Discovering Ancient Egypt Through The Story of Isis and OsirisA legend from ancient Egypt describes how the powerful deity Osiris and his Queen Isis fought to rule Egypt against his evil brother Seth.
Re's immense wisdom told him in the days before he departed Earth, before he had started to age, that if the goddess Nut had children, one of them would end his reign among mortals. Re then placed a curse on Nut, preventing her from becoming pregnant on any day of the year.
Nut sought assistance from Thoth while grieving. The son of Re, who cherished her, was the three-times great deity of knowledge, magic, and study. Thoth sought a way out even though he was aware that the curse of Re, once spoken, could never be undone. He went to the Moon-god Khonsu and issued a draughts challenge to him. Every time they played; Thoth came out on top. The stakes increased steadily, but Khonsu placed the biggest bet because he was risking losing some of his own light.
Finally, Khonsu decided to stop playing. At the close of the previous year and the start of the new one, Thoth gathered the light he had won and turned it into five additional days. The previous year had 360 days, but the five extra days, which weren't part of any previous year, were always observed as festival days in ancient Egypt.
Because he had lost the light required to create five complete days since his match with Thoth, Khonsu the Moon-god did not have enough light to shine for the entire month and dwindled into darkness before regaining his full splendour.
The eldest son of Nut, Osiris, was born on the first of these days, and Horus the Elder's birthday was celebrated on the second. Dark Seth, the lord of Evil, was born on the third day as Nut's second child. Her first daughter Isis saw the light on the fourth, followed by her second daughter Nephthys on the five. Because the days on which the offspring of Nut were born belonged to no year, the curse of Re was thus both carried out and conquered.
Many miracles and signs were witnessed and heard across the globe when Osiris was born. The voice from the holiest sanctuary in the temple at Thebes on the Nile, calling to a man named Pamyles, telling him to tell everyone that Osiris, the excellent and strong ruler, was born to bring joy to all of Earth, was particularly noteworthy. Pamyles followed instructions, attended to the Holy Child, and raised him as a man among men.
When Osiris was an adult, he wed his sister Isis per the tradition upheld by the Egyptian pharaohs for all time, and Seth wed Nephthys since, like Osiris, he was a god and could only wed a goddess.
Osiris took over as the sole monarch of Egypt and governed on Earth as Re had done when Isis by use of her craft discovered Re's Hidden Name. The inhabitants, he discovered, were savage and brutish, fighting, killing, and devouring one another. However, Osiris taught them how to plant the seeds when the Nile had risen in the yearly inundation and sunk again leaving fresh fertile mud over the fields, how to tend and water the crops, how to cut the corn when it was ripe, and how to thresh the grain on the threshing floors, dry it, grind it to flour, and make it into bread. But Isis discovered the grain of both wheat and barley, which grew wild over the He also demonstrated how to grow vines and create wine from the grapes, but they were already aware of how to make beer from barley.
After teaching the Egyptians how to bake bread and to only use the meat from animals that he believed were appropriate, Osiris then taught them about rules and how to coexist peacefully and happily while also finding joy in music and poetry. Osiris travelled the globe to bestow his blessings on other countries as soon as Egypt was prosperous and at peace. He left Isis in charge of the country while he was away, and she did it wisely and effectively.
But, Seth the Evil One, their brother, envied Osiris and despised Isis. Seth despised Osiris more the more people adored and appreciated him, and the more good he accomplished and the happier mankind grew, the more Seth wanted to kill his brother and take over as ruler. Yet, Seth made no attempt to take the throne while Isis was keeping watch over the kingdom of Egypt because she was so wise and vigilant. Seth was among the first to greet Osiris upon his return from his travels and bow down before "the excellent deity Pharaoh Osiris."
But he had already planned his plans with the assistance of 72 of his evil pals and Aso, the wicked queen of Ethiopia. Secretly obtaining Osiris' exact physical dimensions, Seth designed a stunning chest that would only fit him. The most expensive and rarest woods were used to craft it: ebony from Punt at the southern tip of the Red Sea and cedar from Lebanon.
The 72 conspirators were among the other guests at the large feast that Seth later hosted in honour of Osiris. The food was better, the wines were stronger, and the dancing girls were more gorgeous than ever before at Egypt's largest feast to date. Everybody marvelled at the magnificence of the chest when it was brought in after feasting and the song had made the heart of Osiris happy.
Osiris was in awe of the precious cedar that was painted inside with images of gods, birds, and animals and inlaid with ebony, ivory, less precious gold, and silver.
Seth exclaimed, "I will give this chest to whoever suits it most precisely." The conspirators immediately started competing with each other to determine who could win. But one was too tall, one too short, one was too fat, one was too thin, and all of them tried in vain.
Osiris replied, "Let me check if I will fit into this marvellous piece of work," and he collapsed in the chest as everyone crowded around gasping.
Osiris exclaimed, "I fit exactly, and the chest is mine!"
Seth pounded on the lid, "It is yours indeed, and shall be so forever!" he hissed. So when Osiris the man died in the chest and his spirit travelled across the Nile to Duat, the Place of Testing, in a last-ditch effort, he and the conspirators fastened it shut and filled every gap with molten lead.
The chest containing Osiris's body was taken by Seth and his comrades, who then threw it into the Nile. Hapi, the Nile god, then carried it out into the Great Green Sea, where it was tossed for several days before washing up on the shore of Phoenicia close to the city of Byblos. Here, the tamarisk tree that grew along the shore was struck by the waves. The tree quickly gained notoriety throughout the country as it sprouted branches, leaves, and blossoms to create a suitable burial site for the deceased good god Osiris.
After learning about it, King Malcander travelled to the seaside with his wife, Queen Astarte, to admire the tree. By this time, the branches had grown together to conceal the chest that contained Osiris's body within the trunk. The tree was to be felled and turned into a massive pillar for King Malcander's palace. Everyone was in awe of its beauty and scent when it was finished, but no one realised that it contained the body of a god.
Meanwhile, Isis was extremely terrified in Egypt. She had always known Seth to be evil and envious, but gracious Osiris refused to accept his brother's depravity. No one informed Isis when her husband passed away, so she fled into the delta's marshes while holding the infant Horus. She took refuge on a little island home to the goddess Buto and gave her the celestial child. Isis released the island from its foundations and let it to float so that no one could pinpoint its location as an additional defence against Seth.
Isis then left to look for Osiris's body. For until he was interred with the necessary ceremonies and charms, his spirit could never travel to Amenti, the last resting place of those who passed the Duat test and could only travel as far west as Duat, the Testing Place.
Isis journeyed aimlessly around Egypt, but she was unable to locate the chest that contained Osiris' body. She asked everyone she encountered, but no one had seen anything. As a result, her magic was of no use to her in this situation. When she finally approached the children playing by the river, they immediately admitted that a chest exactly like the one she had described had flown past them on the rapid stream and into the Great Green Sea.
The youngsters kept seeing the chest floating by and telling Isis which way it had gone as she walked along the shore. Isis blessed the kids as a result, and she ruled that kids would always speak wise words and occasionally predict the future.
Isis eventually arrived in Byblos and took a seat by the water. As soon as the maidens who served Queen Astarte arrived to take a bath there, Isis taught them how to plait their hair—a skill they had never learned before—as soon as they emerged from the water. Queen Astarte was amazed by their plaited hair and the unusual and exquisite perfume that appeared to cling to them as they ascended to the palace. She enquired about how it came to be.
After hearing from the maids about the amazing woman who was sitting by the water, Queen Astarte sent for Isis and asked her to work in the palace and take care of her children, the young Prince Maneros and the critically ill baby Dictys. Because she was unaware that the weird Byblos woman travelling alone was the most powerful Egyptian goddess. Isis consented to this, and the infant Dictys rapidly became healthy and robust even though all she did was give him her finger to suck on. But as time went on, she grew attached to the youngster and decided to make him immortal, which she achieved by sacrificing all his mortal parts and flying around him in the shape of a swallow. Nevertheless, Astarte had been discreetly keeping an eye on her, and when she noticed that her child appeared to be on fire, she raced into the chamber while yelling, breaking the spell.
Then Isis assumed her own form, and when Astarte saw the brilliant goddess and realised who she was, she knelt in fear.
Malcander and Astarte offered her gifts from all of Byblos' best treasures, but Isis only desired the large tamarisk pillar that supported the ceiling and what it held. When it was presented to her, she gave the order to open the tree and take Seth's chest out. The pillar would be given back to Malcander and Astarte, where it would remain the holiest thing in Byblos because it had once housed a god's body.
Isis threw herself down on the chest as it was handed to her, crying out in such agony that little Dictys passed away at the sound of it. The box was eventually loaded onto a ship that King Malcander had prepared for Isis, and she departed for Egypt. Maneros, the young prince of Byblos, accompanied her, but he did not stay with her for very long because his curiosity proved to be his downfall. Isis retired to where Seth's chest was located and unlocked the lid as soon as the ship departed the area. Maneros snuck up behind her and peered over her shoulder, but Isis saw him and turned to look at him with one angry glare, sending him tumbling over the side of the ship and into the water.
The powerful current of the Phaedrus River threatened to sweep the ship out of sight of land the following morning as it passed by. Isis became enraged and cursed the river, causing its stream to stop flowing from that day.
After that, she made it safely to Egypt and fled to the floating island where Buto was watching over Horus. There, she hid the chest in the marshes of the delta.
By coincidence, Seth was night hunting wild boars with his dogs because he enjoyed the darkness, which is rife with evil. He recognised the cedar wood chest that was inlaid with ebony, ivory, gold, and silver when he saw it by the light of the moon.
When he saw the chest, a scarlet cloud of fury and rage descended upon him, and he raged like a panther of the South. By using his superhuman might, he tore open the chest, seized the body of Osiris, and tore it into fourteen pieces, which he then spread over the entire length of the River so that the crocodiles may consume them.
Seth said, "A god's body cannot be destroyed. "Yet I have done it—I have annihilated Osiris!" Everyone who heard his laughing hid and trembled as it reverberated across the entire country.
Isis now had to restart her search. This time, she had assistance because Nephthys joined her sister after leaving her evil husband Seth. The search was aided by Anubis, the son of Osiris and Nephthys, who appeared as a jackal. Seven scorpions protected and travelled with Isis as she traversed the landscape. Nonetheless, she travelled in a papyrus canoe while searching on the River and in the other streams of the delta; the crocodiles, in their respect for the goddess, did not touch either the fragments of Osiris or Isis herself. Since they believed that Isis was still searching for her husband's body fragments, anyone who floated the Nile in a papyrus boat was safe from them.
Isis was able to gather Osiris' pieces piece by piece. Wherever she accomplished this, she utilised magic to create a replica of his entire body and ordered the priests to erect a shrine and carry out his last rites. As a result, thirteen locations in Egypt claimed to be Osiris' final resting place. She also made it more difficult for Seth to continue interfering with the deceased god's body in this way.
She lost only one piece, which was eaten by some impious fish, for which Isis punished them. No Egyptian would ever again touch or consume them. But Isis did not bury any of the fragments at the locations of Osiris' tombs and shrines. Osiris was completed once she put the pieces back together, magically connected them, and created a likeness of the missing piece. She then brought the body to a location only she knew where it would be embalmed and hidden. Then, after the final great battle, when Horus would kill Seth and Osiris would once more return to Earth, the spirit of Osiris entered Amenti to rule over the dead.
As Horus matured in this world, the spirit of Osiris frequently came to him and imparted wisdom in preparation for his battle against Seth in both the physical and spiritual realms.
Tell me, what is the most honourable thing a man can do, Osiris asked the youngster one day.
To exact revenge on his father and mother for the wrongs committed upon them, Horus responded.
This satisfied Osiris, who continued by inquiring as to what animal the assassin should bring with him when he goes into a fight.
Horus answered quickly, "A horse."
Certainly, a lion would be even more impressive. proposed Osiris.
Horus retorted, "A lion would undoubtedly be the best for a man in need, but a horse is better for pursuing a flying enemy and shutting him off from escape."
When Osiris heard this, he realised that Seth needed to be attacked in the southern deserts, so he sent Horus to assemble a large army and travel up the Nile to do so.
Horus prepares to start the war by gathering his troops. Re, the brilliant father of the gods, helped him by sailing to safety across the perils of the underworld in his own divine boat.
Re pulled Horus aside before they set sail so they could both stare into his blue eyes because anyone who looks into those eyes—gods or humans—sees the future reflected there. Seth, however, was keeping an eye on things and assumed the appearance of a black pig, which was fierce to look at, black as a thundercloud, and had tusks that could frighten even the most courageous person.
Re told Horus, "Let me gaze into your eyes, and see what is to come of this fight," in the background. Horus's eyes, which he looked into, were the deepest blue of the Great Green Sea at the height of summer.
The black pig went by while he stared, diverting his focus. "Check that out! I've never seen a pig with such size and ferocity." Horus glanced but didn't recognise Seth, so he wasn't prepared with a charm or a word of protection to defend himself from the foe.
When Seth directed a fireball at Horus' eyes, the god screamed in agony and became very angry. Now that he realised who it was, Seth had quickly gotten away.
Horus quickly regained his ability to see well after Re led him into a pitch-black area. Re had left the earth after Horus had recovered, but he was filled with joy once again, and as he led his army along the Nile, the nations on either side of the river joined him in his joy and flowered into spring.
Although there were several battles fought throughout that conflict, Edfu witnessed the final and most significant one, for which the enormous temple to Horus still exists today. In the First Cataract of the Nile's islands and rapids, the armies of Seth and Horus came near to one another. Seth appeared on the island of Elephantine as a huge red hippopotamus and pronounced a powerful curse against Horus and Isis:
He yelled, his voice like the thunder rolling across the heavens from south to north, "Let there come a dreadful furious tempest and a tremendous flood against my foes!" The storm suddenly erupted over Horus' and his army's boats as the wind howled and the water rose in enormous waves. But, Horus persisted in going his own way, his boat's prow sparkling through the shadows like a sunray.
Seth, a gigantic red hippopotamus, turned and stood across from Edfu, crossing the entirety of the Nile. Horus, however, assumed the appearance of a lovely young man standing twelve feet tall. He was holding a harpoon in his hand that was thirty feet long and six feet wide at its widest point.
When the storm caused their boats to capsize, Seth unleashed his terrifying teeth to annihilate Horus and his followers. But when Horus threw his harpoon, it struck the crimson hippopotamus in the head and brain. The crimson hippopotamus at Edfu plummeted to its death next to the Nile after Seth, the great wicked one and enemy of Osiris and the gods, was killed by that one strike. The storm dissipated, the flood receded, and the sky became once more clear and blue. When Horus the Avenger arrived, the citizens of Edfu greeted him and led him triumphantly to the shrine that is now covered by the enormous temple. And they sang the hymn of gratitude that the priests recited every year at Edfu during the Horus festival:
"Celebrate, you residents of Edfu! The father's opponent has been killed by Horus, the powerful deity and ruler of the skies! Consume the defeated flesh, ingest the red hippo's blood, and set his bones ablaze! Let him be divided into pieces, with the offal going to the reptiles and the leftovers going to the cats!
Glory to Horus of Edfu, Horus the Avenger, Horus of the powerful strike, the valiant one, the slayer, the user of the Harpoon, the only son of Osiris!
But after Horus left Earth and ceased to govern as the Pharaoh of Egypt, Seth appeared before the gods' assembly and declared verbally his desire to dominate the entire globe. Yet, not even Thoth the Wise was able to render judgment. Horus and Seth are still at odds with one another over control of the world and the souls of people.
There were no more conflicts on the Nile or in Egypt, and Osiris slept peacefully in his tomb, which Isis revealed was on the island of Philae, the most sacred location of all, in the Nile, a few miles upstream from Elephantine. Seth could no longer disturb it. The Egyptians held that the Final War, which would also see Horus triumph over Seth, was still to come. Osiris would resurrect from the dead and come to Earth with all of those who had been his own devoted followers after Seth was destroyed forever. For the blessed souls returning from Amenti to find the bodies prepared to enter again and in them to live forever on Earth under the good god Osiris, Isis his queen, and their son Horus, the Egyptians embalmed the dead and stored them beneath towering stone pyramids and far in the tomb chambers of western Thebes.
