The Contendings of Horus and Set

The Contendings of Horus and Set is a satirical mythological narrative preserved on Papyrus Chester Beatty I. It recounts the eighty-year tribunal before the divine council — the Ennead — to determine whether Osiris's son Horus or his uncle Set should rule Egypt. The text is remarkably irreverent: Ra sulks in his tent when contradicted, Neith threatens to bring the sky crashing down, and Thoth disguises himself to trick Set. Horus and Set engage in boat races, shape-shifting battles, and trials of endurance. When Set claims to have dominated Horus sexually, Horus reveals that he tricked Set into ingesting his own seed. Osiris sends an angry letter from the underworld, and ultimately the council awards Egypt to Horus. The text is significant both as mythology and as one of the earliest examples of literary humour.