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Egyptian Mythology: The Pharaohs and the Gods

According to the Egyptian tales, first, there was nothing except a chaotic ocean. Then, Benben, an enormous pyramidal mount, appeared. Benben brought a Lotus flower with itself. When this lotus flower blossomed, the god Ra was born, and light came with him.

Ra, by himself, created Shu, God of Air, and Tefnut, Goddess of Rain. Once, Shu & Tefnut plunged into the vast ocean to explore its enormity. When they didn’t return after a long time, Ra was worried about his children. He sent his best messenger to find them. Shu and Tefnut returned safely, and Ra’s joy was so immense that his tears created humans.

Shu and Tefnut gave birth to Geb, God of Earth, and Nut, Goddess of Sky. Titled as the First Pharaoh, Ra ruled the whole cosmos. He gifted the humans with many spectacular animals, like the lion and the ox, but his greatest gift was the river, Nile.

However, Ra got a forewarning that his grandchildren, Geb and Nut, will give birth to a new generation of gods, who would end Ra’s reign. Despite being forbidden to do it, Geb and Nut had four children: Isis, Goddess of Healing & Magic; Nephthys, Goddess of Death; Seth, God of War, Chaos, & Storms; and Osiris, God of Underworld. They dethroned Ra and Osiris became king. Osiris taught humanity agriculture. But Osiris’s dominion was not secure.

His sibling, Seth, desired to take the throne for himself. Seth’s kingdom was far away, in the arid deserts. Also, Osiris and Seth’s wife, Nephthys were in love. The Goddess of Death, Anubis, was born from this union. And so, Seth plotted to murder Osiris. Seth invited Osiris and some other gods to his castle for a magnificent feast. Then he presented a jewel-studded, magnificent coffin. He said that whoever can fit in the coffin perfectly, Seth will give to him. And because Seth developed the coffin especially for Osiris, it could not hold anyone else. The moment Osiris went in the coffin, Seth closed it, trapping the king. He then tossed the casket in the River Nile and replaced his brother as sovereign. However, Isis, the wife of Osiris, could not endure the detachment from her husband. She and her sister Nephthys found Osiris’s body and tried to hide it but failed to protect it from Seth’s eyes. The cruel god smashed Osiris’s body into 42 pieces and hid them across the kingdom. Isis, however, was still persistent. This time, under the guidance of Anubis, the Death Goddess, she mummified Osiris and brought him back to life.

But after coming back, Osiris was not able to be king ever again, so he became ruler of the Underworld or the realm of the deceased. Before going, though, he and Isis produced an heir: Horus, The Falcon God. Horus was born to seek vengeance against the usurper of his throne.

The court presided over by the Sun God Ra had to decide who would be the ruler. A series of battles had begun between Seth & Horus. Seth proposed a challenge. They both would have to transform themselves into hippos and be underwater for three months. Horus told her mother, Isis, to take advantage of Seth’s vulnerability to kill him. But the goddess was too kind to do so. Infuriated by betrayal, Horus beheaded his mother. But the God Thoth saved her by replacing her head with one of a cow. The battles continued for many years. Once, while fighting in the desert, Seth managed to pluck Horus’s eye. But the Goddess Hathor restored his vision. They were battling so fiercely that even the other gods told them to stop. Seth, pretending to be kind, invited Horus to dinner and tried to abuse him while he was sleeping so that he could not be worthy of the throne. Horus, however, managed to defend himself. Horus was determined to take revenge. He hid his divine seed in lettuce leaves and gave them to Seth as food. After consuming the contaminated leaves, Seth began to deteriorate in front of everyone. A golden disc emerged in his head. Thoth took and ingrained it in his own head.

And finally, after 80 years, the court granted Horus permission to take the throne. Horus’s reign began. All the pharaohs who ruled after him, were his descendants.

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Shivansh Singh

7, DLDAV Model School, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi, Delhi

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