RE: The Most Dangerous Animal In Africa?

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The Most Dangerous Animal In Africa?

in mspsteem •  7 years ago 

Great photos and nice inclusion of a little educational PSA! The ancient Egyptians used to fear hippos so much that they canonized them as the deity Set, which is kind of like their version of the devil. There was this ritual every year where the king, as the embodiment of Horus, would kill a hippo that was said to embody Set. Being mostly a river people, they hated hippos so much that they basically personified them as the devil lol.

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Jeez. I'm actually obsessed with Egyptian mythos, but that one must of skipped me or hidden in the recesses of my memory somewhere. I'm relatively well acquainted with Set etc., but this is still news to me. I appreciate that tidbit!
-C

Glad to be of service:) It actually goes all the way back to the old kingdom. I've heard people theorize that Osiris was killed by a hippo and that that's where the Set story came from. As in he was literally killed by a hippo, but on some kind of metaphysical level it was actually Set who somehow caused his death. I can't speak to the validity of it, but I think it's an interesting idea.