Set animal

Set animal
The Set-animal
Creature information
Other name(s)Typhonian animal, Typhonic beast, Sha
GroupingTotemic animals
Origin
CountryAncient Egypt
 
 
Depictions of the Set animal
(Gardiner E20, E21, C7)(E20, E21, C7)
in hieroglyphs

In ancient Egyptian art, the Set animal, or sha, is the affiliated animal of the god Set. Because Set was identified with the Greek monster Typhon, the animal is also commonly known as the Typhonian animal or Typhonic beast.

Unlike other totemic animals, the Set animal is not easily identifiable in the modern, animal world. Today, there is a general agreement among Egyptologists that it was never a real creature and existed only in ancient Egyptian religion. In recent years, there have been many attempts by zoologists to find the Set animal in nature. Whether or not the animal existed is currently unknown, yet it had much significance for the Egyptians. The Set animal is one of the most frequently demonstrated animal determinatives.

Some Egyptian texts suggest that Set took the form of a dangerous animal, such as a bull or crocodile.

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