As careful reading of the bible shows, elements of many early Middle Eastern religions have found their way into the bible, yet Set is the only "foreign" God to have been mentioned by name. As I intend to demonstrate, He was undoubtably the inspiration for the figure of Satan, and probably a number of other biblical myths as well.

The Hebrews, and thus the early church would definately been aware of the nuances of Set's legend, given the close proximities of the nations, not to mention the sizable Jewish communities resident in Egypt at the time.

Set's role in the Egyptian Pantheon was far more complex than that of Satan for the Christians, but this is in keeping with the entire Judaeo-Christian religion, which was nothing more than a watered-down version of the Egyptian original. The purpose behind this bastardization seems to have been to have made the worship of Osiris and Isis more acceptable to the patriarchal Hebrews in an attempt to return them to their religious roots, while forcing them to recognise the Goddess Principle, long-forgotten by the Jews.

Like Satan, Set also fulfilled a vital role as the resurrected God's main protagonist, in addition to his own Godhood. In addition to his role as the formative figure for Satan, Set also seems likely to have been the inspiration for the story of Cain and Abel. A further coincidence has the son of Caine named Seth, and gives him as the forebearer of the human race.

Consider the following facts. One version of the battle between Set and Horus has Set being cast into chains for 1000 years, and the whole myth bears a striking resemblence to St. Michael's battle with Lucifer and the war in Heaven. When the Hebrews emigrated from Egypt during the XIX Dynasty, however, they took with them a caricature of Set: 'Satan' (from the hieroglyphic Set-hen, one of the God's formal titles).

Our society's image of Satan, based on the medieval model owes an obvious debt to Set: A red figure with a forked tail, his pitchfork uncannily similar to the royal scepter of Set, the horns a feasible evolution from the distinctive squared ears. Even the cloven hooves are a logical assumption, given Set's indeterminate animal origins. Bear in mind however that Set pre-dates Christ by a good 3000 years.

If we consider Christian myths about Satan, we find numerous Sethian comparisons. For example, Satan tempted Christ in the desert (traditionally the domain of Set), with the definite inferrence that Satan was the Lord of the Desert: "All this I will give you if you worship me." Set was known as "Lord Of The Western Desert".

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