In accordance with the Heliopolis creation myth, Atum was the first god to exist. The god, lonely, then decided to create the god Shu and the goddess Tefnut. The union of these two gods resulted in the birth of gods Geb and Nut. Finally, the children of Geb and Nut were Osiris, Set, Isis, and Nephthys.1
Osiris was the first ruler in Egyptian history, and he brought civilization to the land. Because of Osiris, agriculture, laws, religious institutions, and culture were given to the people of Egypt. During his reign was a time of prosperity for the ancient Egyptians. People were happy and so were the gods, except his brother Set. Set grew jealous, and resentful of Osiris’ success. Soon he began to plot his brother’s demise.2
Set threw a lavish and delicious banquet for his brother and his constituents. During the party, Set stood up and brought out a beautiful coffin, and announced a game. He told everyone at the feast that the person who could fit in the coffin could keep it. Unknown to the party attendees, Set had the coffin made to his brother’s exact measurements. One by one each of the guests attempted to fit into the coffin but were unsuccessful. Many tried to squeeze and shove themselves inside the carved box, but no one could fit comfortably inside the coffin. Finally, Osiris stood up to take his turn. As Osiris climbed into the box, Set seized the opportunity he had been plotting for. He shut and sealed the coffin with Osiris inside, and threw it into the Nile River. The river waters rushed Osiris’ living body out to sea, before finally resting in a tamarisk tree that was growing on the banks near Byblos in Phoenicia. Osiris, unable to break the seal on the coffin, struggled and fought for his life before dying in the very device intended to bury him.3
Isis, his wife and sister, was distraught by the events that transpired at Set’s feast. She decided that she would not rest until her husband’s body was found. Eventually, Isis succeeded in finding and retrieving Osiris’ body, and brought it back to Egypt. Once Isis and Osiris’ body were safely back in their homeland, the goddess then looked for a way to resurrect her beloved husband. As Isis searched for a solution, Set heard about his brother’s return. Set knew he had to act quickly, in order to make sure his plan for Osiris’ demise remained successful. Set found his brother’s body and cut it up into many pieces, and scattered them all over Egypt. Isis, upset about Set’s jealousy and interference, went on an expedition to find her husband, every piece of him. The goddess managed to retrieve all of Osiris’ body parts, except for one, to continue with her plan of revival. Isis was unable to find her husband’s penis, because it had been eaten by an oxyrhyncus fish. Regardless, Isis still managed to bring her husband back to life. During the resurrection, despite Osiris missing his genitalia, the god Horus was conceived during this time. Although Osiris was now alive and had co-created a son with his wife, he was still incomplete. Because of his missing body part he was unable to rule the land of the living. So Osiris was crowned the ruler of the Underworld.4
The word Osiris comes from the Egyptian word “Wsir.” This word can be translated to ‘powerful’ or ‘mighty’ in English.5 His job as ruler of the Underworld is to judge each Egyptian soul to determine their eligibility for the afterlife. In Egyptian art, the ruler of the Underworld is shown as being wrapped up from the chest downwards in mummy bandages. Another important feature of Osiris’ is his skin color, which is either green or black. He is typically these colors because green represents the color of rebirth and black symbolizes the color of fertility of the Nile Valley.6
Osiris judges the dead by weighing their hearts against a feather. If your heart is light, then you are allowed to pass into the Land of Two Fields. There are three requirements for entering the afterlife. First, your name had to be written down. Second, you had to have a preserved body and a tomb. Lastly, during your life you had to perform good deeds so your heart would be light enough to pass the weighing test when you met Anubis or Osiris in the underworld. The first two criteria were to insure that Ba and Ka, the two parts of ones soul, would be able to find its body each night to rest. The Ba was ones personality, and each day it would go and watch over ones family members in the land of the living. While ones Ka was a life force, it was unique to each person, and it would go each day to indulge in the Land of the Two Fields. If one lacked a written name on ones tomb or a preserved body then ones Ba and Ka would get lost and have no place to rest each night.7
- Don Nardo, Egyptian mythology (Detroit: Lucent Books an imprint of Gale, Cengage Learning, 2013), 48. ↵
- Don Nardo, Egyptian mythology (Detroit: Lucent Books an imprint of Gale, Cengage Learning, 2013), 49. ↵
- Don Nardo, Egyptian mythology (Detroit: Lucent Books an imprint of Gale, Cengage Learning, 2013), 50. ↵
- Don Nardo, Egyptian mythology (Detroit: Lucent Books an imprint of Gale, Cengage Learning, 2013), 52-53. ↵
- Salem Press Encyclopedia, January 2016, s.v. “Egyptian mythology,” by Shari P. Miller. ↵
- Robert A. Armour, Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt (New York: American University in Cairo Press, 2001), 73, 141, 177. ↵
- Anthony Spalinger, “The Limitations of Formal Ancient Egyptian Religion,” Journal of Near Eastern Studies, no. 4 (1998): 241. ↵
94 comments
Christian Anthony
The story of How Osiris became the ruler of the underworld stems completely from betrayal and a second chance. Although Osiris was unable to rule the overworld due to a body part missing, Isis still made the decision to resurrect Osiris. While not being able to rule above Osiris’s only option is to rule the underworld as he is not complete, Isis probably thought it was better than nothing that He was at least alive. The requirements to enter the underworld were also very interesting. Although what confused me is why Set was allowed to behave in such a way and act without any consequences to his actions nevertheless. Osiris’s story is very interesting with tales of spirit and human connection, and the limitations of even gods.
James Clark
The life of Osiris and the way he ended up in the underworld will always be such a fascinating story to me. It is one of betrayal and jealousy that is prevalent in many other myths in ancient civilizations. However, the betrayal and jealousy amongst the Egyptian Gods seem to be the most brutal. Also, I find it interesting how the life of Osiris and his myth explains the underworld, death, and the afterlife to Egyptians. It truly shows how the cultures of the past viewed death extremely differently from how we view death now.
Eric Hernandez
I have heard of Osiris and how he rules the under world and deals with all the dead. I have never heard of the story of how his brother tried getting rid of him and how everyone was so concerned about finding his body. I also learned a little more of his duties and how he judges the dead once they get in to the underworld.
Diego Oviedo
The journey of how Osiris became king of the underworld was very interesting to read about. Over all, the history of the Egyptians is a fascinating tale and this story did not leave anything out when talking about Osiris. The fact that this story touched upon death and afterlife was intriguing to read about due to the Egyptians having a different view about life and death. One thing that struck out to was how it seemed similar to the bible.
Diego Oviedo
The journey of how Osiris became king of the underworld was very interesting to read about. The feud with Set and Osiris is one that could be seen with Abel and Cain, a feud created out of jealousy and envy. Over all, the history of the Egyptians is a fascinating tale and this story did not leave anything out when talking about Osiris. The fact that this story touched upon death and afterlife was intriguing to read about due to the Egyptians having a different view about life and death.
Reagan Clark
I love any mythology pertaining to the Egyptian gods and goddesses, especially anything related to Osiris. Reading mythology is always fascinating and provides a unique perspective into the mindset and religious beliefs of ancient peoples. I like how this article provided information about Osiris as the first ruler and as the ruler of the Underworld. It provided perspective into the tow different roles that he had to play when he was alive vs. dead. The information relating to the Ka and Ba was also helpful. Good job!
Franchesca Baldwin
This was a really interesting story that seemed similar with certain biblical stories such as Cain and Abel. It was interesting to learn about one of the first Gods of the underworld, and connect how a lot of belief in how to pass through back then still relate to now, such as having good deeds and the idea of a ‘light’ heart
Janaya Felder
I had some knowledge of Osiris and his role as ruler of the underworld, but as for how he was placed in the position I had no knowledge of.Set’s mission to rid of his brother was very determined to the point where he decided to spread Osiris’s body all across Egypt, which seemed so unnecessary. That really highlighted how much he truly despised his brother and did not want him getting in his way by being resurrected. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this article and am now inspired to pick up my love of studying Egyptian mythology again!
Madeline Emke
The article provided an in-depth look at an Egyptian myth focusing around death and the afterlife. This myth also reminds me of The Lion King, and how Scar plotted the death of his brother, Mufasa, because he wished to rule. Another similarity would be the story of Cain and Abel, from the Bible. This article, and the similarities drawn by many readers, shows how stories and myths draw inspiration from each other.
Nelly Perez
The story with Orisis and Set reminds me of the Cain and Abel story since Set was jealous of Osiris like Cain was jealous of Abel. Orisis was resurrected until Set cut him up in pieces which shouldn’t have been done because his genitals got consumed. Isis brought him back to life, but Orisis became the ruler of the Underworld.