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Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. Revelation 12:3 In his Asura-nature, [the Dragon] knows all beings His wisdom is that of the seer. He is the seer of the magic word, of the blessing which he brings. By knowing all beings whom he created, he protects them by steering their thoughts and meditations... He is invoked for all this, for he is ambiguous in his operation. Of fiery golden substance throughout, he is also golden-toothed He rages on earth, having come down from the sky a roaring serpent, raging like the wind. Kramisch, 1962
The role of Set-Typhon in the Papyri Graecae Magicae (PGM) is a curious affair that deserves some attention.1 Why are Set and Typhon equated? Of course, there are obvious similarities in their respective mythoi: Typhon is clearly identified with Set by Greek authors as early as Herodotus, likely due to Typhons role as the enemy of Zeus or for dismembering Orpheus (identified with Osiris) in the Orphic tradition, corresponding to Set as the slayer of Osiris. Both Set and Typhon are antinomian figures who struggle against the other gods, and are seen as sources of storms and fierce weather conditions. Neither is evil or demonic per se in their respective traditions, though Typhon is certainly monstrous, as is Set is his draconic form of Setnakt. Yet these similarities aside, this begs the question: how does Typhon or SetTyphon come to be associated with magic in the PGM? One answer for Set, clearly, is Egyptian influence in the original Hermetic tradition, which has been explored by other researchers previously. Yet from the Indo-European side of the tradition, the inclusion of Typhon as a dark god or force of magic is curious. This short essay will
1
The standard Greek edition of the PGM is Preisendanz 1974 (second edition), with English translation by Betz in 1986.
1
As an example, the hero who fights Azi-Dahaka first prays And may I carry off his two women ] who raised themselves up with the most beautiful bodies for the world, who are the most excellent. See Bruce Lincoln, 47.
3
Atharva Veda Samhita VI. 72. 1 in Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, 394. See Monette, 33 & 47. 5 Maya will come to mean illusion in later Sanskrit texts, but not in Vedic Sanskrit. 6 Yasht 15 : 23-24 in Lincoln 1976. 7 Coomaraswamy, 392.
4
It is already commonly understood in IE/Vedic studies that Varuna and Rudra are the same being, and are subsumed into Shiva in the Puranic period. The Varunic and Saivite serpent iconography are good indications of this common identity.
5
Sources
Hans Betz, et al. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation. Including the Demotic Texts (University of Chicago Press: 1986) W. Norman Brown, The Rigvedic Equivalent for Hell in Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 61, No. 2 (Jun., 1941), pp. 76-80. Ananda K. Coomaraswamy, Angel and Titan: An Essay in Vedic Ontology in Journal of the American Oriental Society, Vol. 55, No. 4 (Dec., 1935), pp. 373-419. Stella Kramrisch, The Triple Structure of Creation in the g Veda in History of Religions, Vol. 2, No. 1 (Summer, 1962), pp. 140-175. Bruce Lincoln, The Indo-European Cattle-Raiding Myth in History of Religions, Vol. 16, No. 1 (Aug., 1976), pp. 42-65. K. Preisendanz, Papyri Graecae Magicae : Die Griechischen Zauberpapyri, 2 vols (Stuttgart: Teubner, 1974) Calvert Watkns, How to Kill A Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995)