow of the ship and to all the gods in Ombos."4)

2)Four Hundred Years-stela. Cf K. Sethe, Der Denkstein mit dem Datum des Jahres 400 der Ära von Tanis, ZÄS 65 (1930), p. 87
3)Pap. Leiden I 346 II, 12; cf. B. H. Strieker, Spreuken tot beveiliging gedurende de schrikheldagen naar pap. 1 346, OMRO NR 29 (1948), p.68.
4)Urk. IV, 1437, 8.

(TeVelde text and footnotes, page 99)

These are the two images I used as inspiration for this picture:


This is color version of a papyrus in TeVelde.
I don't know where I got this one from. TeVelde's version shows a more complete scenario.


This stele is from TeVelde, plate 8

What is interesting about this Apep is that it has a human head and hands. So I gave my Apep hands, but kept a sort of snake-like head.

I placed a small print of Set Slaying Apep above our calendar:

It seemed an appropriate place for Set declares:


"As for me, I am Set, the greatest of strength among the Ennead, and I slay the enemy of Ra daily,
being in front of the Barque-of-Millions, and none other god is able to do it..."

"Daily" means it is only a temporary victory, for each day, the battle must be fought anew.