The Egyptian Myth of Osiris

Cast of Characters

Osiris      --He is the god of Life and Renewal, born of Nut, the Mother Sky Goddess called The Vault of Heaven and Geb, the Earth God. Seth      --the other son of sky and earth, the evil and envious brother. Isis      --daughter of sky and earth, the sister and wife of Osiris, mother of Horus. She is the Moon goddess. Nephthys      --second daughter of sky and earth, wife of Seth but slept with Osiris. Horus      --Son of Isis and Osiris, depicted as a hawk, represents Light, battles Darkness(Seth). Thoth      --scribe of the gods, chronicler of truth, author of the Book of the Dead. Anubis      --the jackal headed god who opens the way for the departed and helps in the chthonic transformation process. He actually presided over the mummification of Osiris(the central god of ressurection). more...

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     Osiris, the magnanimous god-king of Egypt, traveled to other lands to bestow gifts while Isis, the beautiful god-queen, ruled. When he returned, Seth, his envious brother, had plotted his downfall. Seth tricked Osiris into climbing into a sarcophagus which was sealed and cast into the Nile. It floated to the Mediterranean and all the way to the shores of Byblos in Syria where a Tamarisk tree of great proportion grew around it. The King admired the tree and had it made into a magnificent pillar in the center of his palace.

     Isis searched for her husband all the way to Biblos and entered the royal place as a nursemaid. She was seen doing magic ritual over the Djed pillar with the infant prince and confessed her true identity and mission. The King granted Isis the pillar from which she revived Osiris enough to conceive a son, Horus. But upon their return to Egypt, Seth, in a rage, tore Osiris to bits which were strewn along the Nile. Isis found all his body parts except his penis which was swallowed by a fish. Nephthys, Thoth, Horus and Isis helped reassemble Osiris enough to enter the Underworld. Isis raised Horus in the sanctuary of the Nile delta. As a child he was stung by a scorpion and was saved by the intervention of the supreme sun god, Ra. Isis learned Ra's secret name and thereby attained great powers. Horus was instructed in warfare by his father in the Underworld. A great battle of light and darkness was fought between Horus and Seth. Horus sacrificed his left eye, and Seth his left testicle. Eventually Horus prevailed over Seth and became the ruler of upper and lower Egypt. His father, Osiris, is symbolically resurrected each year with the flooding of the Nile thus ensuring the spring renewal, the greening of the desert and fertility for Egypt. 

     Osiris is revered for bringing civilization to the primitive Egyptians. He taught them farming, observance of laws, and recognition of the gods. He is called the king of eternity, the lord of everlastingness, the ruler of the two lands from the womb of the goddess. Osiris is ruler of the dead. The Book of the Dead is a ritual text dedicated to the resurrection of the deceased represented by Osiris. He presides over the weighing of hearts, the accounting of good and evil deeds and the final judgement of souls.

The Great Hymn to Aten
by Pharaoh Akhenaten, circa 1350 BC

     Let your holy Light shine from the height of heaven O living Aten, source of all life! From Eastern horizon risen and streaming, you have flooded the world with your beauty.

     The herds are at peace in their pastures, trees and the vegetation grow green; Birds start from their nests, wings wide spread to worship your Person.

     When the new one descends from the womb to draw breath the day of his birth, You open his mouth, you shape his nature, and you supply all his necessities.

     How various is the world you have created, each thing mysterious, sacred to sight O sole God, beside whom is no other!

     You fashioned earth to your heart's desire, while you were still alone, Filled it with man and the family of creatures, each kind on the ground, those who go upon feet, he on high soaring on wings, The far lands of Khor and Kush, and the rich black land of Egypt.

     You are the one God, shining forth from you possible incarnations as Aten, the Living Sun, Revealed like a king in glory, risen in light, now distant, now bending nearby. You create the numberless things of this world from yourself, who are One alone-- cities, towns fields, the roadway, the River; And each eye looks back and beholds you to learn from the day's light perfection.

     Lift up the creatures of earth for your Son who came forth from your Body of Fire!