page_title: Seth-Peribsen
section_title: Religious theories uniting Peribsen with Seth
hierarchical_section_title: Seth-Peribsen / Name / Religious theories uniting Peribsen with Seth
context_page_description: Seth-Peribsen is the serekh name of an early Egyptian monarch, who ruled during the Second Dynasty of Egypt. His chronological position within this dynasty is unknown and it is disputed who ruled both before and after him. The duration of his reign is also unknown.
  Peribsen's name is unusual, in that Set, not Horus, was his patron deity. This goes against the Egyptian tradition of a king choosing the falcon-shaped deity Horus as his royal patron.
  Peribsen's tomb was discovered in 1898 at Abydos. It was well preserved and showed traces of restoration undertaken during later dynastic periods.
context_section_description: Older theories
  A theory that was popular until the mid-20th century, supported by Egyptologists Percy Newberry, Jaroslav Černý, Walter Bryan Emery and Bernhard Grdseloff held that Peribsen was a heretic who sought to introduce a new, monotheistic state religion to Egypt, with Seth as the only worshipped god. Peribsen's actions were thought to be similar to those of the much later 18th Dynasty pharaoh  Akhenaten, who had required Egyptians to serve only the Aten. Newberry proposed that the priests of Horus and Seth fought each other "in the manner of a War of the Roses" during the second half of the Second Dynasty.
  The "heretic Peribsen" theory was based on three observations: that the name "Peribsen" was excluded from later king lists, that the king's tomb had been destroyed and plundered during antiquity and, finally, that the tomb stelae of Peribsen, that once displayed the Set animal, were badly scratched with the clear intention of effacing the Seth image. Egyptologists hypothesized these were the actions of religious opponents to the Sethian priest-caste. Lauer and Firth relied on the "heretic Peribsen" theory to explain the enormous quantity of stone vessels inscribed with the name of First and Second Dynasty kings found beneath Djoser's pyramid in bags bearing seals of Khasekhemwy and Djoser. They proposed that Peribsen had plundered the tombs of his predecessors, followers of Horus, and scattered their funerary equipment. These vessels were gathered in the royal treasury during Khasekhemwy's reign following his reunification of Egypt, and finally put beneath the Step Pyramid by Djoser, in an act of pious devotion.
  Contemporary theories
  Today this theory, as well as Lauer and Firth's conclusions, is widely questioned. Archaeological evidence of Peribsen has been found almost entirely in Upper Egypt. In particular, his name does not appear in Lower Egyptian records surviving from that time. It is argued that Peribsen may not have ruled over all of Egypt and therefore did not have the authority to force a change in state religion. Another piece of evidence that argues against the "heretic Peribsen" theory is the false door of the priest Shery at Saqqara. Shery held office during the early Fourth Dynasty. The inscription on the false door connects the name of Peribsen in one sentence with another shadowy king of the Second Dynasty, Senedj. According to the addendum, Shery was "overseer of all wab-priests of king Peribsen in the necropolis of king Senedj, in his mortuary temple and at all other places". This implies that the funerary cult of Peribsen continued at least until the Fourth Dynasty, inconsistent with the assumption that Peribsen's name was not allowed to be mentioned. Additionally, Egyptologists such as Herman te Velde point out that Shery was not the only Fourth Dynasty priest participating in the funerary cult of Peribsen. Inkef, possibly a brother or cousin of Shery, also held the title of a "supervisor of Ka-priests of Peribsen".
  Seal impressions found in Peribsen's tomb at Abydos show several deities: Ash, Min and Bastet, suggesting they were venerated during Peribsen's time on the throne. This finding argues against Peribsen worshipping a single god, or promoting monotheism. The heretic theory of Newberry, Černý, Grdseloff and others was devised from the very limited archaeological information available during their lifetimes. Most of the clay seal impressions found were still undeciphered and untranslated in their time.
  In the opinion of Sainte Fare Garnot (1956) and te Velde (1956), the name of "Peribsen" accords religious meaning, even before association with a deity. 
  The name "Peribsen" literally means "He who comes forth by their will" or "His heart and will comes forth for them."
  The Egyptian syllable sn means "them, their, those", revealing a clear plural writing. 
  Te Velde and Garnot are convinced that Peribsen used the heraldic Seth animal as a serekh patron, but also linked his name to Horus. If true, it would prove that Peribsen worshipped Horus and Seth on an equal footing during his lif
caption: Inscription from a porphyry-vase displaying the serekh of Peribsen; note the Seth-animal with a sun-disk above.[18]