Statue of Ramesses III with Horus and Seth

In this rare granite ensemble from Medinet Habu, king Ramesses III stands majestically between two ancient rivals, Horus and Seth; gods far more accustomed to crossing spears than sharing a plinth.

All three figures rise to roughly equal height, carved fully in the round, their left legs striding forward in timeless assertion. The pharaoh, clad in a finely pleated shendyt kilt and bedecked with the many-rowed usekh collar, wears the white hedjet crown of Upper Egypt; in one hand he clasps the ankh of life, in the other the sceptre of power.

To his right, falcon-headed Horus mirrors the king’s striding posture, palm resting upon the royal crown in a gesture of consecration. To his left and rather astonishingly stands Seth, lord of desert gales and distant frontiers, performing the identical rite.

Statues of Seth are exceedingly scarce: after his mythical slaying of Osiris and long war against Horus, he was viewed with wary reverence, more feared than adored, and seldom honoured in temple sculpture. Yet, Egypt’s theology granted him dominion over arid lands and foreign peoples. Thus, the tableau proclaims a double coronation: Horus bestows rule over the lush Nile valley, while Seth (tamed for the moment) confers authority beyond Egypt’s cultivated borders.

Fashioned during the 20th Dynasty (c. 1186–1155 B.C.), this grouping not only celebrates Ramesses III’s sovereignty at home and abroad but also reminds us that even the storm-god of chaos could be harnessed to uphold royal order; if only for as long as the granite endures.

Now housed in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo (JE 31628), the piece stands as one of the very few monuments to depict Seth in harmonious attendance, rendering it as exceptional as the mythic détente it portrays.

Summary:

Granite statue of king Ramesses III, flanked by Horus & Seth

New Kingdom, 20th Dynasty, reign of Ramesses III, c. 1186-1155 B.C.

From Medinet Habu

Now in the Egyptian Museum, Cairo. JE 31628