According to some texts, Set's semen enters Horus's body and makes him ill, but in "Contendings", Horus thwarts Set by catching Set's semen in his hands. I warned you the story would get real really quickly. Horus proceeded to steal Set's testicles, causing Set to lose virility and strength. In other words, Horus cannot be ruler of Egypt because he had been covered in sperm like a woman. The judicial power of the court was the Sun God Re and the contenders Horus and Seth were there to contest who had the rightful claim to the throne of Egypt after the death of Osiris. K. Annabelle Smith is a writer based in Santa Fe, New Mexico who covers a wide variety of topics for Smithsonian.com. “But if you broke off a leaf it oozed a sort of white-ish, milky substance—basically it looked like semen.”. Because Set eats the semen-covered lettuce, in the eyes of the gods, Horus was dominant—at least until the next battle. Let Set’s semen be summoned that we may see from where it answers, and my own be summoned that we may see from where it answers.”, Then Thoth, lord of script and scribe of truth for the Ennead, put his hand on Horus’s shoulder and said: “Come out, you semen of Set.”, And it answered him from the water in the interior of the marsh. 0576 Rackham Building *See K. Annabelle Smith’s piece, “When Lettuce was a Sacred Sex Symbol,” at Smithsonian.com. According to Papyrus Chester-Beatty I, as interpreted by Ikram, Set at one point tries to overpower Horus by seducing him and then having intercourse with him. He then secretly spread some of his own seed on a plate of lettuce, which he fed to Set, who was still a guest in his home. The Ptolemaic king stands before Min, the ithyphallic god of fertility, and offers him the eye of Horus. The god, often pictured with an erect penis in wall paintings and reliefs was also known as the “great of love” as he is called in a text from Edfu Temple. — corrected thanks to feedback from reader joelfinkle) (While we’re talking etymology, raw lettuce dishes known as herba salata (“salted greens”) gave rise to the English word “salad.”) Jane Grigson’s Vegetable Book provides further options for what the lettuce milk of the “ithyphallic god of increase” may represent: Lettuce was sacred to him because of the “straight vertical surge” of their growth, milky juice they exude which could be taken as a symbol of mothers milk or semen. It’s one thing to have semen caught in your hands, but to actually ingest becomes of grave consequence. However, Horus places his hand between his thighs and catches Set's semen, then subsequently throws it in the river, so that he may not be said to have been inseminated by Set. Thoth put his hand on Set’s shoulder and said: “Come out, you semen of Horus.”, Then it said to him: “Where shall I come from?”, Thoth said to it: “Come out from his ear.”, Thereupon it said to him: “Is it from his ear that I should issue forth, seeing that I am divine seed?”, Then Thoth said to it:”Come out from the top of his head.”, And it emerged as a golden solar disk upon Set’s head. Horus places his hand between his legs, catches Set’s semen and throws it into the river. 1.3.04SC is the version of Simplified Chinese . The next day, Horus (or his mother Isis) plots to inseminate Set. Set, on the other hand, was the god of the desert, disorder, and violence. It is not through might or political acumen that Horus regains the throne, but rather, through his loins. Then she fetched some fragrant ointment and applied it to Horus’s phallus. Image via wordpress. Set was born of the sky goddess Nut and the earth god Geb. When the butt of modern Romaine lettuce is cut off, a similar substance oozes from the plant and gives it a bitter flavor. 10) Seth assaults Horus ‘between his thighs’, H catches the semen, Isis cuts off his hand. Now, Researchers Found Another, Renewing Hope for the Species, Medieval Chinese Coin Found in England Suggests a Vast Medieval Trade Route, Ancient Humans May Have Tossed Meaty Scraps to Wild Wolves, Boosting Domestication, Meet Joseph Rainey, the First Black Congressman, The State of American Craft Has Never Been Stronger. Set seems to like spicy burritos (make sure they have sour cream and lettuce, because it references a myth where he ate a salad covered with Horus's.... Well ah. In this scene, we can extrapolate that virility is synonymous with dominance. You can read the myth.). After Set had eaten the lettuce, they went to the gods to try to settle the argument over the rule of Egypt. The opponents were the Ancient Egyptian God Horus and the Ancient Egypttian God Seth. The earliest version of the greens resembled two modern lettuces: romaine, from the French word “romaine” (from Rome), and cos lettuce, believed to have been found on the island of Kos, located along the coast of modern day Turkey. Tired from decapitating his mother, Horus went to sleep on the mountaintop. As experimentation on my part, I will be starting a blog series on food and sexuality in literature beginning in chronological order (as best as I can). Seth snuck up and gouged out his nephew’s eyes, burying them in the ground. Thoth calls, "Come out, you semen of Horus." Salima Ikram, Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo who specializes in Ancient Egyptian food explains Min’s part in lettuce history. mqr@umich.edu. Horus then took an oath by god as follows: “All that Set has said is false. Overnight, they grew into lotuses. Therefore, when Set ate the lettuce, he unknowingly ingested Horus’s semen as … Behind him, a procession of priests holds a small garden of lettuce. The Greeks and Romans later popularized the leafy veggie as an appetizer during the 81-96 A.D. reign of Domitian. Unbeknownst to Set, he ate lettuce along with Horus’ semen, where it was held in his body as in a woman’s body for conception. The Egyptian god of fertility, Min, was said to have had an extreme love for lettuce. Horu… Soon he went to the court with his charge of homosexuality, and the court at first laughed at Horus God for his supposed weakness. Set became exceeding furious and extended his hand(s) to seize the golden solar disk. “One of the reasons why associated the lettuce with Min was because it grows straight and tall—an obvious phallic symbol,” Ikram says. He's also accepted a homemade pizza and a package of Hostess "HoHos..." (*Rolls eyes* He's like that. Fixed the bug that the MinRSSI is set to zero when selecting clear telemetry data; 3. Get the best of Smithsonian magazine by email. Required fields are marked *. But the story takes an erotic turn soon afterwards: Now afterward, (at) evening time, bed was prepared for them, and they both lay down. Give a Gift. “Over 3,000 years, role did change, but he was constantly associated with lettuce,” she says. or After Set had eaten the lettuce, they went to the gods to try to settle the argument over the rule of Egypt. The first of these depictions appeared around 1970-80 B.C. As Set ejaculates, Horus places his hands between his thighs and catches his semen, which is then thrown into the Nile. Michigan Publishing maintains a free, online archive of past issues of Michigan Quarterly Review. Vote Now! Search the archive for over fifty years of fiction, poetry, essays, and more. The gods first listened to Set’s claim of dominance over Horus, and call his semen forth, but it answered from the river, invalidating his claim. Horus went to tell his mother Isis: “Help me, Isis, my mother, come and see what Set has done to me.” And he opened his hand(s) and let her see Set’s semen. Horus places his hand between his legs, catches Set’s semen and throws it into the river. For this post, I will be discussing the royal intrigue between two gods, Horus and Set. Horus then deliberately spreads his own semen on some lettuce, which was Set's favorite food. Set then asked the gods to bring the semen forth from the ‘impregnated’ one, to humiliate Osiris’ son. At the center is a statue of Min. Advertising Notice H’s Sun disk emerges above Seth’s head. In fact, the Eye of Horus is a symbol that represents divine protection in the ancient Egyptian religion. Don’t worry, Horus was able to regain his eyes with the help of a mistress named Hathor. So without further ado, let’s go back thousands upon thousands of years ago to the great civilization of ancient Egypt. He had already been ruled. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Set then asked the gods to bring the semen forth from the ‘impregnated’ one, to humiliate Osiris’ son. When you think about food and sex, it may seem bit a bizarre to link these two together but their end goal is the same: satiation. Set then ate the semen-covered lettuce, and so Horus (rather than Set with his first ‘attack’) bacame sexually dominant over his uncle. Set is an Egyptian god of deserts, storms, disorder, war, violence, and foreigners. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. He is the son of Geb and Nut, and is the brother of Osiris, Isis, Her-ur, and Nephthys. Under Domitian’s reign, as the story goes, the ruler would force his guests to eat lettuce before the meal so as to make them struggle to remain awake for the remainder of the visit. “Botanical No. Isis retaliates by putting Horus's semen on lettuce-leaves that Set eats. “Horus tricks Set by basically spurting his sperm and throwing it into a lettuce plant, ” Ikram says. Horus then deliberately spreads his own semen on some lettuce, which was Set's favorite food (the Egyptians thought that lettuce was phallic). A trial was taking place in a court. SET God of Chaos Later Egyptians interpreted the myth of the conflict between Set and Osiris/Horus as an analogy for the struggle between the desert (represented by Set) and the fertilizing floods of the Nile (Osiris/Horus). From the Gree… It was adopted into Greek as Ὡρος Hōros. Thereupon he became pregnant with the semen of Horus. Another theory suggests that there was a battle between the followers of Set and those of Horus at some point in time. He is part of the Ennead. The gods first listened to Set's claim of dominance over Horus, and called his semen forth, but it answered from the river, invalidating his claim. The leaves had a greenish blue color and were often removed from the plant due to their bitter taste. Privacy Statement Lettuce and Kings: The Power Struggle Between Horus and Set In this tale, it was said that Set, the patron of Upper Egypt, and Horus, the patron of Lower Egypt, had battled for Egypt brutally, with neither side victorious, until ev… For women, the vitamin stimulates our cycles and for the men, it assists with sperm production, and  of course, virility. Set… Towards the end of the story, both Horus and Set appear in front of Thoth, who was another deity known to handle godly disputes: Said Set: “Let me be awarded the office of Ruler … for as to Horus, the one who is standing (trial), I have performed the labor of a male against him.”. Because Set eats the semen-covered lettuce, in the eyes of the gods, Horus was dominant—at least until the next battle. Instead of being part of a meal, the seeds from the bud of the flowers were harvested and pressed for their natural oils which were used for cooking, medication—even mummification. Horus places his hand between his legs, catches Set’s semen and throws it into the river. 17th Annual Photo Contest Finalists Announced. After Set had eaten the lettuce, they went to the gods to try to settle the argument over the rule of Egypt. Out of all foods, why would it be lettuce instead of chocolate or oysters, which are said to stir sexual arousal? In this myth, lettuce, an ancient aphrodisiac, is the tool used to submit Set to Horus’s power. A golden disk appeared on Set's forehead, signaling his impregnation with Horus’ seed and ultimate defeat. The followers of Horus triumphed over those of Set, thus resulting in Set’s demonization. It was adopted into Greek as Ὡρος Hōros. Lettuce has been harvested for millenia—it was depicted by ancient Egyptians on the walls of tombs dating back to at least 2,700 B.C. The original name also survives in later Egyptian names such as Har-Si-Ese literally "Horus, son of Isis". Though the argument was usually over which of the two had the rightful claim to rule Egypt, one rather odd battle involves lettuce.