Osiris myth | The Egyptian myth of the death of Osiris in Pharaonic Civilization, Who killed and why, How did Isis bring Osiris back to life…

Osiris myth

How do we know about Osiris and Isis myth?

Our information about the Osiris myth came from several versions that were written by Greek and Roman writers. We need to bear in mind that the source of this information for the writers was second or third-hand pieces of information Plus their own touches and flavors. So, we cannot confirm which part is real and which part is created or fabricated.

Who was Osiris?

According to our information, Osiris was the son of Geb (god of earth) and Nut (goddess of the sky), and the brother of Seth, Isis, and Nephthys. He was one of the most important gods of Ancient Egyptian civilization. Osiris became the king of Egypt when his father Geb gave up the reigning power over Egypt and retired into the heavens. Osiris taught Egyptian History the art of agriculture and irrigation. He teaches them how to build houses, and how to read and write.

Egypt became prosperous under the leadership of Osiris. Overall, he married his sister Isis. Later, when the Heliopolis theology explains creation was merged, Osiris was a member of the Ennead and a part of the nine most important Egyptian gods.

Osiris Symbol

Osiris was always portrayed sitting, wearing the Atef crown above his head, with his hands crossed on his chest holding the crook (heqa) and the flail (nekhakha). Also, sometimes was portrayed standing with a green face holding his symbols like in the chapel of Anubis at Hatshepsut temple.

Who was Isis?

Isis (Aset – Auset) was the daughter of Geb and Nut and the sister of Osiris, Seth, and Nephthys. She married Osiris and she was one of the most important Egyptian Goddesses. Isis was the goddess of love, magic, motherhood, and fertility. Goddess Isis was Isis was the protectress of women and children Additionally, she was the goddess of the moon and healing. Later, when the Heliopolis theology explains creation (the Ennead) was merged, Isis was a member of the Ennead and a part of the nine most important gods in ancient Egypt.

Isis Symbol

Isis was portrayed as a lady with the ‘throne’ headdress, the two horns, and the sun disc in between. Sometimes, she was portrayed like a sycamore tree or just as a throne.

 Osiris and ISIS

Osiris and Isis were two of the four sons and daughters of Geb god of earth and Nut goddess of the sky. According to the common version of the legend, Osiris married Isis, and Seth (Set) married Nephthys.

Osiris became the king of Egypt supported by his wife Isis in every way. Both couples were beloved by people. His brother Seth was evil, bad, and hated by all and he was so jealous of his brother. Seth with his friends managed to murder Osiris and cut his body into 14 pieces. Seth Scattered the 13 pieces all over the 13 states of Egypt at that time and he through the Phallus into the Nile.

The faithful Isis with her sister’s assistance found all the pieces of the husband’s body except the male organ, which had been eaten by a fish. Isis collected her husband’s parts making the first mummy in ancient Egypt.

Till that time, the couple had no children, so according to the myth, Isis acted like a bird and sucked her dead husband’s semen. As a result, Isis conceived a boy and he was called Horus. Hathor raised Horus in the marches of the Delta to protect him from his evil uncle Seth. After Osiris’s death, Seth seized the throne of Egypt.

Horus and Seth

Instead, Osiris traveled to the underworld and Ra promised him that he would find peace and contentment as the king of the dead. As soon as his son Horus became a man, and grew to manhood, he faced his evil uncle and they had many battles against each other. Finally, Horus had a full victory over his uncle at Edfu and avenged his father’s murder, and took back the throne of Egypt.

Horus became the perfect example for all rulers and all the pharaohs used his name as one of the 5 royal titles. so, the pharaohs were the living Horus and the dead Osiris.

The Eye of Horus

During one of the battles between Horus and Seth, Seth snatched away Horus’s eye and threw it into the ocean. The god Thoth recovered the eye and give it back to Horus. The eye of Horus became the symbol of protection.

The story of Isis and Osiris

There is another version of the Osiris Myth that tells that Ra was the creator, and he created Geb and Nut. After they get married, they have 5 Kids, Osiris, Isis, Horus the elder, Seth, and Nephthys. Ra’s wisdom made him believe that if Nut will bore a child, he will lose his position and he would end his reign among men. He laid a curse Upon her to not bore kids but she asked the help of Thoth, one of her lovers may be.

Thoth knew that once Ra did the curse, one spoken would never be recalled. Thoth problem was how to go over that problem and not let his father word Ra down. As he was the god of wisdom and knowledge, he found a way. He played Khonsu, the moon god, and challenged him to a contest at a draught. He won Khonsu and gained some light.

The light Thoth won was enough to make 5 days to be between the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one. The year was 360 days before that and after these 5 extra days, the year became 365 days. These 5 days became later festival days. During these days, Khonsu had not enough light to shine, but dwindles into darkness and grows to his glory again.

Goddess Nut

Goddess Nut had her kids in these 5 days, On the first day, she received Osiris. On the second day, Horus the elder was born. On the third day, she had Seth then Isis on the fourth day, and finally Nephthys on the 5^th day.  According to the Myth, when Osiris was born, a voice was heard all over the world that Osiris was born to bring Joy to all of the earth. Osiris married Isis later, a custom that the Egyptian pharaohs followed ever after. Also, Seth married Nephthys.

Osiris Mythology – Osiris myth

Ra grows old and left the earth to the sky, Osiris ruled the earth after him, and he became the sole ruler. Osiris taught the Egyptians how to grow crops, how to tend them, and how to water the crops. Although, as to how to cut the corn, and how to thresh the grain on the threshing floor. Dry it and grind it into flour to make the bread. Osiris taught the ancient Egyptians how to plant vines and make grapes into wine.

Osiris was beloved by his people but not Seth, the evil one. Seth envied his brother and hates Isis and the more the people loved them, the more he hated them. The evil Seth killed his brother and ruled in his place. The bad brother Seth cut his brother’s body into 14 pieces and scattered them all over Egypt.

But the loyal wife went to seek the body of Osiris, back and forth till she found it. ISIS recollect the piece of  Osiris and became pregnant with Horus.

what is the moral of the story of Isis and Osiris – Osiris myth?

The moral of the story of ISIS and Osiris is the conflict between good vs evil. Everyone can be Osiris or Seth. Fighters for the truth are few but good will always win in the end. This is what the story is trying to explain, seek the truth, fight evil, and be wise, smart, and intelligent.

The fight between good and bad will be with me and you, within all of us. We can make our choices; we all have that fight between good and bad in our daily lives.  Some are small dilemmas; others are huge and life-changing. It is up to us, we choose to be fake, Seth, or work hard and be Osiris.