Seker

For the name, see Şeker.
For the places in Azerbaijan, see Şəkər.
For the Stargate SG-1 character, see Sokar (Stargate)
Seker-Osiris
Seker
in hieroglyphs

Seker (/ˈsɛkər/; also spelled Sokar) is a falcon god of the Memphite necropolis. Although the meaning of his name remains uncertain, the Egyptians in the Pyramid Texts linked his name to the anguished cry of Osiris to Isis 'Sy-k-ri' ('hurry to me'),[1] in the underworld. Seker is strongly linked with two other gods, Ptah the Creator god and chief god of Memphis and Osiris the god of the dead. In later periods this connection was expressed as the triple god Ptah-Seker-Osiris.

Seker was usually depicted as a mummified hawk and sometimes as mound from which the head of a hawk appears. Here he is called 'he who is on his sand'. Sometimes he is shown on his hennu barque which was an elaborate sledge for negotiating the sandy necropolis. One of his titles was 'He of Restau' which means the place of 'openings' or tomb entrances.

In the New Kingdom Book of the Underworld, the Amduat, he is shown standing on the back of a serpent between two spread wings; as an expression of freedom this suggests a connection with resurrection or perhaps a satisfactory transit of the underworld.[1] Despite this the region of the underworld associated with Seker was seen as difficult, sandy terrain called the Imhet (meaning 'filled up').[2]

Seker, possibly through his association with Ptah, also has a connection with craftsmen. In the Book of the Dead he is said to fashion silver bowls[1] and a silver coffin of Sheshonq II has been discovered at Tanis decorated with the iconography of Seker.[3] Seker's cult centre was in Memphis where festivals in his honour were held in the fourth month of the akhet (spring) season. The god was depicted as assisting in various tasks such as digging ditches and canals. From the New Kingdom a similar festival was held in Thebes.[3]

Popular culture

In the 1956 movie The Ten Commandments, the Pharaoh Rameses II invokes the same deity to bring his deceased firstborn son back to life, while portrayed as wearing dark blue robe with a silver bow.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, George Hart ISBN 0-415-34495-6
  2. ↑ The Egyptian Amduat, Erik Hornung and Theodore Abt ISBN 3-9522608-4-3
  3. 1 2 The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt, Wilkinson ISBN 0-500-05120-8

Further reading


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