Thanks to his conspiring, murderous brother, Set, Osiris became god and ruler of Duat, the land of the dead. One could gain admittance to this hallowed realm starting before death, by leading a righteous life. After death, a person’s soul would be weighed against the Feather of Truth, belonging to the goddess, Ma’at. Furthermore, one had to have a proper burial, with the body prepared correctly and then certain words, incantations, and words of power recited over the body. Finally, the proper amulets had to be placed in the right positions on the body.
But Isis was much more than the mighty god’s helpmeet; she was pretty powerful in her own right. Magic was her special realm. She even wrangled the true name of Ra from the mighty god himself. Wanting to be as powerful as Ra, she created the first cobra. At her bidding the snake bit Ra, leaving him in agonizing pain. Deathly sick, the god sent for Isis, asking her to heal him. The goddess replied that she could only do so if he would reveal his true name to her. Remember that all words have power and some are even more powerful, such as the real, or true, names of things. Ra finally consented to tell her what she needed to know, although it was only near death that he broke down and whispered it in her ear. And so, Isis became more powerful than even Ra.
Learning of Set’s treachery, Isis searched the breadth and width of Egypt, looking for her husband’s body in order to perform the sacred, proper, burial rites upon it. Nowhere was he to be found, much to her great sorrow. Finally, she heard of the mighty tamarisk pillar in the palace of King Malcander. Making her way to Phoenicia, she became nurse to the king’s two children. His youngest son, Dictys, was in poor health and the goddess soon healed him, merely by letting him suckle her finger.
Dictys grew strong and robust, and mighty Isis became quite fond of him, determining to make him immortal. Nightly she would immerse him in her magical flame, burning away that which was mortal.(1) Queen Astarte became suspicious of her child’s nurse and sat one night in wait, spying upon the two. When she saw her son engulfed in divine flames she shrieked, breaking the magic of Isis’s spell.
Isis revealed herself for the powerful goddess she was, much to the fear and astonishment of the king and queen, who offered her anything in Phoenicia she might desire. The goddess asked only for the great tamarisk pillar and whatever it might contain. Malcander gave orders for the pillar to be pulled down. Isis opened the trunk, revealing the chest/coffin of Osiris.
Isis hid the coffin in the Nile delta, where Set, out hunting by night, found it. The angry god fell upon his brother’s body in a great rage, tearing it to pieces and scattering them the length of the river. Upon discovering her brother’s further treachery, Isis flung herself down in a great cry, only to rise up again, determined to regain her husband’s body, piece-by-piece, and give him the burial he deserved.
Aided by Nepthys and Anubis, she began searching the Nile for bits of her beloved’s body. As each one was recovered, magic was used to create an image of the slain god, with the recovered body part in its proper place. Priests then performed the correct burial rites over the body of Osiris. And so, thirteen different places in Egypt claim to be the burial site of the mighty god. Only the mighty god’s phallus remained to be found and sadly, it had been eaten by an impious fish. (To this day, the fish is accursed and will not be eaten or touched by the Egyptians.)
Isis still had a prophecy to fulfill, but how was she to become mother of the son of Osiris when Osiris was dead and without the necessary anatomy? Our intrepid goddess was not to be stopped. She simply fashioned a new bit from gold, installed it in its proper place, and used her magic to bring it – and Osiris – come to life and perform.
After
the miraculous event, Osiris was placed in his final resting place, known
only to Isis. Becoming the first being to die, and already a mighty god,
he became god of the underworld, standing in judgment on the souls of those
who followed. Isis would later give birth to Horus, a mighty god in his
own right who would go on to avenge his parents…but that’s another story…
Coulter, Charles, and Patricia Turner. Encyclopedia of Ancient Deities. McFarland: Jefferson, NC, 2000.
Howard, Deborah. “The Egyptian Culture Reflected in Worship.” Exploring Ancient World Cultures. [http://eawc.evansville.edu/essays/howard.htm]
Skyes,
Egerton. Who’s Who in Non-Classical Mythology. Oxford University Press:
New York, 1993.
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Originally
composed March 2001.
Copyright
Laurel Reufner, 2001. Comments? Email me!