Slaying the Bull of Seth (Ramesses’ First Rodeo)

In the Temple of Sety I at Abydos, an out-of-the-way corridor preserves a unique image. The King of Egypt, and his eldest son, wrangle and subdue a bull. This scene appears simple, at first glance. But it has a wealth of deeper symbolism and meanings. In this episode, we explore the idea of Bulls as images of power and violence, and their relationship with gods like Osiris and Seth…

The Bull Hall photos by Heidi Kontkanen at Flickr.com.

The Bull Hall in Peter Brand, Monuments of Sety I (2000) available free online.

Sound effects purchased from Pond5.

Music and interludes by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.net.

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Bibliography

  • M. Abuel-Yazid, ‘Architecture of the Slaughterhouse of the Seti Temple at Abydos’, in I. Regulski (ed.), Abydos: The Sacred Land at the Western Horizon (2019), 7–24.
  • L. Baqué, ‘“On that Day When the Long-Horned Bull was Lassoed…” (PT [254] 286). A Scene in the “Corridor of the Bull” of the Cenotaph of Sethos I in Abydos: An Iconologic Approach’, Studien zur Altägyptischen Kultur 30 (2002), 43–51.
  • A. M. Blackman, The Rock Tombs of Meir, VI vols (1914).
  • P. J. Brand, The Monuments of Seti I: Epigraphic, Historical and Art Historical Analysis (2000). Available free online.
  • P. J. Brand, Ramesses II: Egypt’s Ultimate Pharaoh (2023).
  • D. Brewer, ‘Agriculture and Animal Husbandry’, in T. Wilkinson (ed.), The Egyptian World (2007), 131–145.
  • E. Cruz-Uribe, ‘Stḫ ꜥꜣ pḥty “Seth, God of Power and Might”’, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 45 (2009), 201–26.
  • J. M. Galán, ‘Bullfight Scenes in Ancient Egyptian Tombs’, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 80 (1994), 81–96.
  • N. Guilhou, ‘Seth et le taureau: double visage d’un animal symbole de puissance’, in S. H. Aufrère (ed.), Les taureaux de l’Égypte ancienne: publication éditée à l’occasion de la 14e rencontre d’égyptologie de Nîmes (2020), 107–129.
  • P. L. Jones, Animal Husbandry in Ancient Egypt During the Old and Middle Kingdoms (2021).
  • N. Kanawati, ‘Bullfighting in Ancient Egypt’, The Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology 2 (1991), 51–58.
  • L. Morgan, ‘Power of the Beast: Human-Animal Symbolism in Egyptian and Aegean Art’, Egypt and the Levant 7 (1998), 17–31.
  • D. Stewart, ‘The Myth of Osiris in the Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, Monash University (2014).
  • I. R. Taylor, ‘Deconstructing the Iconography of Seth’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, University of Birmingham (2016).
  • H. te Velde, Seth, God of Confusion (1967).
  • P. J. Turner, ‘Seth – A Misrepresented God in the Ancient Egyptian Pantheon?’, Unpublished PhD. Thesis, The University of Manchester (2012).
  • R. H. Wilkinson, The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt (2003).
  • Y. Yekutieli, ‘Divine Royal Power’, in E. C. M. van den Brink and E. Yannai (eds), In Quest of Ancient Settlements and Landscapes: Archaeological Studies in Honour of Ram Gophna (2002), 243–253.
Show 2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Rishabh Raman

    Ooh, that sponsorship might be controversial. Just to warn you, BetterHelp has a bit of a negative reputation nowadays, and it is kind of notorious for overcharging services that weren’t really provided, selling personal data, and not vetting therapists properly. Most of that was settled in court a couple years ago, but it still has a bad reputation on the Internet, and I’d hate for that to damage the podcast, which I greatly enjoy. I’m mainly parroting old talking points from the Internet, though, so I’d recommend looking into it yourself to see if their practices and reputation have improved. Just wanted to give a heads-up.

    • DominicPerry

      Hello Rishabh, thank you for alerting. I was aware of the historical issues, but understood they had been resolved legally. I wasn’t aware the internet had maintained that perception (though, that might be naivete on my part). I’ll certainly look into this more carefully. Apologies for any confusion/concern!

      Dominic

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