Relief of Horus and Seth

In this decoration showing the theme of the unification of the Two Lands ‘Sema Tawy’, Horus and Seth replaced Hapi, which was associated with the Nile god. Detail on the side of the throne of King Senusret I.

Furthermore, we have here one of the rare cases in which the image of Seth, god of confusion, power and desert, was not destroyed through the superstition of later generations. The motif consists of a windpipe entwined with lotus and papyrus plants, floral symbols that respectively represent Upper and Lower Egypt.

“… As the son of Isis and Osiris Horus was… the mythical heir to the kingship of Egypt, and many stories surrounding his struggle to gain and hold the kingship from the usurper Seth detail this aspect of the god’s role.

Harwer (Haroeris) ‘Horus the Elder’ was the mature god represented in these stories who battles the typhonic Seth for 80 years until the tribunal of the gods finally awards him his rightful place on the throne of all Egypt…”

― The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, by Richard H. Wilkinson

Middle Kingdom, 12th Dynasty, reign of Senusret I, ca. 1971-1926 BC. Limestone, from el-Lisht. Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 31139