Osiris's Myth | The Tale of Isis and Osiris
The Tale of Isis and Osiris
Who is Isis? She looks like a woman wearing a crown on her head, a hieroglyphic sign used to write her name. Daughter of Nut and Geb, sister and wife of Osiris, she brings civilization to earth. She is a faithful wife and protector of children. Along with Nephthys, Neith, and Selkis, she is responsible for protecting one of the four canopic vases, that of Amsèt, with a man's head and containing the liver. Her cult is venerated in many places in Egypt, notably on the island of Philæ. The representation of Isis suckling Horus inspired the Coptic Christian iconography of the Virgin and Child.
Among the Egyptian gods are Isis, Osiris, Anubis, and Horus; all are shrouded in mystery and intrigue. Many of these deities were represented with animal heads. Let's look at the legend that surrounds this powerful deity. One of the main figures in Egyptian religion was Isis, the mother goddess and loving wife of Osiris. Starting in the third century BC, her cult progressively expanded throughout the Mediterranean region, where she was worshipped as a goddess of magic and a guardian of the dead.
Osiris was the god of the dead, and Isis was his sister, wife, and mother goddess of immense magical power. Their son, Horus, was considered the ideal child. Isis and Horus were revered as symbols of motherhood and protection. According to a tale, Osiris and Isis' brother was Seth, also spelled Set. Seth was a violent and chaotic god. He had Osiris get into a wooden box by deceiving him. Seth forcefully closed the lid after Osiris climbed inside. Throwing the box into the Nile River, he killed Osiris.
According to legend, Isis grieved her husband's passing profoundly. She retrieved Osiris's body and laid him to rest. Then, Osiris was given a fresh start by Isis using her powerful abilities. From then on, he was revered as the monarch of the underworld, or the land of the dead. It was thought that Osiris granted individuals life after death in the underworld.
There are actually several stories about the fate of Osiris in Egyptian mythology. But while some details differ, the main events are similar. Here's the version of the Greek thinker and historian Plutarch: Osiris was one of the sons of the first couple of Egyptian gods, Shu and Tefnut. This union also produced another son, Seth, and two daughters, Isis and Nephthys.
Osiris, a good king, protector of vegetation, and discoverer of nourishing seeds, was jealous of his brother, who ended up locking him up in a sarcophagus and throwing it into the Nile. His sister-wife, Isis, finds him and hides him in the marshes. But when Set discovers him, he cuts his brother's corpse into 14 pieces, which he scatters in the river.
With the help of her sister Nephthys, Isis collects all the parts of their brother's body, and reconstitutes it by wrapping it tightly in bandages, thanks to the god Anubis. She revives him sufficiently to unite with him and give birth to a son, Horus. Osiris returns to the world of the dead, where he becomes king, while his son drives his uncle from power.
The Osiris Myth
Osiris assumed the rule of the land and presented it to the people from the righteous; which made him an example of good and taught people to plant, and he planned for their villages and cities, and he legislated laws and rulings for them, and people loved him, so his brother hated him "Seth", and asked him himself to kill his brother.
He prepared set plans, to kill his brother Osiris, where he held a big party called by Osiris, then he told Seth's guests that he prepared a surprise for them, which is a gift sarcophagus, a gift from gold that would be the share of those who come identical to his size, and the successive guests were lying in the coffin until the turn of Osiris (which was prepared for him).
The coffin, in particular, took the coffin at its bed. Seth and his followers took the initiative to tighten the lid on the sarcophagus and inside it Osiris, then they carried it and threw it in the Nile River, so the river dredged it to the Mediterranean, which was carried by its waves to Phenicia (Lebanon now), then the waves threw it to the coast of Thaghr Jbeil and it soon became A huge tree planted on the coffin hidden it from the eyes
Isis was searching for her husband until God guided her to the city of Jbeil and found the coffin, and she remained there until she managed to escape the body of her husband, and she returned to Egypt, and in Egypt, Isis emptied the corpse in a remote location of the Delta swamps and started crying and praying to God to return life to her husband Osiris, and God answered her, and Isis set out with shouts of joy there and set who happened to be hunting near them soon heard her, as soon as he heard the sound until he rushed toward them, so if he finds his brother alive, then he will revolt, and tear his body Osiris, and throw every part of it in the regions of Egypt Forty-two.
The ancient Egyptians believed that "Osiris" is the force that provides them with life and gives them sustenance in this world, and that it is the black earth from which green life emerges, and they drew the ears of love sprouting from his body, symbolizing the renewed life with a green tree. Each year, they held a large party in which they installed a tree, planted and decorated it with ornaments, and covered it with green leaves, as people do today with the Christmas tree.
The Babylonians named this tree a tree of life, and they believed that it bore the leaves of age on the head each year. Whoever turns his paper green lives are written for him throughout the year, and whoever withers his paper withers and authorizes the fall is dead one day. This custom went from east to west, so they celebrated the tree at Christmas and chose it from trees that kept green throughout the year, such as cypress and pine.
Thanks to classic works of a book such as Plutarch, the myth was preserved even after the middle of the first millennium A.D when the ancient Egyptian religion and writing system that was originally used to record the legend disappeared. The legend remained part of the Western impression of ancient Egypt. And in recent times, when Egyptian beliefs were understood by Egyptian sources, the myth continued to influence and inspire new ideas, from fictional works and scientific speculation to new religious movements.
The Gods of ancient Egypt were very just like people according to ancient Egyptians, they had feelings, they felt jealous and fought, they took revenge, killed, and also died during an amazing myth full of joyful, action, and dramatic events that inspired modern movie directors and producers to create world-famous movies about the grandeur of the Pharaohs and the Gods they worshipped.
The myth of Isis and Osiris inspired many things to the Egyptians, such as victory over evil, patience, strong will, and universal justice... But above all, it taught the world in general, and the Egyptians in particular, that love and loyalty never end, even with death. The great myth was also clearly connected to the popular religious passion in ancient Egypt.
The story's immense appeal among the populace reflects its significance in ancient Egyptian religions. This is due to the fact that it is founded on a sobering theological concept that is central to Egyptian religious belief: the happiness that the deceased achieve in the hereafter. Thus, the idea reinforces the value of “resurrection and immortality” upon which Egyptian civilization is based.
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