>>13555926Another myth related to the rivalry between Horus and Set is the ‘Contendings of Horus and Set’, found in the Chester Beatty Papyri . The story dates to the Twentieth Dynasty, and concerns the battles fought between Horus and Set to determine who would be the rightful ruler of Egypt. Unlike the Osiris myth, where the battle between Horus and Set is a physical one, the conflicts in this myth also involved battles of wits. In one of these “competitions” Set attempts to establish his dominance over Horus by inseminating him, though it turns out to be the opposite of what he had expected.
The tale begins with Set seducing Horus and having intercourse with him. As Set ejaculates, Horus places his hands between his thighs and catches his semen, which is then thrown into the Nile. The next day, Horus (or his mother Isis) plots to inseminate Set. This was achieved by having Horus’s semen spread over some lettuce, which was supposed to be Set’s favorite vegetable. Therefore, when Set ate the lettuce, he unknowingly ingested Horus’s semen as well
