God of chaos and confusion. Seth was a son of Geb and Nut and thus the brother of Osiris, Isis and Nephthys; the latter goddess was also his wife. After the death of Osiris (who according to some myths was murdered by Seth), he battled for a long time with Horus, the son of Osiris, about who would become king. The fight between the two opponents was sometimes very violent. Thus Horus attempted to kill Seth with a spear when the latter changed into a hippopotamus, and Seth in turn tore out Horus's eye. The matter was finally settled in the Divine Tribunal, which decided in favour of Horus. The disorganized world outside the Nile Valley, the desert as well as foreign lands, were connected with Seth. As a result the god sometimes is linked with foreign goddesses (Astarte, Anat). Like most gods, Seth also had a different, positive side. He was the one, for example, who beat the evil Apophis snake (Apep) each night, the archenemy of the sun god. Seth was worshipped since prehistoric times, as is shown by the fact that he is depicted on all kinds of objects from that period. This was not only the case in Naqada, where according to tradition he was born, but throughout Egypt. Every king of Egypt came to personify Horus 'and' Seth, and they were often depicted together, including on the sides of a number of royal thrones in a scene symbolizing the unification of the two lands. Seth was paid particular attention and honour in the 2nd Intermediate Period, when the Hyksos worshipped him in the Delta (probably because they identified him with their own god Baal), and in the early Ramesside period, when a number of kings were named after him, such as Sethos I. Seth is usually depicted with the body of a man and the head of a mythical animal which sometimes resembles a donkey or an anteater. There are also several animal depictions of the god, who then has the body of a predatory animal or other mammal, the head of the aforementioned mythical beast, and a forked, upstanding tail. Finally, Seth is also shown in the form of various animals about which people had mixed feelings, such as a hippopotamus or a pig.