“The Dispute between Horus and Seth” and the Emergence of the Early Kingdom of Ancient Egypt

The author suggests a new hypothesis for the emergence of the Early Kingdom of Ancient Egypt. This hypothesis supposes that long before the Early Kingdom, a durable, well-organized and deep-rooted political tradition existed in Egypt. At its core, there was clearly a political tradition of Lower Egypt, the Delta. That is why the new political elite, which came from the South, had to incorporate themselves and their power in this already existing and very strong tradition. The South, after it started to dominate the all-Egyptian state, had to “re-build” the mythological cycle of Horus and Seth, aiming to legitimate the new power. The “mimicry” of “jackal”-kings under the “falcons“was the result of this process of adaption to the old political tradition. Over time, this “mimicry” transformed into a new entity. This is well demonstrated by the appearance of such a mythological character as “a falcon sailing in a boat”. However, the question remains: was it the Early Kingdom (and not the earlier pre-state formation, as K. Sethe and his followers thought) founded by the kings worshipping the Horus from the Delta? The alternative explanation presumes the revival of K. Sethe’s hypothesis (at a new level, of course). Such a return to K. Zethe’s hypothesis is possible, however, only on condition that archaeological data confirming this assumption are obtained in the future.