The Open court . agic offered it the formula: I amSutech (i^Seth), at which it was claimed that the threateningmonsters dutifully retreated. The authority of Seth among the Egyptian gods was not al-ways and everywhere the same. Lower Egypt was his especial ANUIilS, SETH, AND CHRIST. 83 home; the population there had been mixed from earliest timeswith Canaanitish elements, whose chief worship was addressed tothe sun god Baal. For the Egyptians this Baal, being a foreigner,had naturally something hostile and malicious, and accordingly sug-gested a resemblance to their Ssth ; gradually the two go
The Open court . agic offered it the formula: I amSutech (i^Seth), at which it was claimed that the threateningmonsters dutifully retreated. The authority of Seth among the Egyptian gods was not al-ways and everywhere the same. Lower Egypt was his especial ANUIilS, SETH, AND CHRIST. 83 home; the population there had been mixed from earliest timeswith Canaanitish elements, whose chief worship was addressed tothe sun god Baal. For the Egyptians this Baal, being a foreigner,had naturally something hostile and malicious, and accordingly sug-gested a resemblance to their Ssth ; gradually the two gods becameconfused, and thus. Bar, or Baru,^ was adopted into the Egyptianreligion as a complete synonym of Seth. The identification of Baaland Seth probably occurred in very early times; now when theHyksos, who had previously worshipped Baal, came to Egypt,they recognised in Seth-Sutech their own god and accordingly en-couraged his worship. The expulsion of the Hyksos probably shook OVci,., Gm, • • ^ A ^, . A. Lead Tablet No. 12. the authority of this worship somewhat, but could not do away withthe already established identification of Seth with the god of theCanaanites. Indeed the ranks of the subjects of this god were evenwidened, so that he appears later not only as lord of Canaan, butof all foreign parts without limit. He is regarded as the strong andwarlike god, who has the power to place foreign peoples in peacefulor hostile, subordinate or victorious, relation to Egypt, and he isworshipped in order that he may keep far from the borders of theNile the tribes subject to him. But Seth did not always do this; J Bar is the Egyptian form for Bal. 84 THE OPEN COURT. Egypt gradually succumbed to the attacks of neighboring peoples,and the rage of the vanquished was aimed at the god who had notregarded their adoration. He gradually disappears from the ranksof the gods and continues his existence only as a somewhatshadowy, yet powerful and baleful, demon. This was the view of T
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade188, booksubjectreligion, bookyear1887
