Set + Nephthys - Classic Mythology

I was recently asked to draw a 2 sketch card puzzle piece of Set & Nephthys with my wife Elaine from our Classic Mythology trading card set (Perna Studios). She drew & colored Nephthys and I drew and colored Set and the backgrounds. - Each sketch card measures 2.5" x 3.5".


pernastudios.deviantart.com


Egyptian Mythology - Set (Seth, Setesh, Sutekh, Setekh or Suty) – Set was a god of the desert, storms, and foreigners. In later myths he was also the god of darkness, and chaos. In the mythology of Heliopolis, Set was born of the sky goddess Nut and the earth god Geb. Set's twin sister and wife was Nepthys. In art, Set is mostly depicted as a fabulous creature, referred to by Egyptologists as the Set animal or Typhonic beast. The Typhon has a curved snout, square ears, forked tail, and canine body; sometimes, Set is depicted as a human with only the head of the Set animal. It does not resemble any known creature, although it could be seen as a composite of an aardvark, a donkey, a jackal, or a fennec.

Egyptian Mythology - Nephthys is a member of the Great Ennead of Heliopolis, a daughter of Nut and Geb. Her name means, "Lady of the [Temple] Enclosure" which associates her with the role of priestess. She is the sister of Isis and companion of the war-like deity, Set. As sister of Isis and especially Osiris, Nephthys is a protective goddess who symbolizes the death experience, just as Isis represented the re-birth experience. Nephthys was known in some ancient Egyptian temple theologies and cosmologies as the "Useful Goddess" or the "Excellent Goddess". These late Ancient Egyptian temple texts describe a goddess who represented divine assistance and protective guardianship. Nephthys is regarded as the mother of the funerary-deity Anubis (Inpu) in some myths. Alternatively Anubis appears as the son of Bastet or Isis. As the primary "nursing mother" of the incarnate Pharaonic-god, Horus, Nephthys also was considered to be the nurse of the reigning Pharaoh himself. Though other goddesses could assume this role, Nephthys was most usually portrayed in this function. Nephthys was typically paired with her sister Isis in funerary rites because of their role as protectors of the mummy and the god Osiris and as the sister-wife of Seth. In the funerary role, Nephthys often was depicted as a bird of prey called a kite, or as a woman with falcon wings, usually outstretched as a symbol of protection. Nephthys's association with the kite or the Egyptian hawk (and its piercing, mournful cries) evidently reminded the ancients of the lamentations usually offered for the dead by wailing women. In this capacity, it is easy to see how Nephthys could be associated with death and putrefaction in the Pyramid Texts.


PLEASE, NEGATIVE CRITIQUES ARE NOT WELCOME AND WILL BE DELETED. THESE ARE OUR INTREPRETATIONS OF THESE CHARACTERS. DESCRIPTIONS ARE BASED ON VARIOUS STORIES THAT ALL DIFFER FROM VARIOUS SOURCES. THANK YOU.