Seth, the Ancient Egyptian God of Evil?

Seth was also known as Sutekh or Set. He was often associated with the negative aspects of chaos, violence, disorder, war, storms, and foreign lands. He was the brother and husband of Nephthys and the brother of Isis and Osiris. This makes him the son of Geb (the Earth) and Nut (the Sky) and the main antagonist in the famous myth of Osiris. His name in hieroglyphs is translated as "instigator of confusion" and "destroyer".
It is believed that Seth was one of the two gods who gave the power and authority to the pharaohs and that’s why he was respected for his chaotic powers. Some kings used the animal that represented Seth as part of their emblem to evince their dominance and frightening power.

Different forms of Seth

The physical representation of Seth is different from any other Egyptian deity, whose physical representations were based on known animals, because the animal that represented him is so far unidentified. Seth was usually depicted as a man with an animal’s head known as a "Seth animal" and had a tall nose, slanting eyes, square-tipped ears, and a thin canine body with a long, forked tail. The body of this animal had fur tufts which were shaped like inverted arrows. Wings are arguably attributed to Seth in the Pyramid texts complicating matters further and relating him to griffins.  

You may think the Seth animal resembles a dog at first glance but that's a gross oversimplification. Various animals including antelope, crocodile, donkey, camel, greyhound, jackal, jerboa, oryx, and pig have been suggested as the basis for his form. The origins of the Seth animal are pretty intriguing since he is the only Egyptian God which we can not associate directly with one specific animal. It has been suggested that he may have been modelled after an extinct ancient Egyptian fauna. Most images of Seth show him holding an ankh in one hand and the Was sceptre in the other hand. 

A much disputed history

Several Seth animal artefacts date as far back as Naqadah I, although scholars argue whether they are a connotation of Seth at all. The interesting theory here is that Seth may have been the benevolent primary God for the people of Naqadah in prehistoric times only to become the devil of the people of Thinis and their predynastic religions. Thus producing a synthesis at the clash of the two races. What is more certain is that the Seth animal was indeed represented on the mace-head of King Scorpion (from the Protodynastic Period leading to the Early Dynasties) 

Set and Horus, alleged frenemies adorning Ramesses III, both holding Ankh signs, The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities.

The cult of Seth in ancient Egypt

 At the beginning, the Egyptians prayed and worshipped Seth because they thought he would take care of the dead family members, but over time he started to be seen as much eviler. nevertheless, Seth continued to be worshipped for his power and ability to create chaos and violent force. Within The Ennead of Heliopolis, the birth of Seth is never referred to as a simple birth, but rather as chaos leaping forth from his mother's side. His very birth is depicted as a disruption to harmonicity. His relationship with his mother, Nut is one of the most turbulent in Ancient Egyptian mythology. His relationship with his twin, Nephthys does not resemble anything close to the inspiring triad of Osiris and his twin, Isis. 

During the Early Dynastic Period of Egypt, Seth’s name was mentioned in love spells and inscribed on amulets which served as love charms. He also saved Ra (the sun god) from his enemy Apophis, the God embodiment of chaos. This piece of evidence here suggest the benevolent nature Seth may have been viewed with. 

The evidence for his royal worship started to be seen during the reigns of the last two kings of the second dynasty, Presibesen and Khasekhemwy. King Peribsen gave himself a Seth title for the first time instead of the traditional Horus name. His successor, Khasekhemwy, gave both Horus and Seth equal prominence in his titulary.

Seth was later mentioned in the Pyramid Texts of the fifth and sixth dynasties, but by the time of the new kingdom, he rose from obscurity to being one of the most important gods of the land. And he became known as the first murderer, who killed his older brother Osiris to reign over the world.

Since the Ramesside kings came from the Delta, they viewed Seth as one of their local gods, ultimately raised him to a place of pride in the pantheon, ranked him among the great gods of Egypt, and used his name in their personal names such as the king Seti I, his name means “man of Seth,” and the king Seti II who was named Sethnakhte, which means “Seth is Strong.” 

Tukh or Ombos (Naqadah) is one of the centres where God Seth was worshipped. He had a temple there, most of it is now destroyed, its remains dating back to the New Kingdom. Another centre of worship was Avaris, the capital of the Hyksos people who worshipped Seth as a powerful storm god.

Is Seth the God of Evil?

Seth was certainly associated with darkness, wickedness and disorder. While Seth is the outcast god and the stranger's lands, is he really the devil? It is true that ancient Egyptians valued harmony over anything else, yet Seth is understood in the light of a necessary disruption to that harmony, adding a deeply realistic dimension to the lives of ancient Egyptians. Seth reminded ancient Egyptians that harmony is not always attainable and that balance is bound to break at times. Seth may later replace Apophis as the actual devil in the late period following the prominence of the Osirian cult. However, his preceding years spanning from prehistoric Egypt all the way to the New Kingdom remain a grey area.