A common fondness for that type of lettuce? That might be a very slender thread to hang a theory on. First of all, because the coincidence alluded too wouldn't necessarily that great, even had the Names been assigned favorite foods at random.

Question: "Why would that be?"
. Answer: ... Click here.

Secondly, because some foods tend to be more popular than others, and aphrodisiacs tend to be great favorites, in general, for obvious reasons. (Hope springs eternal, even when it's only being fed by a placebo). One might well be amazed that only two of the netjeru were so fond of this lettuce, in the fictive reality of the myth cycle, in which such things as natural aphrodisiacs actually existed. But let us say that this common liking, was connected to a bond between Min and Set. Would this be grounds for astonishment, on our terms?

Perhaps not. Note that we referred to the struggles of life, not to the harmonious preservation of life, and the "life" spoken of includes the life of a realm, not just the life of the flesh. (There's a reason why I attempted a paraphase of a short expression, using the lengthy construction you see in the story. This is a simple concept, it just hasn't been a familiar one in the English speaking world for the last few centuries, and familiar words didn't suffice to express it). If one wishes to adopt the New Kingdom identifications, thinking of Wesir as the king of the "black" (ie. fertile) land of Egypt, and Set as the ruler of the desert, then one might say that prior to the inundation, Set is invading Wesir's realm, and after it, Wesir is taking land back from Set. Set, like Wesir, will wish to defend his kingdom, and like many kings, decide that "the best defense is a good offense", perhaps. The same force that drives Wesir, drives him.

Question:

"This sounds so violent. Wouldn't that make this struggle contrary to the spirit of life, rather than an expression of it ?"

Answer: ..... Click here.

Who knows? Some, in a pre-scientific era, might even go so far as to view the sandy desert itself, as being alive. Like a living thing, it moves, the dunes slowly changing their position. "It tries to sneak into our valley", some might say, pointing to intermittent streams of sand coursing over the valley walls. It has been known to swallow travellers whole, when they've been unfortunate enough to step on the wrong patch of ground. Travellers who had passed through Arabia might have even brought fantastic, though consistent stories of sands that sang! (Do a literature search under "booming sands"). To see the desert as a living thing that might fight in its own defense is scarcely inconceivable. Sure enough, Erman, while he refers to Min as being the protector of desert paths, and those who travel them, also lists him as being a protector of the desert itself. (p. 506)

We might see this as a conflict of interest, as Min becomes the guardian of both the black land that the Egyptians dwelt on, and the desert which sought to overwhelm it. But, would it necessarily be so? By giving both combatants the strength to fight well, both Wesir (the black land) and Set (the red lands of the desert), Min would insure that when one strayed too far into the territory of the other, the other would be able to successfully drive him back. In this manner, by expressing himself through the determination of life, in both of these forms, to assert itself, might he not succeed in defending both the desert, and those who spent their lives walking that fertile path through the desert that was Egypt, alike?

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