“What did Seth do?” I asked, fascinated by the story.
“He ordered a beautiful wooden chest made. It was exquisitely crafted, overlaid with pure gold, and built to the exact dimensions of Osiris.”
“A chest for a body? Like a coffin?” I waved my hand. “I mean, a sarcophagus?”
“Exactly. Seth threw a great feast in honor of Osiris and then offered this beautiful chest to whoever could fit in it. Several people tried, probably thinking of winning all that gold, but there was no one who fit exactly.”
“No one except his brother.”
“Correct. Soon everyone had tried to fit into the chest, but no one had yet won the item. Seth taunted his brother, saying that perhaps it was only ‘fit for a king,’ and invited Osiris to try his luck. Isis begged her husband not to attempt it, for she sensed a deception, but Osiris saw no harm in it and was delighted that his brother would bring him such a prize.
“Osiris climbed into the box, and immediately Seth and his servants sealed the lid with molten lead. As the men carried the box containing Osiris out of the palace, Seth cornered Isis. He had an amulet that protected him from her magic, and he was determined to take possession not only of the throne but of his sister as well. The only thing Isis could do was to use the power of the moon to escape. She leapt upon a moonbeam and vanished.
“Later, she discovered that the chest had been thrown into the Nile. By the time she was able to raise the box, it had been broken into by crocodiles and her husband’s body had been torn to pieces.”
“That’s horrible!”
“Yes.”
“I don’t understand. If Osiris was dead, how was Horus born? Was he a child when it happened?”
“Ah, well, you see, Isis was a very determined woman. She did not accept the demise of her husband. She called upon all the power at her disposal and was able to gather the pieces of his body, slaying many crocodiles in the undertaking.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Ew. For what purpose?”
“Resurrection.” At my raised eyebrow, Amon shifted toward me and explained, “After all the pieces were gathered, Isis summoned Anubis and told him she needed his help to get her husband back.”
“Did it work?”
“After a fashion. Anubis carefully wrapped the pieces together, placing foot to leg and leg to torso until he formed the shape of a man. If a leg or an arm was too mangled, or if a finger or a toe was missing, Isis filled the body in with the limbs of the crocodiles she’d cut her husband’s remains from.
“With Isis chanting spells the entire time, Anubis embalmed the remains of Osiris and was able to unite the five components of her husband. He had re-formed the body, had loaned his own ba—his power—connected the shuwt—the shadow—and called the ka to return, naming the bound form with its ren, or name: Osiris.
“Together Anubis and Isis generated a powerful wind that swirled around the form, raising it into the air. The figure moved and was brought gently down to stand upon its feet. Osiris was Egypt’s very first mummy. Weeping, Isis removed the wrappings from her husband and found him once again whole and perfect except for his skin, which had become as green as a crocodile’s. She rejoiced, but Anubis sadly informed her that the magic that brought her husband back to life came with a price.
“Anubis explained that Osiris must be forever bound to the afterlife. Isis and Osiris were allowed to remain together one night, and then he had to depart from her side and take his place with Anubis. There he watches over the scales of judgment and commands the Land of the Dead.”
“So during that one night she got pregnant?”
“Correct. Seth, thwarted in the pursuit of his sister, took possession of the throne. He was confident that there was no one to rival him since Osiris had never fathered an heir.”