A Captivating Story of Osiris, Isis, Seth, and Horus

Perhaps the most important myth of Ancient Egypt is that of Osiris. In it, his wife Isis and his son Horus battled against his brother Seth.

The spellings with which we are most familiar are modern versions of the Greek. The original Egyptian names were more like the following:

• Osiris—Auser

• Isis—Asett

• Seth—Sett

• Horus—Heru

The double “t” at the end of Asett and Sett is not traditional, but it helps to distinguish the name “Sett” from the common English word “set.”

Throughout all of Egyptian myth, there is very little actually said about Osiris (Auser) himself. Most of what is said comes after his betrayal by Seth (Sett).

Imagining the Osiris Myth

As they had done for all the ages of man, the priests of the great city of Iunu had crossed over the Ne’weya during the twilight hour after dawn and before sunrise. But this morning vigil at the temple plateau was more somber than usual. All of Kemet was in mourning for their dead ruler, Auser.

The death of a god was not to be taken lightly. Such things tended to throw the entire universe out of balance. Sett had gone over to the dark side of reality. No longer did he stand on the prow of the sun barge, fighting off Apep—the great snake of chaos. Instead, Sett had become chaos. He had betrayed his brother, Auser, and had murdered him. If the priests could believe the rumors, Sett had hacked up Auser’s body and flung the parts all up and down the great Ne’weya and its life-giving waters.

As the eastern horizon brightened, the priests performed their daily ritual, burning a handful of grain in sacrifice to the great god, Ra—giver of light. His return to the skies above the mortal realm would be to look upon a world greatly saddened by what had happened to the children of Geb (Earth) and Nut (Heavens). Their offspring, Auser, had been murdered by his brother, Sett. And their offspring, Asett, had been made a widow by the same action.

When the priests had returned to Iunu, they heard the news that Sett had taken control of all Kemet. Asett, Auser’s lovely wife, had fled into the hills to the West. Or so people were being told.

Ahmose of Zau made his way into the temple and toward the large meeting hall. Outside the hall, he saw a familiar face. At first, he could not put a name to that visage. Something about it all didn’t make sense. What was a beggar doing in the temple at this hour? And why would he recognize a beggar? Then, the truth struck him. That was no beggar, despite the shabby clothes she wore. That was Asett, herself! The goddess was in disguise.

“Your eminence!” said Ahmose, loud enough only to be heard by her. “What are you doing here? It’s not safe!”

She turned and bade him to come closer.

“I need your help,” she said. “Sett has robbed us all, but especially me. Auser and I wanted to have a son. If we act quickly, it is still not too late. I need for the priesthood to gather all the pieces of Auser. They are to bring them together so that I may perform sacred rites and to consummate the union which was denied us. Our son will become the rightful ruler of Kemet.”

Ahmose looked confused, but nodded slowly.

“Why do you hesitate?” she asked.

“I don’t doubt your powers, eminence. It’s just that Sett is undoubtedly looking for you and I fear for your safety.”

“What do you suggest?”

“I am from Zau, here in the Delta. I know of several places where we could bring together the pieces of your husband and find the peace and security required for your ceremony.”

“Good. And thank you …”

“Ahmose, your eminence. My name is Ahmose. I’ll see to it right away.” He turned to leave.

“One more thing,” said Asett. “We also need to have Auser’s royal accessories. Do you know of someone who can steal them away from Sett and his forces?”

Ahmose thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes, your eminence. I know of some officers who are still loyal to you and to Auser.”

“Thank you, Ahmose.”

“My lady.” The priest hesitated. “Has Sett become corrupted by Apep?”

The goddess shook her head. “I don’t know, yet. Perhaps. He had held that duty for so long, fending off the attacks of chaos. Others have taken over those duties. We can only hope they do as good a job without becoming corrupted.”

Within days, all of the pieces had been returned to Lower Kemet and Ahmose had found a warehouse in Zau perfect for the sacred ceremony to be performed.

Within the week, the new god, Heru, had been born, with all the attributes needed to rule. The young god had all the skills of the father and the wisdom of the mother. In addition, Heru had the gift of sight, like his namesake—capable of seeing clearly everything from afar. And like the falcon after which he had been named, Heru also had the swiftness to strike hard at his enemies.

In the first month after his birth, Heru held many battles against his uncle. The young god was so successful in waging combat that Sett feared he might lose the war.

Ever wanting to find an advantage, Sett challenged young Heru to a battle under water.

“We should become as hippopotami and face each other beneath the waves. If either one of us surfaces before three months are up, we will forfeit. Are we agreed?”

To Heru, this seemed reasonable. Soon, they were under water battling against one another.

Asett feared for her son’s life and vowed to help him win. From the sky, she hurled massive harpoons at the hippopotamus below, but she had struck the wrong beast.

Heru cried out, “Mother, you have struck me. Please be more careful with your aim.”

Asett studied the scene more carefully and soon realized that her son was in pursuit of Sett. There her brother was, several dozen meters ahead.

Several times, she took careful aim, but the harpoon glanced off Sett’s wet body. But finally, a harpoon stuck and Sett surfaced.

“Please, dear sister,” said Sett, “take pity on your poor brother.”

Asett showed her brother mercy and let him heal from his wounds.

Later, Heru confronted his mother. “How could you show him mercy after he tried so many times to kill me?” Suddenly, Heru cut off his mother’s head and hid it from her in the mountains to the West.

When Ra, the sun god, heard what Heru had done to his mother, he bound the young god’s hands and restored to Asett her head. Then, he gave her a crown of protection so that no one could ever do to her what Heru had done.

But while Heru was bound, Sett swooped in to take advantage of his enemy. Abruptly, he plucked out Heru’s eyes and made him blind.

Asett forgave her son for what he had done and wept at what had happened to his eyes. She consulted with Tehuty, the god of wisdom and knowledge. There, she learned that new eyes could be fashioned for Heru from the old arts. Soon, Heru could see again. Once more, he went on the offensive, taking every opportunity to beat his uncle in battle.

Again, it looked as though Sett would lose everything, partly because his sister, Asett, was interfering in his war against Heru.

Sett made his way to the great council of gods—the Ennead. There, he begged the council for a meeting to discuss with Heru their differences, but without the interference of Asett.

They agreed to a meeting. So, Sett sent out word to Heru that he wanted to meet at the Island of the Middle Ground and let the Ennead judge between them. And Sett commanded the ferryman not to let anyone of the likeness of Asett to journey to that island.

The following day, the council met. There, Sett and Heru presented their cases while the council listened. In the meantime, Asett disguised herself as an old woman and bribed the ferryman with a gold ring so that she may pass to the Island of the Middle Ground.

When she arrived, she turned herself into a young maiden so that she could distract Sett and help him to fail. As she served the guests more wine, she caught Sett’s eye and he called her near.

“My Lord Sett,” she said. “I am so grateful for all you have done. Your bravery makes my own hardship seem more durable.”

“Hardship?” replied Sett with concern. “What could make such a beautiful woman less than happy?”

“An intruder has invaded my home, killed my husband, and stolen my son’s birthright.”

“Damn him!” exclaimed Sett. “The man should be publicly executed for his crimes. We shall do that immediately.”

“No, please!” she replied. “Do not kill him. I would never wish to have anyone’s blood on my own hands. Banishing him from the land would be sufficient to set my heart at ease.”

“Then,” said Sett loudly, “he shall be banished.”

“Thank you, my Lord Sett. For the home is Kemet, my husband was Auser, my son is Heru, and the intruder to be banished is you!”

Suddenly, Sett realized that this young wench was none other than his pesky sister. His own words had condemned himself and all in front of Heru and the gods of the Ennead. He was outraged.

Asett flew away, calling out her words to mock her brother. “You have condemned yourself, dear brother. What say you?”

“The ferryman should be punished,” said Sett. So, the next day, Sett had the toes on both the ferryman’s feet cut off because he had disobeyed Sett’s command not to let Asett across.

Heru soon won the war and banished Sett from Kemet for all time.

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