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How did the conflict between Horus and Seth explain the phases of the moon?
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ancient Egypt
Side view of the Sphinx with the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) rising in the background, Giza, Egypt.
In the mythology of ancient Egypt, the phases of the moon were explained through the conflict between the gods Horus and Seth.
According to the myth, Horus and Seth were perpetual antagonists. During their struggle for the throne of Egypt—following Seth’s murder of Horus’s father, Osiris—Horus’s left eye was wounded by Seth. In Egyptian belief, this left eye represented the moon. The damage inflicted upon the eye during this battle served as a mythical explanation for the moon's waning and waxing phases. The eye was eventually healed by the god Thoth, and the restored eye, known as the wedjat, became a significant symbol and amulet in Egyptian culture.12