Osiris, (a tall, handsome, charismatic man) succeeded his father, Geb, as the reigning power of Egypt when Geb retired into the
heavens. He married his sister, the beautiful Isis, when he became king. He civilized the Egyptians, persuaded them to give up
cannibalism, and taught them farming, and the pleasures of music, and provided them a legal code to live by. He then left
Egypt to civilize the rest of the world. While he was gone, his evil brother Set, who was as ugly as he was evil, and who hated
his handsome brother because of it and because Osiris had fathered a child with Set's wife, Nephthys (another sister!) gathered
many allies and planned how to kill Osiris. Upon the return of Osiris, Set hosted a banquet ostensibly to honor his brother's
successful venture. After much food and much wine, Set had a beautifully ornate chest brought into the room and said it
would go to the person who best fit within it. When it was Osiris' turn and he climbed in, Set and his toadies slammed the lid
shut and welded it tight with lead. Osiris suffocated, the chest was thrown into the Nile, and Set became king of Egypt. (This
is a myth! The story doesn't end here!) Osiris was a wise and mighty king. Together with his wife Isis he ruled over the land
of the Nile. They went from place to place to teach men the use of corn and
introduced the cultivation of the vine. When Osiris came back from one of his trips, his brother Set invited him into his
palace. Set hated his brother so much that he made plans to kill him. For this purpose
he built a crate and asked Osiris to get into this crate. When Osiris finally layed
down into the crate Set closed it quickly and locked it up. Then he let it disappear at
the bottom of the Nile. Isis was very sad when hearing that her beloved husband Osiris is dead. Being a
powerful enchantress she went down into the Duat (the Kingdom of the Dead) and
with her magic power she raised Osiris from death. From this time on Osiris was the
ruler over the underworld, too. The jackal headed god Anubis helped Isis reviving Osiris. He was the one who
invented the art of mummification and from this time on - the legend says - the
Egypts have started to mummify all the corpses not only that of the pharaos. Another legend of Osiris says that when he died, his body had been
dismembered. His wife Isis, however, has made his body whole again
getting help from Anubis and Horus, acting upon the instructions from
Thoth. Osiris was regarded as the principal cause of human resurrection and
he was capable of giving life after death, because he had attained to
it. He was entitled as the "Lord of Eternety and Everlastingness". Weighing the heart of the deceased The deceased must take the responsibility for his deeds before a
great court. His heart will put on the Great Balance and weighed. If it
is too heavy the person will be damned. The ibis-headed god and
inventor of the writing is writing down exactly the results of the
weighing. On the top of the scale the goddess of justice is wathing.
Supreme judge in the Duat is Osiris. His face has the green colour of
the mummies. � 1998
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