Dynasty 2, Grow of civil and religion

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The Dynasty 2 saw continued development of the necropoleis at Saqqara and Abydos, but much confusion prevails about the other events of the dynasty. The founder of the dynasty was Horus Hotepsekhemwy (“the two powers are at peace”), whose name suggests that he hoped to put an end to strife between the people of Upper Egypt, who worshiped Horus, and those of Lower Egypt, who worshiped Set.

He may not have been very successful. Later in the dynasty, a king took the throne as Horus Sekhemib (“powerful in heart”), but later changed his name to Set Peribsen (“hope of hearts”), replacing the image of Horus atop his serekh with one of Set. It would seem that internal unrest in Egypt had divided the nation once more between Set-worshipers and Horus-worshipers, that is, Lower and Upper Egypt.

We shouldn't overlook the most obvious possibility, that Sekhemib and Peribsen were two different kings. However, the fact that separate tombs have not been found, combined with the stronger evidence that pottery and other artifacts during “both reigns” are indistinguishable in style, and the presence of the word ib in both names drives the more common view that they were one man.

The Second Dynasty ends with another name change. Peribsen was followed by Horus Khasekhem (“appearance of power”), who changed his name to Horus-and-Set Khasekhemwy (“appearance of two powers”), the only pharaoh to use both deities in his title. It appears that Khasekhem undertook military action: one of his monuments claims that 47,209 northerners were killed in his campaigns, which is a staggering number, especially considering that pharaonic Egypt newer had more than a handful of millions of people. After this, he married a Northern princess named Nimaathep, and changed his name, with both gods depicted atop his serekh. Finally, he took the extra title Nebwyhotepemef, “the two ladies are at peace in him”, referring to the patron goddesses of the Two Lands.