The Death of Osiris | Ancient Egypt

I find that out of all myths I have read and studied, this one played the biggest role in the ancient Egyptian civilization. It's a significant story to their timeline of the civilization myths as to when Osiris had once ruled the world but then was put down to throne the world of the dead, along with Anubis. Taking that into account, there lies the story of Horus (Osiris's Son) being the next greatest competent to Seth to avenge the death of his father.

Gods that are involved in this myth are:

Ra - God of the Sun / Creator of the first generation of gods

Anubis - God of the Afterlife

Osiris - A Pharaoh / God of the Underworld

Seth - God of Chaos (Osiris's brother)

Isis - Goddess of Wisdom (Osiris's wife)

Nephthys - Goddess of Protection (Seth's wife)

Horus - God of the Sky (Child to Osiris and Isis)

note that; Osiris, Seth, Isis, Nephthys were all siblings.

As in context, Osiris, the god who once ruled all of Egypt and had brought prosperity to everyone. After Ra left the Earth to return to heaven, Osiris was the one who took his place as a ruler of the world of mankind. He brought humans out of their barbarian behavior and taught them to farm and fish, how to take care of the Nile River and how to raise animals for work and food. He also taught them the about of laws and how they should treat each other. In clearer understanding, he had educated them and because of this, the people of Egypt lived in peace and happiness.

Ancient Egypt

However, his brother, Seth had long been jealous of his brother’s successful reign and hoped to replace him as the ruler of all Egypt. He was jealous of the way the people worshipped him and by that, he could not move against his brother. Plus, Osiris had the love of the people and Isis (Osiris's wife) who was so clever and wise that she would know if Seth tried to rebel against his brother, so he planned with his followers and began to create a trap that would turn the tables.

The downfall of Osiris's reign began when Seth set up a fest where all gods were invited with a beautiful wooden chest as the centerpiece of the hall.

The wooden chest was crafted with silver gold every ivory and carved with the most beautiful images as a symbol of wealth and majestic to the Ancient Egypt world.

As the fest began, all invitees starting to be having joy as good foods and wines were served. No one caused as big a stir as Osiris arrived at the occasion. Soon, Seth announced a game; whoever could fit perfectly in the wooden chest displayed, could have it as a gift. Therefore, one by one, the guests clambered in but no one seemed to fit. As it was Osiris’s turn, he laid down and everyone could see it was a perfect fit hence another win for the god who could do no wrong. Out of the blue, Seth slammed the lid of the chest down with Osiris still inside, sealed it shut, and tossed it into the Nile.

The chest was a coffin.

Seth had constructed the coffin specifically to trap his brother and planned the party to lure him into it.

The Nile bore the coffin out to sea and it drifted for many days before washing ashore near Byblos, where a great cedar grew around it and turned into a beautiful tree.

The essence of the god within the cedar had given the tree a divine aura. As the king of Byblos noticed it, he demanded his people to cut the tree down and brought it to his palace. Unbeknownst to him, the coffin containing Egypt’s most powerful god was still inside, dead.

Seth’s victory seemed to be complete, but he hadn’t counted on his sisters. Seth’s wife, Nephtys, who was also his sister, and their other sister, Isis (Osiris's wife) were determined to find Osiris. And so, Isis enlisted Nephtys’s help behind Set’s back. The two sisters took the shape of falcons and traveled far and wide across Egypt. Some children who had seen the coffin float by helped them by telling them that the divine tree was brought to the palace of Byblos.

Then, Isis adopted a new disguise, in which an old lady and approached the palace. The queen was so charmed by the disguised goddess that she entrusted her with nursing the baby prince without knowing her deity. Isis decided to make the queen's child immortal by bathing him in a flame smoothed by a chant of a spell. When the horrified queen came upon this scene, Isis revealed herself and demanded the tree. When she cut the coffin from the trunk and opened it, Osiris was dead inside.

Weeping, Isis carried Osiris's body back to Egypt and hid it in a swamp, while she set off in search of a means of resurrecting him. However, while she was gone, Seth found out her plan and the body where it was hidden, he cut it into pieces and scatter them throughout Egypt. After all the sisters' sweat and tears, Isis had lost Osiris for the second time, but for the sake of Osiris's dignity, she still did not give up on her husband.

She searched all over the land, traveling in a boat of papyrus. One by one, she tracked down the parts of her husband’s dismembered body in every province of Egypt, holding a funeral for each piece. At long last, she had recovered every piece but one— his penis, which was believed, a fish in the Nile had eaten (What a bummer). Working with what she had, Isis reconstructed and revived her husband. But without his penis, Osiris was incomplete and could not remain among the living, could not return to his old position as ruler of greatest Egypt.

Osiris

Instead, Osiris would have to rule over 'Duat', the realm of the dead along with Anubis. Before he went, though, he and Isis conceived a son to bear Osiris’s legacy, hoping that one day, this newborn (Horus) would avenge him.

Horus

Thank you so much for lending your time to read this. I will surely post more when I have the time. Feel free to check out other stories, videos, and articles I have posted. There are also some videos that I have shared in my video playlist and are linked to this myth, go ahead and watch!