Gods of Ancient Egypt
Now that the Egyptians were all part of one country, the king of Egypt became known as the pharaoh. He carried a shepherd’s crook to show that he was supposed to lead and take care of all the Egyptian people, just like a shepherd takes care of and feeds his sheep.
Soon, the Egyptians began to think that the pharaoh was actually a god. They believed that he was able to make the Nile overflow its banks every year so that their crops could grow. The pharaoh got more and more powerful—no one wanted to make a god angry!The pharaoh wasn’t the only god the Egyptians worshipped. Ra was the god of the sun. He was the chief god; other gods were part of his family. Osiris was the god who judged the dead and decided whether they had been good or bad. Isis was Osiris’s wife, and the mother of Horus, who was the god of the sky.
Egyptian stories about the gods often tried to explain why the Nile overflowed every year. One Egyptian story, or myth, tells about Osiris and his brother, Set. Here’s the myth of Osiris as an Egyptian child might have heard it from his mother, long ago.
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nce upon a time, the great god Osiris and his wife Isis were ruling over the whole land of Egypt. Osiris went on a trip around the world and left Isis in charge of the kingdom. But while he was gone, Osiris’s evil brother Set decided that he wanted to be king. When Osiris came back from his trip, Set invited him to a great feast with all the other gods. “Dear brother,” he said, “come to my house so that we can celebrate your safe return!”
Isis was afraid that Set wanted to harm Osiris, but Osiris laughed at her fears. “He’s my own brother!” he said. “Why would he want to hurt me?”
So they went together to the feast. After all the gods had eaten until they were full, Set said, “Look what I have found!” He brought out a beautiful coffin, all carved and decorated with gold and pictures. When the gods all admired it, Set said, “I will give this beautiful coffin to whichever god fits into it the best.”
The gods didn’t know that Set had ordered the coffin made so that it would only fit Osiris.
One by one, they lay down in the coffin. But all of the gods were too large or too small—until Osiris got in, and found that the coffin fit him perfectly. Osiris was so pleased that he lay all the way down in the coffin. “Look!” he said. “I’ve won the coffin!” But as soon as he lay down, Set slammed the coffin closed and threw it into the Nile, where it floated away. “Now I’m the king of the gods, because Osiris has drowned!” Set announced. He took over the throne and began to rule Egypt.But Isis went on a long journey down the Nile to find the coffin. Finally she discovered it, caught in the reeds beside the Nile’s bank. She opened it, but Osiris had drowned. Isis sat down and wept and wept for grief. Even the Nile cried over the death of Osiris, so that the river ran dry and all the Egyptians were desperate for water.
Finally Isis wrapped Osiris’s body in linen—so that he became the first mummy. But as soon as she wrapped him in linen, he came back to life again. The whole earth was glad to see Osiris alive again! The Nile filled back up and overflowed its banks, so that all the Egyptians had water to drink, and their crops began to grow again. And that’s why the Nile overflows every year—because it remembers that Osiris came back to life.
Note to Parent: The Upper and Lower Kingdoms were united around 3000 BC/BCE. King Narmer is also known as King Menes.