July 11, 2025 • 43 mins
In this episode of Myths of Egypt, we uncover the complexity of Set: a god of chaos, but also of protection, strength, and cosmic balance. Feared and revered, Set is the god of storms, deserts, and upheaval who slayed his brother Osiris and battled Horus for Egypt’s throne. So snuggle up in your blankets, and have sweet dreams.
The music in this episode is Over the Dunes by Jon Sumner.
Text a Story Suggestion (or just say hi!)
Need more Dreamful?
- For more info about the show, episodes, and ways to support; check out our website www.dreamfulstories.com
- Subscribe on Buzzsprout to get bonus episodes in the regular feed & a shout-out in an upcoming episode!
- Subscribe on Apple Podcasts for bonus episodes at apple.co/dreamful
- To get bonus episodes synced to your Spotify app & a shout-out in an upcoming episode, subscribe to dreamful.supercast.com
- You can also support us with ratings, kind words, & sharing this podcast with loved ones.
- Find us on Facebook at facebook.com/dreamfulpodcast & Instagram @dreamfulpodcast!
Dreamful is produced and hosted by Jordan Blair. Edited by Katie Sokolovska. Theme song by Joshua Snodgrass. Cover art by Jordan Blair. ©️ Dreamful LLC
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:21):
Welcome to Dreamful Podcast bedtime stories for
slumber.
I would like to start off thisepisode by thanking all of our
supporters.
You all help to keep thefigurative lights on for the
podcast and I appreciate you somuch.
If you find value in Dreamfuland would also like to
(00:42):
contribute to the show, visitdreamfulstoriescom and, on the
support page, find a link tobecome a Buzzsprout supporter or
subscribe via Supercast.
If you listen on Spotify,you'll get access to
subscriber-only episodes and ashoutout on the show.
This is the fifth episode inthe Myths of Egypt series, where
(01:03):
we meet the god born ofsandstorms and thunder, the one
who shattered kings but held thestars in their courses.
This is a story of set, bringerof chaos, defender of light.
So snuggle up in your blanketsand have sweet dreams ¶¶.
(02:14):
Beneath the blazing sky anddrifting sands.
Balance once held the world inplace, but balance does not last
forever.
In the space between day andnight, between the fertile black
soil and the barren red desert,a figure stirred, brewing with
(02:44):
unrest.
Set was born on the edge of theworld While his brother, osiris
, emerged with grace and order.
Set opened his eyes in the heatof the western desert, where
nothing grew and everythingwaited to be taken.
His hair smelled of scorchedstone.
His voice cracked like drythunder.
(03:24):
He was a god of searing windsand Nut the sky.
Set was meant to be part of thedivine harmony, brother to
Osiris and Isis not rest easy.
Within the family of gods, heprowled the margins.
(03:51):
Where those built, he broke.
Where they sing praises, hesummoned storms.
(04:18):
Set's form was strange andunknowable a beast not of this
world, with square ears, a Lion,crocodile, jackal, falcon, but
not this one.
Set's form was singular, anecho of something ancient and
(04:39):
deeply unsettling.
And yet, for a time he held hisplace among the gods.
He fought at Ra's side on thenightly voyage through the
underworld, standing at the prowof the solar boat sling the
serpent Apep, when all elsefaltered.
(05:01):
He was fierce, loyal in his ownway, a god of necessary
violence.
But even the stars knew a stormcannot be leashed forever.
(05:25):
The kingdom flourished beneathOsiris.
Fields ripened, temples rangwith song.
The world knew peace, too muchpeace perhaps, for, said he
watched his brother from adistance, watched the offerings
(05:45):
pile like praise, watched thepeople bend their knees in
reverence.
And something twisted in him.
It wasn't jealousy, it was thegnawing certainty that he too
was meant to rule, gnawingcertainty that he too was meant
(06:12):
to rule, that his strength, hisfury, his dominion over the wild
edges of the earth had beenoverlooked, his crown stolen
before it ever touched his brow.
So Set began to plan.
So set began to plan in secret.
He crafted a box, no ordinarychest, but a masterwork carved
(06:35):
of rare cedar, inlaid with lapisand gold.
Its measurements were perfect,exact to the length and width of
Osiris' noble form.
At a grand feast, with laughterrising like incense and wine
(07:01):
flowing like the Nile, setrevealed the chest.
A gift, he said, a game.
Let he who fits the box claimit.
One by one, the guests climbedin Jesters and nobles gods, in
(07:26):
silks and garlands, each tooshort, too tall, too wide, until
Osiris stepped forward.
Gracious, beloved and unaware,he lay down inside and the box
(07:48):
received him like it had beenwaiting.
In that breathless moment, setslammed down the lid, he sealed
it tight with molten lead, hecalled to his men and together
they dragged the chest throughthe halls, through the gardens,
(08:10):
to the river's edge and flung itinto the Nile.
The laughter was gone, thefeast had soured and the world,
which had basked in the sunlightof Osiris, shivered beneath the
(08:31):
first true shadow.
Set stood at the shore as thecoffin drifted away, away.
He had not only slain hisbrother, he had claimed the
(08:54):
throne.
But the gods are not so easilyunseated, and neither is love.
The coffin, floated, cradled bythe Nile, drawn north to the
edge of the world, it driftedpast reed and root, past
(09:17):
crocodile and village, until itreached the shores of Byblos,
where it came to rest itsjourney, closing within the arms
of a tree, came to rest hisjourney, closing within the arms
of a tree.
The tree, sensing somethingdivine, grew wide and tall
around the box, wrapping it inbark and silence until it
vanished into its trunk.
(09:39):
There the body of Osiris layhidden, veiled in wood,
remembered by no one save one.
Isis, searched throughsandstorms and moonless nights,
(10:00):
her steps guided by instinct andprayer, her steps guided by
instinct and prayer.
She had not only lost a king,she had lost her love, her
future, the soul of the world.
At last, she reached the treeand within it the chest, and
(10:35):
within the chest, osiris.
She brought him home.
Set, seething with his stolencrown, watched from the shadows
In the quiet, his eyes sweptover her beloved.
In the quiet, azazis wept overher beloved.
Set struck once more.
He shattered the body of Osiris, ripping it apart with divine
(10:59):
violence, his fury scatteringthe pieces across Egypt.
Fourteen fragments plumbed toto river, to desert, to stone
and field.
Still, isis rose with thedevotion of a goddess and the
quiet strength of morning.
(11:20):
She journeyed again alongsideNephthys and, guided by Anubis,
she gathered the fragments ofher beloved.
She named him anew with eachone she found, wrapping them in
linen and and whispered magic.
(11:41):
One piece remained, lost to theNile.
Yet even incomplete, her loveshaped resurrection and Osiris
returned.
(12:03):
Set stood atop the Red Lance,the desolate edges of the
kingdom, his crown heavy withconquest, his throne set in
shadow.
The Nile no longer sang for him.
It curved away from his reach,as if the river itself had
(12:27):
turned its back.
He ruled the upper land with aclenched fist.
But the people whispered othernames Osiris in the Duat, horus
in Waiting, and Isis, foreverwatching.
(12:49):
The wind that once carriedprayers to the heavens now
churned with silence and uneaseIn temples.
His statues were draped indarkness.
In hearts, his name stirreddread.
He was not forgotten.
(13:10):
He was feared.
Set became a god of storms, ofdeserts and isolation.
His power was raw, untamed anderuptive, the kind that cracked
stone, that rattled the bones ofthe earth and swallowed
(13:34):
caravan's whole.
Exiled to the edges, set roamedlands that mirrored his unrest
barren, sun-scorched, alive,with mirage.
There were gods who soughtharmony, and there they were.
(13:56):
Set, born of conflict, shapedby it.
Yet even in exile, he remainedbound to the tapestry of the
gods.
He would rise again in storiesas a force, dangerous, enduring
(14:18):
and woven into the very balancehe broke.
And in the distance, a childstirred beneath the papyrus
reeds.
Set's name has echoed downtemple walls and across desert
(14:45):
sands, not always as a curse,but once as a crown.
In the early hours of Egypt'srise.
He was not a villain.
Set was originally a god ofmight, of desert wind, of
foreign soil and protectivestrength.
He guarded Ra's solar barkagainst the coils of Apep,
(15:11):
standing firm where no other goddared, the quarrels of Apep
standing firm where no other goddared.
And in the deep south, wherethe land bled into sand, set was
worshipped with reverence, histemples rising and nuked.
His symbols etched into thememories of kings.
The memories of kings.
(15:37):
There was a time when Pharaohsbore his emblem, when his name
appeared above royal Syrax.
Set was strength, set was storm, set was sovereignty.
But time changes gods, as itchanges all things.
As the myth of Osiris and Horusbloomed across the two lands,
(16:11):
set's image dimmed.
He was cast as the brother whobetrayed the usurper, who turned
kin into corpse.
His red crown came to signifydisruption.
His dominion over foreign landswas reframed as a threat.
(16:32):
And when foreign kings invokedhis name, egypt recoiled and Set
fell further into shadow by thetwilight of the new kingdom.
(16:53):
Set was a god spoken ofcarefully, often with suspicion,
sometimes with fear.
He was linked to Typhon, thegreat monster of Greek lore, a
god of chaos, exile and serpents.
A god of chaos, exile andserpents.
(17:13):
And yet, even then, the peopleremembered.
They remembered the one whostood on Ra's al-Burj spear,
raised against darkness.
They remembered the desert'svoice, the sharp-edged god who
(17:34):
shaped the storm.
Set was never forgotten.
He remained in spells andcarvings and in the sound that
speaks when the wind howlsBeneath the blazing sky and
(17:57):
drifting sands.
Balance once held the world inplace, but balance does not last
forever.
In the space between day andnight, between the fertile black
soil and the barren red desert,a figure stirred, brewing with
(18:21):
unrest.
Set was born on the edge of theworld While his brother, osiris
, emerged with grace and order.
Set opened his eyes in the heatof the western desert, where
nothing grew and everythingwaited to be taken.
(18:44):
His hair smelled of scorchedstone.
His voice cracked like drythunder.
He was a god of searing windsand shifting sands, of violence,
strength and foreign lands.
(19:08):
As the youngest son of Gaeb, theEarth, and Nut, the Sky, set
was meant to be part of thedivine harmony, brother to
Osiris and Isis, kin to the verybreath of creation.
But even from the beginning,set did not rest easy within the
(19:30):
family of gods.
He prowled the margins.
Where there is built, he broke.
Did not rest easy within thefamily of gods.
He prowled the margins.
Where those built, he broke.
Where they sing praises, hesummons storms.
(19:52):
Set's form was strange andunknowable a beast not of this
world, with square ears, acurved snout and a forked tail.
The Egyptians could name everycreature in their land lion,
crocodile, jackal, falconcon butnot this one.
(20:16):
Set's form was singular, anecho of something ancient and
deeply unsettling.
And yet, for a time he held hisplace among the gods.
He fought at Ra's side on thenightly voyage through the
(20:37):
underworld, standing at the prowof the solar boat, slaying the
serpent Apep.
When Olus faltered.
He was fierce, loyal in his ownway, a god of necessary
violence.
But even the stars knew a stormcannot be leashed forever.
(21:03):
The kingdom flourished.
Beneath Osiris, fields, ripenedTemples rang with song.
The world knew peace, too muchpeace perhaps, for, said he
(21:25):
watched his brother from adistance, watched the offerings
pile like praise, watched thepeople bend their knees in
reverence.
And something twisted in him.
It wasn't jealousy, it was thegnawing certainty that he too
(21:47):
was meant to rule, that hisstrength, his fury, his dominion
over the wild edges of theearth had been overlooked, his
crown stolen before it evertouched his brow.
So Set began to plan.
(22:08):
In secret, he crafted a box, noordinary chest, but a
masterwork carved of rare cedar,inlaid with lapis and gold.
Its measurements were perfect,exact, to the length and width
(22:40):
of Osiris' noble form At a grandfeast, with laughter rising
like incense and wine flowinglike the Nile.
Set revealed the chest.
A gift, he said, a game.
Let he who fits the box claimit.
(23:02):
One by one, the guests climbedin Jesters and nobles Gods, in
silks and garlands, each tooshort, too tall, too wide, until
Osiris stepped forward.
Gracious, beloved and unaware,he lay down inside and the box
(23:32):
received him like it had beenwaiting.
In that breathless moment, setslammed down the lid, he sealed
it tight with molten lead, hecalled to his men and together
they dragged the chest throughthe halls.
They dragged the chest throughthe halls, through the gardens,
(24:02):
to the river's edge and flung itinto the Nile.
The laughter was gone, thefeast had soured and the world,
which had basked in the sunlightof Osiris, shivered beneath the
first true shadow.
Set stood at the shore as thecoffin drifted away.
(24:24):
He had not only slain hisbrother, he had claimed the
throne.
But the gods are not so easilyunseated, and neither is love
and neither is love.
(24:45):
The coffin floated, cradled bythe Nile, drawn north to the
edge of the world, it driftedpast reed and root, past
crocodile and village, until itreached the shores of Byblos,
(25:07):
where it came to rest itsjourney, closing within the arms
of a tree.
The tree, sensing somethingdivine, grew wide and tall
around the box, wrapping it inbark and silence until it
vanished into its trunk.
There the body of Osiris layhidden, veiled in wood,
(25:30):
remembered by no one save one.
Isis searched through sandstormsand moonless nights, her steps
guided by instinct and prayer.
She had not only lost a king,she had lost her love, her
(25:54):
future, the soul of the world.
Alas, she reached the tree andwithin it the chest, and within
the chest, osiris.
She brought him home.
Set, seething with his stolencrown, watched from the shadows
(26:25):
In the quiet.
His eyes swept over her belovedSet struck once more, he
shattered the body of Osiris,ripping it apart with divine
violence, his fury scatteringthe pieces across Egypt.
Fourteen fragments flung toriver, to desert, to stone and
(26:53):
field.
Still, isis rose with thedevotion of a goddess and the
quiet strength of morning.
She journeyed again alongsideNephthys and, guided by Anubis,
(27:13):
she gathered the fragments ofher beloved.
She named him Anu with each oneshe found, wrapping them in
linen and whispered magic.
One piece remained, lost to theNile.
(27:35):
Yet even incomplete, her loveshaped resurrection and Osiris
returned.
(27:56):
Set stood atop the Redlands, thedesolate edges of the kingdom.
His crown heavy with conquest,his throne set in shadow.
His throne set in shadow.
The Nile no longer sang for him.
It curved away from his reachas if the river itself had
turned its back.
He ruled the upper land with aclenched fist, but the people
(28:22):
whispered other names Osiris inthe Duat, horus in waiting, and
Isis forever watching.
The wind that once carriedprayers to the heavens now
(28:44):
churned with silence and unease.
In temples, his statues weredraped in darkness.
In hearts, his name stirreddread.
He was not forgotten, he wasfeared.
Set became a god of storms, ofdeserts and isolation.
His power was raw, untamed anderuptive, the kind that cracked
(29:12):
stone, that rattled the bones ofthe earth and swallowed
caravans whole, and swallowedCaravan's whole.
Exiled to the edges, set roamedlands that mirrored his unrest
(29:34):
barren, sun-scorched, alive,with mirage.
There were gods who soughtharmony, and there they were set
, born of conflict, shaped by it.
Yet even in exile, he remainedbound to the tapestry of the
gods.
He would rise again in storiesas a force dangerous, enduring
(30:02):
and woven into the very balancehe broke.
And in the distance, a childstirred beneath the papyrus
reeds.
Set's name has echoed downtemple walls and across desert
(30:24):
sands, not always as a curse butonce as a crown, in the early
hours of Egypt's rise.
He was originally a god ofmight, of desert wind, of
(30:45):
foreign soil and protectivestrength.
He guarded Ra's solar barkagainst the coils of Apep,
standing firm where no other goddared and in the deep south,
where the land bled into sand.
Set was worshipped withreverence, his temples rising
(31:10):
and nuked, his symbols etchedinto the memories of kings.
There was a time when pharaohsbore his emblem, when his name
appeared above royal Syrax.
Set was strength, set was storm, set was sovereignty.
(31:35):
But time changes gods, as itchanges all things.
As the myth of Osiris and Horusbloomed across the two lands,
(32:01):
set's image dimmed.
He was cast as the brother whobetrayed the usurper who turned
kin into corpse.
His red crown came to signifydisruption.
His dominion over foreign landswas reframed as a threat and
when foreign kings invoked hisname, egypt recoiled and Set
(32:26):
fell further into shadow by thetwilight of the new kingdom.
Set was a god spoken ofcarefully, often with suspicion,
sometimes with fear.
He was linked to Typhon, thegreat monster of Greek lore, a
(32:53):
god of chaos, exile and serpents.
And yet, even then, the peopleremembered.
They remembered the one whostood on Razprow spear raised
against darkness.
They remembered the desert'svoice.
(33:18):
The sharp-edged god who shapedthe storm Set was never
forgotten.
He remained in spells andcarvings and in the sound that
speaks when the wind howls ¶¶,¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶,
(39:44):
¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶.
(43:07):
© transcript Emily Beynon you.
Welcome to Dreamful Podcast bedtime stories for
slumber.
I would like to start off thisepisode by thanking all of our
supporters.
You all help to keep thefigurative lights on for the
podcast and I appreciate you somuch.
If you find value in Dreamfuland would also like to
(00:42):
contribute to the show, visitdreamfulstoriescom and, on the
support page, find a link tobecome a Buzzsprout supporter or
subscribe via Supercast.
If you listen on Spotify,you'll get access to
subscriber-only episodes and ashoutout on the show.
This is the fifth episode inthe Myths of Egypt series, where
(01:03):
we meet the god born ofsandstorms and thunder, the one
who shattered kings but held thestars in their courses.
This is a story of set, bringerof chaos, defender of light.
So snuggle up in your blanketsand have sweet dreams ¶¶.
(02:14):
Beneath the blazing sky anddrifting sands.
Balance once held the world inplace, but balance does not last
forever.
In the space between day andnight, between the fertile black
soil and the barren red desert,a figure stirred, brewing with
(02:44):
unrest.
Set was born on the edge of theworld While his brother, osiris
, emerged with grace and order.
Set opened his eyes in the heatof the western desert, where
nothing grew and everythingwaited to be taken.
His hair smelled of scorchedstone.
His voice cracked like drythunder.
(03:24):
He was a god of searing windsand Nut the sky.
Set was meant to be part of thedivine harmony, brother to
Osiris and Isis not rest easy.
Within the family of gods, heprowled the margins.
(03:51):
Where those built, he broke.
Where they sing praises, hesummoned storms.
(04:18):
Set's form was strange andunknowable a beast not of this
world, with square ears, a Lion,crocodile, jackal, falcon, but
not this one.
Set's form was singular, anecho of something ancient and
(04:39):
deeply unsettling.
And yet, for a time he held hisplace among the gods.
He fought at Ra's side on thenightly voyage through the
underworld, standing at the prowof the solar boat sling the
serpent Apep, when all elsefaltered.
(05:01):
He was fierce, loyal in his ownway, a god of necessary
violence.
But even the stars knew a stormcannot be leashed forever.
(05:25):
The kingdom flourished beneathOsiris.
Fields ripened, temples rangwith song.
The world knew peace, too muchpeace perhaps, for, said he
watched his brother from adistance, watched the offerings
(05:45):
pile like praise, watched thepeople bend their knees in
reverence.
And something twisted in him.
It wasn't jealousy, it was thegnawing certainty that he too
was meant to rule, gnawingcertainty that he too was meant
(06:12):
to rule, that his strength, hisfury, his dominion over the wild
edges of the earth had beenoverlooked, his crown stolen
before it ever touched his brow.
So Set began to plan.
So set began to plan in secret.
He crafted a box, no ordinarychest, but a masterwork carved
(06:35):
of rare cedar, inlaid with lapisand gold.
Its measurements were perfect,exact to the length and width of
Osiris' noble form.
At a grand feast, with laughterrising like incense and wine
(07:01):
flowing like the Nile, setrevealed the chest.
A gift, he said, a game.
Let he who fits the box claimit.
One by one, the guests climbedin Jesters and nobles gods, in
(07:26):
silks and garlands, each tooshort, too tall, too wide, until
Osiris stepped forward.
Gracious, beloved and unaware,he lay down inside and the box
(07:48):
received him like it had beenwaiting.
In that breathless moment, setslammed down the lid, he sealed
it tight with molten lead, hecalled to his men and together
they dragged the chest throughthe halls, through the gardens,
(08:10):
to the river's edge and flung itinto the Nile.
The laughter was gone, thefeast had soured and the world,
which had basked in the sunlightof Osiris, shivered beneath the
(08:31):
first true shadow.
Set stood at the shore as thecoffin drifted away, away.
He had not only slain hisbrother, he had claimed the
(08:54):
throne.
But the gods are not so easilyunseated, and neither is love.
The coffin, floated, cradled bythe Nile, drawn north to the
edge of the world, it driftedpast reed and root, past
(09:17):
crocodile and village, until itreached the shores of Byblos,
where it came to rest itsjourney, closing within the arms
of a tree, came to rest hisjourney, closing within the arms
of a tree.
The tree, sensing somethingdivine, grew wide and tall
around the box, wrapping it inbark and silence until it
vanished into its trunk.
(09:39):
There the body of Osiris layhidden, veiled in wood,
remembered by no one save one.
Isis, searched throughsandstorms and moonless nights,
(10:00):
her steps guided by instinct andprayer, her steps guided by
instinct and prayer.
She had not only lost a king,she had lost her love, her
future, the soul of the world.
At last, she reached the treeand within it the chest, and
(10:35):
within the chest, osiris.
She brought him home.
Set, seething with his stolencrown, watched from the shadows
In the quiet, his eyes sweptover her beloved.
In the quiet, azazis wept overher beloved.
Set struck once more.
He shattered the body of Osiris, ripping it apart with divine
(10:59):
violence, his fury scatteringthe pieces across Egypt.
Fourteen fragments plumbed toto river, to desert, to stone
and field.
Still, isis rose with thedevotion of a goddess and the
quiet strength of morning.
(11:20):
She journeyed again alongsideNephthys and, guided by Anubis,
she gathered the fragments ofher beloved.
She named him anew with eachone she found, wrapping them in
linen and and whispered magic.
(11:41):
One piece remained, lost to theNile.
Yet even incomplete, her loveshaped resurrection and Osiris
returned.
(12:03):
Set stood atop the Red Lance,the desolate edges of the
kingdom, his crown heavy withconquest, his throne set in
shadow.
The Nile no longer sang for him.
It curved away from his reach,as if the river itself had
(12:27):
turned its back.
He ruled the upper land with aclenched fist.
But the people whispered othernames Osiris in the Duat, horus
in Waiting, and Isis, foreverwatching.
(12:49):
The wind that once carriedprayers to the heavens now
churned with silence and uneaseIn temples.
His statues were draped indarkness.
In hearts, his name stirreddread.
He was not forgotten.
(13:10):
He was feared.
Set became a god of storms, ofdeserts and isolation.
His power was raw, untamed anderuptive, the kind that cracked
stone, that rattled the bones ofthe earth and swallowed
(13:34):
caravan's whole.
Exiled to the edges, set roamedlands that mirrored his unrest
barren, sun-scorched, alive,with mirage.
There were gods who soughtharmony, and there they were.
(13:56):
Set, born of conflict, shapedby it.
Yet even in exile, he remainedbound to the tapestry of the
gods.
He would rise again in storiesas a force, dangerous, enduring
(14:18):
and woven into the very balancehe broke.
And in the distance, a childstirred beneath the papyrus
reeds.
Set's name has echoed downtemple walls and across desert
(14:45):
sands, not always as a curse,but once as a crown.
In the early hours of Egypt'srise.
He was not a villain.
Set was originally a god ofmight, of desert wind, of
foreign soil and protectivestrength.
He guarded Ra's solar barkagainst the coils of Apep,
(15:11):
standing firm where no other goddared, the quarrels of Apep
standing firm where no other goddared.
And in the deep south, wherethe land bled into sand, set was
worshipped with reverence, histemples rising and nuked.
His symbols etched into thememories of kings.
The memories of kings.
(15:37):
There was a time when Pharaohsbore his emblem, when his name
appeared above royal Syrax.
Set was strength, set was storm, set was sovereignty.
But time changes gods, as itchanges all things.
As the myth of Osiris and Horusbloomed across the two lands,
(16:11):
set's image dimmed.
He was cast as the brother whobetrayed the usurper, who turned
kin into corpse.
His red crown came to signifydisruption.
His dominion over foreign landswas reframed as a threat.
(16:32):
And when foreign kings invokedhis name, egypt recoiled and Set
fell further into shadow by thetwilight of the new kingdom.
(16:53):
Set was a god spoken ofcarefully, often with suspicion,
sometimes with fear.
He was linked to Typhon, thegreat monster of Greek lore, a
god of chaos, exile and serpents.
A god of chaos, exile andserpents.
(17:13):
And yet, even then, the peopleremembered.
They remembered the one whostood on Ra's al-Burj spear,
raised against darkness.
They remembered the desert'svoice, the sharp-edged god who
(17:34):
shaped the storm.
Set was never forgotten.
He remained in spells andcarvings and in the sound that
speaks when the wind howlsBeneath the blazing sky and
(17:57):
drifting sands.
Balance once held the world inplace, but balance does not last
forever.
In the space between day andnight, between the fertile black
soil and the barren red desert,a figure stirred, brewing with
(18:21):
unrest.
Set was born on the edge of theworld While his brother, osiris
, emerged with grace and order.
Set opened his eyes in the heatof the western desert, where
nothing grew and everythingwaited to be taken.
(18:44):
His hair smelled of scorchedstone.
His voice cracked like drythunder.
He was a god of searing windsand shifting sands, of violence,
strength and foreign lands.
(19:08):
As the youngest son of Gaeb, theEarth, and Nut, the Sky, set
was meant to be part of thedivine harmony, brother to
Osiris and Isis, kin to the verybreath of creation.
But even from the beginning,set did not rest easy within the
(19:30):
family of gods.
He prowled the margins.
Where there is built, he broke.
Did not rest easy within thefamily of gods.
He prowled the margins.
Where those built, he broke.
Where they sing praises, hesummons storms.
(19:52):
Set's form was strange andunknowable a beast not of this
world, with square ears, acurved snout and a forked tail.
The Egyptians could name everycreature in their land lion,
crocodile, jackal, falconcon butnot this one.
(20:16):
Set's form was singular, anecho of something ancient and
deeply unsettling.
And yet, for a time he held hisplace among the gods.
He fought at Ra's side on thenightly voyage through the
(20:37):
underworld, standing at the prowof the solar boat, slaying the
serpent Apep.
When Olus faltered.
He was fierce, loyal in his ownway, a god of necessary
violence.
But even the stars knew a stormcannot be leashed forever.
(21:03):
The kingdom flourished.
Beneath Osiris, fields, ripenedTemples rang with song.
The world knew peace, too muchpeace perhaps, for, said he
(21:25):
watched his brother from adistance, watched the offerings
pile like praise, watched thepeople bend their knees in
reverence.
And something twisted in him.
It wasn't jealousy, it was thegnawing certainty that he too
(21:47):
was meant to rule, that hisstrength, his fury, his dominion
over the wild edges of theearth had been overlooked, his
crown stolen before it evertouched his brow.
So Set began to plan.
(22:08):
In secret, he crafted a box, noordinary chest, but a
masterwork carved of rare cedar,inlaid with lapis and gold.
Its measurements were perfect,exact, to the length and width
(22:40):
of Osiris' noble form At a grandfeast, with laughter rising
like incense and wine flowinglike the Nile.
Set revealed the chest.
A gift, he said, a game.
Let he who fits the box claimit.
(23:02):
One by one, the guests climbedin Jesters and nobles Gods, in
silks and garlands, each tooshort, too tall, too wide, until
Osiris stepped forward.
Gracious, beloved and unaware,he lay down inside and the box
(23:32):
received him like it had beenwaiting.
In that breathless moment, setslammed down the lid, he sealed
it tight with molten lead, hecalled to his men and together
they dragged the chest throughthe halls.
They dragged the chest throughthe halls, through the gardens,
(24:02):
to the river's edge and flung itinto the Nile.
The laughter was gone, thefeast had soured and the world,
which had basked in the sunlightof Osiris, shivered beneath the
first true shadow.
Set stood at the shore as thecoffin drifted away.
(24:24):
He had not only slain hisbrother, he had claimed the
throne.
But the gods are not so easilyunseated, and neither is love
and neither is love.
(24:45):
The coffin floated, cradled bythe Nile, drawn north to the
edge of the world, it driftedpast reed and root, past
crocodile and village, until itreached the shores of Byblos,
(25:07):
where it came to rest itsjourney, closing within the arms
of a tree.
The tree, sensing somethingdivine, grew wide and tall
around the box, wrapping it inbark and silence until it
vanished into its trunk.
There the body of Osiris layhidden, veiled in wood,
(25:30):
remembered by no one save one.
Isis searched through sandstormsand moonless nights, her steps
guided by instinct and prayer.
She had not only lost a king,she had lost her love, her
(25:54):
future, the soul of the world.
Alas, she reached the tree andwithin it the chest, and within
the chest, osiris.
She brought him home.
Set, seething with his stolencrown, watched from the shadows
(26:25):
In the quiet.
His eyes swept over her belovedSet struck once more, he
shattered the body of Osiris,ripping it apart with divine
violence, his fury scatteringthe pieces across Egypt.
Fourteen fragments flung toriver, to desert, to stone and
(26:53):
field.
Still, isis rose with thedevotion of a goddess and the
quiet strength of morning.
She journeyed again alongsideNephthys and, guided by Anubis,
(27:13):
she gathered the fragments ofher beloved.
She named him Anu with each oneshe found, wrapping them in
linen and whispered magic.
One piece remained, lost to theNile.
(27:35):
Yet even incomplete, her loveshaped resurrection and Osiris
returned.
(27:56):
Set stood atop the Redlands, thedesolate edges of the kingdom.
His crown heavy with conquest,his throne set in shadow.
His throne set in shadow.
The Nile no longer sang for him.
It curved away from his reachas if the river itself had
turned its back.
He ruled the upper land with aclenched fist, but the people
(28:22):
whispered other names Osiris inthe Duat, horus in waiting, and
Isis forever watching.
The wind that once carriedprayers to the heavens now
(28:44):
churned with silence and unease.
In temples, his statues weredraped in darkness.
In hearts, his name stirreddread.
He was not forgotten, he wasfeared.
Set became a god of storms, ofdeserts and isolation.
His power was raw, untamed anderuptive, the kind that cracked
(29:12):
stone, that rattled the bones ofthe earth and swallowed
caravans whole, and swallowedCaravan's whole.
Exiled to the edges, set roamedlands that mirrored his unrest
(29:34):
barren, sun-scorched, alive,with mirage.
There were gods who soughtharmony, and there they were set
, born of conflict, shaped by it.
Yet even in exile, he remainedbound to the tapestry of the
gods.
He would rise again in storiesas a force dangerous, enduring
(30:02):
and woven into the very balancehe broke.
And in the distance, a childstirred beneath the papyrus
reeds.
Set's name has echoed downtemple walls and across desert
(30:24):
sands, not always as a curse butonce as a crown, in the early
hours of Egypt's rise.
He was originally a god ofmight, of desert wind, of
(30:45):
foreign soil and protectivestrength.
He guarded Ra's solar barkagainst the coils of Apep,
standing firm where no other goddared and in the deep south,
where the land bled into sand.
Set was worshipped withreverence, his temples rising
(31:10):
and nuked, his symbols etchedinto the memories of kings.
There was a time when pharaohsbore his emblem, when his name
appeared above royal Syrax.
Set was strength, set was storm, set was sovereignty.
(31:35):
But time changes gods, as itchanges all things.
As the myth of Osiris and Horusbloomed across the two lands,
(32:01):
set's image dimmed.
He was cast as the brother whobetrayed the usurper who turned
kin into corpse.
His red crown came to signifydisruption.
His dominion over foreign landswas reframed as a threat and
when foreign kings invoked hisname, egypt recoiled and Set
(32:26):
fell further into shadow by thetwilight of the new kingdom.
Set was a god spoken ofcarefully, often with suspicion,
sometimes with fear.
He was linked to Typhon, thegreat monster of Greek lore, a
(32:53):
god of chaos, exile and serpents.
And yet, even then, the peopleremembered.
They remembered the one whostood on Razprow spear raised
against darkness.
They remembered the desert'svoice.
(33:18):
The sharp-edged god who shapedthe storm Set was never
forgotten.
He remained in spells andcarvings and in the sound that
speaks when the wind howls ¶¶,¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶,
(39:44):
¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶, ¶¶.
(43:07):
© transcript Emily Beynon you.
Popular Podcasts
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show
The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show. Clay Travis and Buck Sexton tackle the biggest stories in news, politics and current events with intelligence and humor. From the border crisis, to the madness of cancel culture and far-left missteps, Clay and Buck guide listeners through the latest headlines and hot topics with fun and entertaining conversations and opinions.