Sokar
Earth Culture of Origin
Egypt
Alternate Names / Spellings
Sokare, Sokaris, Seker, Seker-Osiris, Ptah-Seker-Osiris, Sacharis, Seger, Socharis.
Presides Over
Death god of the Necropolis at Memphis
Personal Symbols
Hawk-headed man dressed in mummy's wrappings
Earth Mythological References
Sokar represented absolute death without the possibility of an afterlife, total oblivion of the soul. He may have originally been a vegetation god, but combined with Osiris, the state of death became a temporary state with the promise of rewards for the faithful. Merged later with the creative power of Ptah, this new version of the god inspired believers to expect new bodies and resurrection in the afterlife. The lion-headed goddess Sekhmet was his consort. Sokar was the patron of craftsmen at the necropolis and was associated with the making of various tools and products used in the mummification process and funerary rites. Sokar is occasionally pictured as a squat, bald dwarf with thick limbs and a beetle on his head.
A festival in honor of Sokar (as an alternate identity of Osiris) was held annually at Thebes, which celebrated the resurrection of Osiris and the continuity of the Egyptian monarchy.
Stargate References
Sokar introduced himself to the Tauri by bombarding the iris on the Stargate with radiation and projecting his image onto its surface. He knew they held Apophis as their prisoner and demanded the Goa’uld be turned over to him. Apophis was severely injured in the base infirmary at the time, and when he finally died, his body was sent to the place Sokar indicated. Sokar was a strong rival to Apophis and took control of the other Goa’uld armies and conquered worlds. (Serpent’s Song)
Sokar is described by Daniel as the equivalent to Satan to the inhabitants of an early Christian society SG-1 encounter on the planet designated as P9X-3971. The demon who appears frequently to claim human sacrifices from the village is actually a Goa'ulded Unas, in service to the Goa'uld Sokar. It is supposed by SG-1 the humans are taken as slaves or as hosts for the Goa'uld. (Demons)
After reviving Apophis in his sarcophagus, Sokar gave him a new identity as First Prime to his minion, Bynarr, Lord of Netu. Netu (a moon of Sokar's planet) was the underworld of Sokar’s kingdom, described as a pattern for the legend of Hell. Jacob/Selmak was on an undercover mission for the Tok’ra and was captured and sent to Netu. SG-1 mounted a rescue mission to retrieve him, on the strength of Jolinar's memory (as revealed by Sam via a memory device) that Jolinar had been the only person ever to escape from Netu. Unfortunately, Apophis took that opportunity to seize control of Netu and reject his new identity, intending to attack Sokar from that moon. SG-1 successfully retrieved Jacob and escaped just before the Tok’ra destroyed the moon, taking Sokar’s planet as well in the explosion. Sokar was presumed dead afterward. (Jolinar’s Memories/The Devil You Know)
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--Initialized by: DeeKayP 11:15, 9 Jan 2005 (PST) --Completed by:--Mel 16:17, 9 Jan 2005 (PST)