The Osiris Myth: The Story of Horus and Set

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This story continues from Egyptian Mythology: Osiris Myth: Osiris and Isis

     Isis had to make new privates for Osiris out of clay (Eww!). She then joined his entire body together, and with Anubis' help, mummified Osiris for the first time. Suddenly, an ibis came by and made a small sound with it's throat. Isis didn't understand at first, but soon, she understood. The ibis was Thoth, the god of knowledge and magic. He was teaching her some magic. She made the exact same sound with her throat, and the magical incantation resurrected Osiris. She woke him up by kissing him (eww!) and both were happy to be with one another. That night, Osiris had to leave for the underworld, where he took over Anubis' role as the ruler of the underworld. After being a good king to the living, it was time to be a good king to the dead. Anubis gladly forsake his role for Osiris and instead, became the judge of dead souls. In the underworld, Osiris created Babi, the bloodthirsty god of baboons. He's also the god of the dead. He's bananas like that.

     Isis woke up and realized two things: Osiris is gone, and she is pregnant. She had to do everything in her power to protect her child and make sure he claimed his birthright. So, while Nephthys helped Isis with her pregnancy, Isis also took magic lessons from Thoth so that she could be powerful enough to protect her son from all threats. Nephthys then left Isis and became the goddess of service. Like the camels, she learned how to breathe in the desert air and she also learned how to breathe fire. She used her new-found powers to become the goddess of protection.

     Soon, Isis gave birth to Horus, the falcon-headed god of war, vengeance, and kingship. She gave birth to him and hid in a papyrus thicket. When Isis was gone, Horus would be looked after by the snake goddess Wadjet. Isis would travel everywhere and beg people to help, while hiding the fact that she was a goddess. She would leave some deities to take care of Horus and she was protected by scorpion deities when she travelled. Once, when a woman refused to help her, one of the scorpions stung her son, and Isis, being kind and compassionate, helped the woman by curing her son with magic.

    Horus was very innocent and vulnerable as a child. Throughout Horus' childhood, Set would send many scorpions or snake to bite him, but Isis was always able to heal him. Because Horus was bitten many times by snakes, the ancient Egyptians had a great fear of poison and snakebite. Osiris' spirit sometimes visited Horus and taught him both warfare and how to properly govern a kingdom. Horus soon grew up into a strong and valiant prince.

     Horus soon challenged his uncle for the throne of Egypt and so they basically had a huge court battle. In the trial, where were three judges. Ra and Atum were judging because they were the creators of kingship and the first kings. Geb was the third judge, since he was the previous king before Osiris and both Set and Osiris were his sons. Finally, Thoth sort of acted as Horus' lawyer, and served as an assistant to the judges. Isis secretly used her magic to try and tip the odds in her son's favor. From here, we see Isis become extremely cunning and we get to see some of the intelligence she had as a queen. In fact, she was said to be so intelligent that her intelligence and cunning surpassed that of a million gods/men. Meanwhile, in the trial, the gods all have mixed feelings about choosing sides. You're probably wondering "How could it possibly be hard for the gods to see al the bad things Set has done and instantly side with Horus?!".Well, the thing is, Horus may be the rightful heir to the throne that Set deceitfully stole, but Set is also Ra's chief lieutenant and protects him from the serpent Apophis/Apep. Hence, the trial lasted for eight years.

     They weren't getting anywhere with the trial, so while the trial continued, they had some contests. One time, they decided that they would fight each other as hippopotami under the water, but they would have to stay underwater for three months. Throughout all the battles to come, Isis is always secretly using her magic to help her son behind the scenes. She's totally his "Glinda, the Good Witch". So, when Set and Horus declared their hippo war, Isis created a bow and some harpoons. She then flew into the sky and aimed for Set. She shot one harpoon, but it Horus by accident. She then shot several at Set, but missed. Soon enough, she hit him and he cried out in pain. Isis took pity on him, pulled him from the river and nursed him back to health

     They included things like boat racing and fighting in the form of hippopotamuses. It eventually turned into a straight out war. Horus managed to defeat Set, take him as a prisoner, and left his mother to watch him. Set used cunning words to make Isis feel sorry for him and release him. When Horus learned what his mother had done, he chopped off her head in anger. Thoth replaced Isis' head with that of the cow goddess Hathor, who was Horus' wife. This was why Isis wore a headdress with cow horns. To punish Horus for treating his mother in such a way, Ra tortured him.

     Horus then returned to fight, where he badly hurt Set and Set tore out Horus' eyes. Thoth made a new eye for Horus out of moonlight. Hathor fixed the other eye by pouring milk from the Milky Way into his eye socket. Hence, Horus got both of his eyes back and his eye was seen as a symbol of protection in ancient Egypt. Horus is also known as the god of the sky and the air. So, it was said that his right eye was the sun while his left eye was the moon.

     Meanwhile, Horus the Elder was jealous of his more famous nephew and so joined the fight against Set. He turned into a sun disk and blinded the sight of Set's soldiers. Set's soldiers couldn't see what they were doing in the midst of battle, they all killed each other, giving Horus the Younger the advantage. Horus the Elder became the protector of Egypt.

      Ra called the council of the gods to ferry themselves to a middle-heaven-island where they would judge between Horus the Younger and Set again. Ra told their fisherman, Nempti, to not allow passage to any woman who looked like Isis, wince he wanted a fair trial and didn't want Isis using her magic to affect the outcome. So the gods reached the island and tried to peacefully negotiate things. Isis was afraid that Set would win against Horus and so tricked Nempti by turning herself into an old woman. She paid him a gold ring to ferry her to the island. Once she reached the island, she turned herself into a beautiful woman to attract Set. Set left the meeting to go to her. She told him that her husband had died and that a stranger had taken all his possessions and was going to beat her son. She asked Set to be her son's protector. Set felt bad for her and ironically claimed that the stranger should be brutally punished and her son to inherit his father's place.

     Isis then turned into a bird and flew into a tree. She said that even his mind and mouth had judged him cruel. Set, humiliated and furious, complained to Ra about Isis' manipulation. Ra said exactly what Isis said. OH!!! Sucks to be you Set!!! Set said that the ferryman Nempti should be punished and so his toes were removed. Nempti never accepted any form of gold ever again.

     So, after a bunch of more battles, Horus the Younger defeated Set and was crowned the rightful king of Egypt. Set was banished to the far barren deserts of Egypt and continued being Ra's lieutenant. Sometimes, Set had the head of a falcon just like Horus when fighting Apophis/Apep. Forever angry at his dethronement, Set would scream in anger, causing thunder. Then, Isis, Nephthys, Anubis, and Horus all rushed to Osiris' temple where they attempted to reassemble Osiris again. Finally, to resurrect him, Horus fed him one of his magical eyes (beyond gross!). Anubis built a ladder for Osiris, who ascended to the heavens Isis and Nephthys by his sides. Osiris became the main judge of the dead in the underworld.

     Horus married Hathor and Serket, the goddess of scorpions, magic, and medicine. They had four sons (two from each goddess), though some say that their mother was Isis. They were born from the Nile in a lily flower and they were all mummies with different heads. Their faces were placed on canopic jars from which they protected certain body parts after death. When they were born, they began to drown, and so they were saved by Sobek, who pulled them onto dry land with a fishing net. They were Duamutef, with the head of a jackal, was the god of the east and protector of the stomach. Imest, with the head of a mummified human, was the god of the south and protector and liver. Hapi, with the head of a baboon, was the god of the north and protector of the lungs. Qebehseneuf, with the head of a falcon, was the god of the west and the protector of the intestines. Each of the four gods were protected by goddesses Isis, Neith, Nephthys, and Serket, respectively. From them descended the line of the pharaohs (Ancient Egyptians God-Kings), who were worshipped in Ancient Egypt, since they believed that they descended from the gods.

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Egyptian Creation Story

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     In the beginning, there was only Nun, the primordial ocean of chaos. The ancient Egyptians believed that Nun was an ocean, but you might know it by another name: space. Nun was made up of eight deities. There was the god Nu and the goddess Naunet, who represented the water of Nun. The god Huh and the goddess Hauhet, who represented the infinite expanse of Nun. The god Kek and the goddess Kauket represented the darkness of Nun. And, the god Amun and the goddess Amaunet represented Nun's difference from the living world. These eight deities were known collectively as the Ogdoad. The four gods were frogs, while the goddesses were snakes. They merged, causing a huge upheaval in the water of Nun. Then, from Nun's waters, there came a little hill in the shape of the first pyramid. It was called Benben.

     One of Nun's waves was a cow named Mehet-Weret. Mehet-Weret was the goddess of the milky Way, which came from her ears, Nun and Mehet-Weret together created a beat, which louder and louder until Ra came into existence (Ra can be replaced by Atum, Amun, or Ptah). Ra was the sun god, and rose from the top of Benben, like the rising sun. Ra further willed himself into existence by creating a heart around the beat, and then a voice box so that he could speak for the first time. Ra realized that words held great power. So, from words, he created a primordial island for him to live on. He then turned from a bennu into a man with the head of a falcon and one all-seeing eye. He then spat (or sneezed). From his saliva came his daughter Tefnut, the lion-headed goddess of mist and moisture. From the breath that propelled the moisture came his son Shu, the god of air.

     While they were living on the island, Tefnut and Shu got lost and they couldn't use their powers to see in the dark. Like any father, Ra began to feel very nervous and became scared for their safety. At the time, Ra had only one eye. So, he plucked out his eye and sent it to find Shu and Tefnut. But, while he waited, he realized that if they came back to him, then he would not be able to see them, so he created a second eye for himself. The second eye was the symbol known as "The Eye of Ra".

      Meanwhile, Ra's first eye found Shu and Tefnut and led them back to Ra. Ra embraced his children and began to cry out of happiness. His tears fell on the ground and they became humans. When Ra's first eye saw that Ra had replaced it, it became furious and tried to corrupt mankind. Hence, cruel qualities were born. Ra saw this and to comfort his first eye, he created a sun disk on his head named Aten, a form of Ra. He then turned his first eye into a snake and placed it on top of Aten. This was a position of great honor, and so Ra's first eye was calmed. Through his first eye, Ra could see the past, the universe, and the future. Ra also created a third eye for himself, so as to have a pair of eyes under his forehead, like most animals and humans.

     Ra then had a daughter named Ma'at. Ma'at is the order of the entire universe. Her opposite was Isfet, the total chaos of the universe. Ra then created Thoth from his tongue to help him create the world. Thoth was the god of knowledge and magic, and he had the head of an ibis (or baboon). Thoth was also a god of the moon and was also the one who invented writing and hieroglyphics Thoth married Ma'at and had a daughter named Seshat, the goddess of writing. Thoth helped Ra to create all animals and plants. Ra then became the first king of the Earth/Egypt.

     Another goddess that came from Nun was Neith. Neith became the goddess of hunting until she saw how her people grew old and died. So, she changed her role and instead became the goddess of weaving. Neith wove and wove and wove, until she ended up weaving most of the world into existence. She then married Khnum, a form of Ra with the head of a ram. Khnum was also said to have come from Nun. Khnum was the god of the source of the Nile, and from his potter's wheel, he makes babies before they are placed into their mothers. Neith and Khnum had three children: Sobek, the crocodile go of the Nile, which he made from his sweat; Tutu, the god of demons and strength; Serqet, the goddess of venomous creatures (mostly scorpions and snakes); and Apophis (Apep), the cosmic serpent of chaos, and the eternal enemy of Ra.

     Sobek married Renenutef, the snake goddess and had a son named Neper, the god of grains. Neper married Nepit, the goddess of grains; and Tayt, the goddess of weaving and textiles. Sobek also married Meskhenet, the goddess of the Ka (spiritual essence) of the soul.

     Khnum was also married to Heqet, the goddess of frogs and fertility; Satet, the goddess of hunting; Menhit, the goddess of lions and war; and Nebtuwi, goddess of desert oases. Khnum and Satet had a daughter named Anuket, the goddess of gazelles. Khnum and Menhit had a son named Heka, the god of medicine and magic. Khnum, Satet, and Anuket became the main triad worshiped at Elephantine.

     From his blood, Ra created Sia, the god of sight; and Hu, the god of creativity. Ra also had a lion-headed son named Anhur, the god of war. When another lion-goddess named Menhit ran away to Nubia, Ra sent Anhur to go get her back. Anhur fell in love with Menhit and when he brought her back, he got Ra's permission to marry her.

     Amun, a form of Ra, married the goddesses Amunet, Wosret, and Mut. Mut was a mother goddess and she and Amun had a son named Konshu, the moon god. It is Mut's job to make sure that the sun (Amun) and the moon (Konshu) are always happy with one another. Amun, Mut, and Konshu are worshiped as the triad of the city of Thebes.

     Shu and Tefnut got married and merged to form the mist. They gave birth to Geb and Nut, who were born clinging to one another. Geb was the earth god and Nut was the sky goddess. They got married. A prophecy said that the son of Geb and Nut would become the king of Egypt. To stop this from happening, Ra forced Shu to separate his children. Shu did it because he knew that Geb and Nut had to be separated so that life could thrive on Geb. So, Shu tore them apart and spread his daughter's body in a huge arch, making the sky and the earth separate to this day. This was also how the atmosphere was created. Now, whenever Nut released rain upon Geb, plants sprouted up from his body, and whenever Geb laughed, it resulted in earthquakes.

     Geb gave birth to Hapi, the god of the Nile river. Geb and Renenutet had a son named Nehebkau, the god of funerals. Nehebkau married a goddess named Nehmetawy. Geb is considered to be the father of all crops, geese, and snakes.

     Unfortunately for Ra, Nut was already pregnant at the time of the separation and so Ra used his power to make it so that Nut can't give birth on any month of the year. At the time, the year consisted of 360 days, like in the degrees of a circle. Nut was in great pain and she desperately had to give birth soon. Thoth took pity on her and so gambled light with Konshu. His moonlight was just as bright and powerful as Ra's sunlight. Thoth won enough times to take the light he won and add five extra days to the calendar, making 365 days in a year. Because of the light he had lost, Konshu had to wax and wane every month. To thank Konshu, Thoth made his ibis beak curve like the crescent moon.

     One the five days, one by one, Nut gave birth to five children: Osiris, Horus the Elder, Set, Isis, and Nephthys, respectively. Osiris was the god of agriculture, and the afterlife. Horus the Elder was a sphinx deity, and was the god of the sun disk and the protector of Egypt. Set was the god of storms, desert, chaos, and evil. Isis was the goddess of magic, love, and motherhood. Isis was such a great goddess that even the Romans worshiped her. Nephthys was the goddess of protection, water, rivers, skulls, nature, night, sleep, lamentation, and camels.

     Ra, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, Nut, Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys were all known as the Enhead, and were the nine gods worshiped in Heliopolis.

     Isis wanted to become more powerful to be able to protect her husband and maybe one day, her child. So, she began to heal small wounds and worked her way up from there. But, it wasn't enough. By then, Ra had grown old over the years and he drooled a lot. So, Isis took some of his saliva, mixed it with sand, and created a very venomous snake. The snake bit Ra and he began to die. All the gods came to help him, but Ra would only accept help from Isis, due to her great healing abilities. Isis came and said that she couldn't save Ra unless he told her his secret name. Everything in existence had a secret name and to give Isis his secret name would give Isis dominion over him. He relented until he finally agreed to tell her his secret name, making her swear that she would not tell it to anyone except her son. She agreed and then was able to heal him. This made her the goddess of magic and she became one of the most powerful Egyptian.

     Over time, many more gods and goddesses appear, such as Nekhbet, the vulture goddess; Wadjet, a snake goddess; Hatmehyt, goddess of fish; Maftet, the mongoose; Tawaret, the hippo/lion/crocodile goddess; and her husband Bes, the god of dwarves and children.

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