Ancietn Egyptian Gods' Throne Battles

Osiris, hidden from view in a dark cavern, listened carefully for one of his worse enemies, his brother Seth. Stalactite hung eerily from the ceiling. His supersonic hearing picked up the breathing of the bats hanging above him. Osiris finally heard his brother creeping closer to him. Seth, Osiris’ worse nemesis, constantly sought ways to rid the world of his brother.  He was vicious and conniving in his attacks, sneaky even for Osiris. Osiris and Seth possessed many god-like qualities and may have come from the planet Nibiru or another foreign planet. They were equally matched in abilities and strength.  Seth, ruthless with his dangerous schemes, led Osiris to fear his brother.  His attacks were continuous and when Osiris would least expect them.  Seth was getting closer to his bother.  Osiris decided to use magic and disappear out of thin air. He could hear Seth’s loud sigh as he did so. Osiris was safe for a little while.

These two highly advanced and intelligent beings served as an ominous threat to any of their adversaries.  They performed various feats of magic to impress their followers such as levitating, disappearing into thin air and altering their size to giant size beings at the snap of their fingers.  Seth had his eye on the prize, the throne. Osiris, a fair and kind ruler, was favored by his subjects.  Many of Osiris’ subjects helped protect him from his brother and his brother’s allies.  Most of the inhabitants in Egypt did not want Seth to become the ruler.

The subject of death carried a lot of mystery and respect for the ancient Egyptians. Their belief in rebirth after death drove them to perform specific funeral practices. The elite were often mummified and buried with precious heirlooms that they could bring with them to the afterlife. Mummification involved removing the internal organs and wrapping the body in linen. Death only served as a temporary interruption. In order to ensure eternal life, they had to honor the gods, preserve their physical form through mummification and utilize the appropriate funeral equipment.  The ancient Egyptians buried their dead in a rectangular stone sarcophagus or wooden coffin.

Seth, under the pretense of meeting Osiris’ needs regarding his future burial, hired an artisan to build a sarcophagus for Osiris. The sarcophagus was being presented as a gift to Osiris from his devoted subjects. Osiris was touched by the thoughtfulness.

Amil, the artisan asked Osiris to climb into the sarcophagus to see if it fit.

“I will be more than happy to try out this wonderful gift,” replied Osiris.

The minute he was inside, the top was placed on it and it was latched. The sarcophagus was lined with copper and silver to prevent Osiris from using his magic to release himself from his prison. The sarcophagus was delivered to the deepest part of the Red Sea. Without air, food and other necessities, Osiris eventually died a long and agonizing death.

Isis, Osiris’ wife, and her sister Nepthys, who happened to be married to Seth, searched high and low and finally located Osiris. They brought Osiris to the bank of the sea and opened the sarcophagus. One of Isis’ gifts included bringing beings back to life. Isis performed her magic and Osiris was brought back to life.

Seth was furious and began scheming again on how he was going to kill Osiris. One day, Seth transformed himself into a vicious monster and attacked Osiris, killing him. Seth then cut Osiris into 14 pieces and distributed them throughout the length and breadth of Egypt. With Osiris dead, Seth became king of Egypt again, with his sister Nepthys as his wife. Nepthys, however, felt sorry for her sister Isis, who wept endlessly over her lost husband.

            Seven scorpions escorted Isis during her flight in search of her husband. She was weary and wanted to rest one evening and stopped at the home of a peasant woman and her children. The woman did not want to let Isis into her home. One of the scorpions, Tefen, decided to slip under the door and he stung one of the woman’s children. Isis heard the woman crying over the loss of her child so she forgave the woman for turning her away. Isis entered the home and laid a hand on the child and gave him a new life.      

            “You can stay at my home since you saved my child,” said the grateful woman.

            “Thank you. I am very tired after my long journey and need to get a good night’s sleep.”

            Isis, who possessed great magical powers, continued to look for her husband so she could bring him back to life long enough so that they could have a child. Together with Nepthys, Isis roamed the country, collecting the pieces of her husband’s body and reassembling them. Nephthys, Seth’s wife and sister, was considered a protective goddess. She was seen with her sister Isis more than with her spouse Seth. She helped find the pieces of Osiris body and helped put him back together with her sister. Once she completed this task, she breathed the breath of life into his body and resurrected him. They were together again, and Isis became pregnant soon after. Osiris was able to descend into the underworld, where he became the lord of that domain.            

            Isis gave birth to her son after a long labor alone in the swamps of the Delta. The child born to Isis was named Horus, the hawk-god. Seth knew Horus would eventually cause problems for him so he searched high and low for him to no avail. Seth and his demons lurked in the thicket near where she was hiding. Isis could only seek food at night while accompanied by her bodyguards, seven scorpions provided to her by the goddess Selket. Isis and Selket nurtured and educated Horus to prepare for adulthood. Finally, Horus became strong enough to challenge his uncle for his father’s kingdom.

Horus decided to make a case before the court of gods that he, not Seth, was the rightful king of Egypt.

“My father, who was killed by Seth, was the rightful ruler. I am Osiris’ son. I should be the king of Egypt.”

Seth countered Horus and said, “I have been the lawful ruler for years and have brought Egypt much prosperity.”

The gods agreed with Seth.

Seth remained the ruler because of his experience. The court considered Horus too young and he lacked experience to become the ruler.

Seth may have had a dark side but he was also known for his association with the thunder god, Baal. Many rulers took his name associating themselves with his strength. Seth served alongside Ra the sun god when he was on his journey through the night. He defended Ra from the serpent Apophis. Seth represented the balance in the universe concerning the concept of duality. Seth would appear as a hippopotamus on occasion. The hippopotamus was regarded as a symbol of disorder and positive feminine morality.

            A long period of argument followed, and Seth challenged Horus to a contest. The winner would become king. Seth, however, did not play fair. After several matches in which Seth cheated and was the victor, Horus’ mother, Isis, decided to help her son set a trap for Seth. She snared him, but Seth begged for his life, and Isis let him go. When he found out that she had let his enemy live, Horus became angry with his mother, and rages against her, earning him the contempt of the other gods. Isis was referred to as the “Universal Mother” to the Egyptian people. The goddess served as a representation of the devoted wife and mother. She not only used her powers to restore life, she also helped mothers and children in many ways.

            They decided that there would be one more match, and Seth would get to choose what it would be. Seth decided that the final round of the contest would be a boat race. However, in order to make the contest a challenge, Seth decided that he and Horus should race boats made of stone. Horus was tricky and built a boat made of wood, covered with limestone plaster, which looked like stone. As the gods assembled for the race, Seth cut the top off of a mountain to serve as his boat and set it in the water. His boat sank right away, and all the other gods laughed at him.

            Angry, Seth transformed himself into a hippopotamus and attacked Horus’ boat. Horus fought off Seth, but the other gods stopped him before he killed Seth. The officiating gods decided that the match was a tie. Many of the gods were sympathetic to Horus, but remembered his anger toward his mother for being lenient to Seth, and were unwilling to support him completely. The gods who formed the court decided to write a letter to Osiris and ask for his advice. Osiris responded with a definite answer: his son is the rightful king, and should be placed upon the throne. No one, said Osiris, should take the throne of Egypt through an act of murder, as Seth had done. Seth had killed Osiris, but Horus did not kill anyone, and was the better candidate. The sun and the stars, who were Osiris’ allies, descended into the underworld, leaving the world in darkness.

            Finally, the gods agreed that Horus should claim his birthright as king of Egypt. Light was returned to Earth. He assumed the Atef crown and took over the thrown of his father, Osiris. Horus was known as the “King of men” and his father was granted the kingdom of the dead and known as the “King of eternity.” The family has died. Osiris died in truth and served as a star in the sky. Isis is the dog-star. Horus is Orion (Erman, 1971).

            Horus eventually forgave his mother after much prompting by the gods.

            Horus was known to bring unity in the lands of Egypt. He brought a kingdom out of the depths of chaos and returned it back to harmony. Horus was worshipped by many future rulers including Ramesses II. Temples were built in honor of Horus, Isis and Osiris.

             

The Egyptian Myth of Creation from Amum, the sky god, and Nut, the earth goddess came four children: Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nepthys. Osiris was the oldest and so became king of Egypt, and he married his sister Isis. Osiris was a good king and commanded the respect of all who lived on the earth and the gods who dwelled in the netherworld. Seth was always jealous of Osiris because he did not command the respect of those on earth or those in the netherworld. Many creation stories consisted of a man and woman created by a higher being, usually a god. Osiris and Isis were created and procreated with one another and Horus was born, who was also a god. Seth the evil brother was married to his sister Nephthys. Osiris and Seth were brothers like Cain and Abel. One was good and one was evil. The fight between good and evil has existed since the beginning of time. The fight to gain control of resources and people has also endured through the test of time. The ancient Egyptian gods and goddesses have watched over and provided protection for the inhabitants for many years.