In Egypt, it was believed that what was written had power to affect reality. Due to that, there is not too much extant regarding the murder itself, although some versions of the murder do exist, one of which has Osiris drowned in the Nile. This version, however, does not coincide in most ways with the general myth of Osiris and was written by a Greek, for Greeks after the ancient Egyptian civilization as an independent, autonomous state had come to an end. Its inclusion here is simply for lack of a more accurate myth of the actual death of Osiris.
In this version of the myth, written by Plutarch (46-120 AD; Greek historian,) Set tricks Osiris into his death. This process started by gathering seventy-three conspirators, one of whom was no lesser person than the Queen of Ethiopia. Set then fashioned an incredibly ornate, man-shaped box which would fit Osiris exactly. Then what does every good murder plot need? A dinner party.
At the party, the ornamental box was greatly admired, and Set announced that he who would fit perfectly inside the box would be named its owner. Many tried to make themselves fit within, but it was clearly not a fit. When Osiris stepped forward and into the box and (surprise, surprise) he fits perfectly. It’s right about this time that the lid to what would be, according to Plutarch, the first sarcophagus would be slammed shut with Osiris inside and is sealed. Set and his conspirators dumps it into the river, thereby drowning him.
According to Plutarch, and possibly due to the already high level of reverence for the Nile itself because of its importance to the ancient Egyptians, people who died by means of drowning in the waters of the Nile were held in particular esteem, even sacred.
Although the story of Osiris doesn’t end here in Plutarch’s myth, there is enough from original Egyptian sources to pick up from this point and, as this isn’t a book on the Greek interpretation of Egyptian mythology, therefore we’ll go back to the more accurate-to-the-Egyptian telling.
Upon his death, the body of Osiris is dismembered, scattered and hidden (some earlier myths had Osiris simply killed and hidden away.) The number of pieces (or whether there was dismemberment or not) varies, but one of the most functional is that of forty-two, the number of nomes (Egyptian cities) in Egypt.
Isis (wife of Osiris and benefactress of fertility, motherhood and magical power,) upon hearing of her husband’s death sets out to find his body. In some versions of the myth, she travels with Nephthys (goddess of the night, of death, lament and, interestingly enough, service,) Tahuti (god of wisdom, magic, writing {specifically hieroglyphic writing} and knowledge,) and Anubis (often wrongly attributed as the Egyptian god of death, Anubis is actually the god of embalming and other funeral rituals) during this search. It is from the joining of Anubis in the search and eventual finding of Osiris that the ritual preservation of bodies through embalming, mummification and the necessary processes contained therein were said to have originated.
Later myths equate the yearly flooding of the Nile with the tears of Isis for her slain husband, or other causes relating to the death and rebirth of Osiris.
Meanwhile, Set is sitting pretty on his throne of the Earth (or in some myths, there is simply a gap in kingship.) Before Osiris is made whole, Set and those who follow him attempt to further destroy the body of Osiris so that he cannot be made whole again. They are fended off by those who seek to restore Osiris to life.
When the body of Osiris is found, or collected (in some versions, all but the phallus are recovered, as it was cast into the Nile and eaten by a fish… lovely,) he is again made whole. He is resurrected and impregnates Isis with Horus. Their copulation is usually referenced either through a union while she is in the form of a bird {kite or hawk} and restoring him to life, or by a bolt of lightning. In another, Isis fashions a phallus for her dismembered (if you don’t get the pun, I’m not going to explain it) husband, and it was through use of this that she became pregnant with Horus.
Not too much is known about the period of Osiris’s revival before his descent into the Duat, or Egyptian underworld (over which he would become the ruler,) but this act of resurrection would set the tone for the entire realm of Egyptian mythology. Through the death of the god and his subsequent resurrection, it would become possible for all people to enjoy an afterlife through him, though they would have to pass the test of Ma’at (will be discussed in more detail in the following chapter) or righteous living in order to gain entrance to the afterlife. This ideal was not the first of its kind and far from the last.
The Osiris myth can technically be said to end with the conception of Horus, at least as an active process of Osiris outside of Duat, however, the storyline is just beginning.
Being all-too-aware of Set’s murderous victory over Osiris, and knowing that Set probably wouldn’t let a child of Osiris live too long, as he may pose a threat to the throne, she hid herself away in Akh-bity, a papyrus thicket in the Nile Delta of Lower Egypt. It would be here that she would give birth to Horus (Greek version of the name. The Egyptian name would be Hoor, Hor or Har, meaning, “The Distant One.”) This part of the myth is quite similar to Greek mythology, when Rhea, the mother of Zeus would hide him away to protect him from his father Cronus.
During Horus’s youth, he wasn’t yet the powerful god of war that he would become. In fact, he was quite vulnerable. Different accounts say different things about whether the malady which befalls Horus simply happened or was orchestrated by Set, but the important takeaway is a look at how the Egyptians used the idea of the young god falling prey to illness or attack.
Many texts were written, considered to be magical in nature, which would heal a person of a particular malady by claiming that malady is what befell Horus. As an example, if a person came in with a stomachache, the text for healing would have Horus being affected in the same manner. Quite possibly the most common ailment is that of a snakebite. It is through Isis’s own magical powers (alternately through the powers of Ra or Geb,) that Horus is healed, and thus that the person seeking the magical help which the texts would provide would be healed through the same process.
Horus would be healed, and grow to adulthood.
With Osiris resurrected and now god of the dead, Horus might have let bygones be bygones, but the fact remained that Set had killed his father. To put it colloquially, Horus was pissed.
In some traditions, Set and Horus were actually brothers who vied for the right to be named king of all. This version will be referenced, but not the main focus in this continuing section.
When he came of age, Horus would challenge Set. To the victor would go the spoils; in this case, the throne. The conflicts of Horus and Set for rule would come in many varieties, and would last for a space of eighty years.
Quite possibly the most extensive source for these battles is referred to as “The Contendings,” wherein Horus and Set compete in a number of different ways. The first was that they brought the argument over who should be king of Egypt before the Ennead after Horus challenges Set.
Although most of the gods of the Ennead believed Horus to be the rightful ruler, the judge presiding over the Ennead and their decision (Atem, Ra, or Geb, depending on the source,) thought Set should rule. Therefore, the two would compete with one another through various trials, competitions and even full-on battles with one another. They held a boat race which Horus won and many other such events in which Horus would always prevail, however, the judge was not yet convinced and the contest would go on for eighty years.
One of their battles involved the two of them transforming themselves into various creatures to do battle. During this battle, both would lose an important piece of themselves at the hands of the other. Set’s testicles were lost (or in some cases, damaged.) This would signify a loss of creative energy and strength which would (arguably) prove to be Set’s eventual downfall. Horus, on the other hand, lost one of his eyes.
The loss of one of Horus’s eyes is of a particular kind of importance as, Horus being a solar god, it was believed that the sun was the right eye of Horus; the moon: his left. Thus it
was his left eye which was plucked out, signifying the moon. It would eventually be returned to him, however, the loss of Horus’s eye would explain the waxing and waning of the moon and the phenomenon of lunar eclipses.
In a particularly strange and somewhat disturbing episode, Set, known for his ravenous sexual appetite, made a deal with Horus. In this deal, Horus would allow Set to have sex with him, but in return, Set would give Horus a measure of his strength.
In one particularly important (and graphic) version, Set’s intention was to show his dominance by implanting his seed within his long-time foe. Horus, through a manner which is best left to the imagination, caught the seed before it could enter his body.
The concept of “the male seed” (semen) was one of great power and purpose in the minds of the ancient Egyptians; and this can be referenced both by another version of this same story where Set’s seed does enter Horus and makes him sick, and also by the continuation of the above version.
Sticking to the version where Horus catches the haughty god’s… projectile… Isis and Horus decide to repay the intended offense by placing a measure of Horus’s… dressing… onto a piece of lettuce which Set then consumed, not knowing what trick had actually been played.
The reason why this myth is so important in the story is that the two gods would then go before the Ennead again to be judged to find which of the two of them was dominant. It is around this time that the seed of Horus within Set becomes apparent through the “birth” of a disk upon his forehead. With this, Horus is finally named champion.
The championship of Horus over Set would play a particular importance to the Egyptians as their pharaohs believed themselves to be descendants of Horus, the rightful ruler of Egypt.
CHAPTER 10
Morality, Life, Death and the Afterlife
Now, with some backstory, it is possible to better explain the concepts of the daily lives of the Egyptians. With Osiris now king of the underworld and his son, Horus, ruler of both lower and Upper Egypt, the stage is set for the more fundamental beliefs of the Egyptians.
First and foremost is that of Ma’at. Ma’at, as has been explained above, was the concept of order, truth, justice, honor and righteousness to the Egyptians. In order to fulfill one’s requirements during their lives, one must live by the principles of ma’at. This meant balance, this meant fairness to one another, but always in fealty to the pharaoh, who was considered to be a god among men.
Ma’at was not only a concept to the Egyptians though, she was also a goddess who played an important role in the journey from this life to the next. Once the dead reached the Hall of Two Truths in the Duat, their heart would be weighed against the feather of Ma’at. If the heart weighed less than or equal to the feather, the person would continue onward and enjoy a pleasant afterlife; if, however, the heart outweighed that of the feather, it meant that the person did not lead a just life, and their heart was then fed to the goddess Ammit, and the person would then be forced to wander the Duat (the underworld) for eternity.
The above requires some explanation. The ancient Egyptians believed that the soul (or the ba) resided in the heart, and thus it was not merely the physical organ of pumping blood which was weighed, it was the person’s very soul. When people died and were embalmed, all of their organs were removed except the heart, thus allowing them to opportunity to at least receive their judgment.
The Egyptians weren’t known for leaving things to chance, however, and in burial tombs it is more than common to find a number of spells, carvings and/or incantations to offset the sins which they may had committed in their lives. This shows us two things: one, that the ancient Egyptians weren’t above trying to bend the rules to get into the afterlife; and two, that they did not conceive of a perfect life as being possible, or at least very plausible. Everyone made mistakes, but it was possible, they believed, to alter their fates through these incantations.
There were many general principles that made up the conception of living a life of Ma’at, but there were certain types of crimes which could land a person in hot water. For instance, crimes against temples, priests or blasphemies against the gods were considered especially atrocious. Stealing from a temple, from the dead or desecrating holy spaces would fall under this.
Theft and murder were, of course, considered to be egregious offenses against Ma’at and one’s fellow man, but so also were such things as ignoring the truth or being slanderous of a servant toward his or her master. Other crimes which could weigh heavily upon the heart included causing pain or hunger; harming animals for purposes not of self-defense or to satisfy hunger; withholding the rightful possessions of orphans, being aggressive and even eavesdropping or speaking without thinking first could also be weighed against a person. The goal was for a person to be able to say honestly, “I have done no injustice to people, nor have I mistreated any animal. I have done no wrong.” (see Egyptian Book of the Dead, Chapter 125.)
Of course, in a system where losing one’s temper was considered sinful (perhaps not a bad idea, methinks…) it was through the rites and the practices of the priests and the incantations and inscriptions left with the dead that many Egyptians believed they would be able to enjoy an afterlife, whole and in paradise.
As has been stated above, it is a common misconception that Anubis, the jackal-headed god was that of death, or of the afterlife; however, Anubis’s part was in funerary rites, and the passage of souls. (The god of the dead and the afterlife was Osiris.) These rites included those of embalming, mummification, the incantations and various other processes meant to prepare the body and the soul for their journey through death and, hopefully, to the pleasures of the afterlife. It was Anubis who would weigh the heart of the deceased against the feather of Ma’at and determine the person’s worthiness.
Ammit, the devourer of the hearts of the unjust, was either considered a goddess or a demon (more popularly, the latter) who had the head of an alligator, the torso of a lion and the hind-quarters of a hippopotamus. If Ammit devoured the heart, the person was said to not only wander between worlds, unable to continue on to be with Osiris, but that theirs would be a restless eternity, spent dwelling with only the memory of the mistakes they had made that had kept them from paradise.
It’s no wonder that the peoples of ancient Egypt often sought the blessings and rituals of priests to ensure their passage through to the afterlife.
When the dead of those who had been successful enough in life to warrant such honors were put through their funerary preparations, a scroll would often be placed into their mouth to allow the deceased individual to regain his or her senses as they passed onward through the many stages on their ways to the Halls where their final judgment would be heard.
First, the deceased would travel upon the barque of the sun, the vessel with which Ra would recreate the world every day. This would be the symbolic and, in the minds of the Egyptians, the practical way that a person would be able to achieve rebirth and thus, eternal life. They would then pass to the land of wish fulfilment, also called the Field of Reeds, where they would be required to pass through seven gates on their way toward the halls of judgment. It was with the help of the spells provided for the deceased that they would then be able to pass along into the presence of Osiris.
It is in the presence of Osiris where Anubis would weigh the heart, and judgment would be made. The person would also be required to justify their life. Depending on the time period, Osiris had different levels of discretion over whether a person would be spared, but regardless, if the heart outweighed the feather of Ma’at, that was that.
Should a person pass the test, they would then be taken into paradise. If not, well, we’ve already covered that…
There are certain texts which relate stories regarding the true worth of a soul to the Egyptians, especially in regard to the impact (or lack thereof) of earthly success on one’s chances to make it into the afterlife. Through the conception of the Egyptians, a person’s material success, while pleasurable up
on this plane, could actually be damaging in the next. This is in stark contrast to many cultures, but in complete agreement with the belief systems on which these same cultures are based today.
The worth (or weight) of a person’s heart was measured in the emotions, the will, the intentions and the thoughts of the individual to which it had belonged. However, it is more than likely that the above mentioned dichotomy between what was believed and what was practiced was as schismatic then as it is today.
It’s difficult to say exactly what the Egyptians were like on a day-to-day basis, especially those of the peasantry, the largest portion of the ancient Egyptian population (and, indeed, historically always the largest portion of any known society,) but it can be fairly assumed that the peasants were held to a higher standard. Although it’s quite possible that many simply threw their hands in the air and conceded defeat as they wouldn’t have been able to afford the more elaborate burial practices; it’s also quite possible that many of them also sought to live according to Ma’at even moreso than their wealthier countrymen. Otherwise, how could they ever hope to even make it before Osiris?
Mythology: The Ancient Secrets of the Greeks, Egyptians, Vikings, and the Norse (Mythology, Gods, Myths, and Legends) Page 7
