Egyptian+Heroes

 __**By: Kirby Gayle Butler**__ :)

__**Heroes of Egyptian and Middle Eastern Mythology: (//Overview//)**__ Many of the Egyptian myths were never written down, but the Egyptians would cover their temples with images of their gods’ struggles. Most of the myths had to be reconstructed from indirect sources such as funerary texts, cult rituals and hymns, and texts of magic. Egyptian mythology involved a very large pantheon of gods, and some of their heroes may have been Isis, Osiris, and even a large number of texts were written to recount the legends and myths of semi-divine folk heroes such as Gilgamesh. (1) This was a myth story that told of Osiris, a mighty pharaoh, who thousands of years ago ruled the land of Egypt along the Nile River. Osiris was a tall and slender man. He was very handsome with plaited hair and a royal crown made of ivory and precious stones. It was rumored that he may be the son of Ra (The god who created the world). Osiris treated his subjects with respect. He taught them to give up their evil and savage ways and become civilized. He also gave them a code of laws to live by that which soon brought peace and order to their old chaotic and frightening place to live. One example of this was that he outlawed cannibalism. (1) Osiris later took a wife. His twin sister Isis would take his hand in marriage. Isis was tall and slender just as her brother. She had beautiful green eyes with a regal elegance. Also she was the mother of a young son named Horus. Just like Osiris she helped in ruling the country by educating her people. (1) One bad thing that was possibly the whole reason for this myth was that Osiris and Isis had a younger brother named Seth (also known as Set). He secretly hated Osiris because of jealousy. He desperately wanted to be king of Egypt so that he could reinstate some of the old practices Osiris outlawed. ( 1&2) There soon came a time when Osiris decided to leave Egypt and take civilization to the rest of the world. He took no weapons with him he believed he could win the people over with music, kind words, and reason. Seth thought this would be a great opportunity to take over but Osiris left Isis in complete control of the kingdom so it made it impossible for Seth. So Seth made an evil plan to kill Osiris when he returned. With the help of seventy-two conspirators he would kill Osiris when he returned. (1&2) When Osiris returned Seth held a huge banquet in honor of his return. When everyone had finished dinner, which was exquisite, Seth ordered there just be a game. Seth clapped his hands and the servants came carrying a beautiful wooden chest. Everyone wanted this chest. Seth announced whomever could fit into this chest would have it. One by one the guests tried but no one could fit. Everyone except Osiris had tried. Which he thought the game to be a bit demeaning, but he tried and of course fit for the chest was built to fit Osiris. As soon as Osiris was in the chest Seth and his Seventy-two conspirators slammed the lid shut. Nailed it and poured molten metal into every crack. Seth, with the help of the conspirators, then through the chest into the Nile to cover up his tracks. With no air to breath Osiris ended up suffocating. The chest though did not sink like Seth had hoped. His body floated to Phoenician coast near a tamarisk tree. The tree branches reached out and grabbed the chest. One day a local king came across the tree and cut it down. When he cut the pillar down it gave off a smell of honey and fresh summer blossoms that could be smelled all the way to Egypt. Isis soon recognized the smell and knew that the body of her husband was contained by the tree in Phoenicia. She carried back the body and hid the chest on a small island on the Nile River until she could arrange a proper funeral. Seth though was out hunting and found the chest and pried it open and took his sword and cut the body of Osiris into fourteen pieces and scattered them all over Egypt. It took Isis two years to find the pieces of her husband’s body, and she only found thirteen, for one piece had been eaten by crabs. Isis joined the pieces together and when she did Osiris woke from a deep sleep and had his son Horus avenge his death. He did so and Seth and Horus had many battles until one day Horus took a sharp harpoon and stuck it into Seth’s brain. Horus then took the throne and ruled Egypt as wisely and kindly as his parents had done before him.
 * Isis and Osiris**

In this story there could be more then one hero. First off Osiris was a great god he helped other countries try new ways, and also taught his own land how to live more civilized. He was a great man and helped better his home and his people. After he returned he was basically betrayed and murdered by his own brother out of pure jealousy. The second hero I believe would have been Osiris’s son Horus. He avenged his father’s death and killed the man who murdered his father and took over the throne and lead the land just as his father and mother had before him.
 * __Conclusion __**

 In every society people want to know who or what created the universe or cosmos. How the sun, humans, plants, animals, and the whole natural world came about. Most Egyptians believed that the creator of the universe was Ra. He was known as the supreme sun god and was worshiped at Heliopolis. As his time as a god he took many forms such as a falcon-headed Ra-Harakhti. He would also wear a sun on his head encircled by a cobra. He would carry a royal scepter and an ankh (symbol of life). When gods would become great there was a process called syncretism. This is when different practices and beliefs merge together such as Atum- Ra was fused together. (3) __**Sekhmet's Rage**__ After time Ra had aged. The people had started to mock him. They would say his bones were like silver, his skin like gold, and his hair was the color of lapis lazuli. The people had basically lost respect for him in his old age. Ra wanted the humans to be punished for their lack of respect. He called the council of gods together. Ra didn’t know what exactly to do. How would he punish them? Hathor was the eye of Ra. She was known as a peaceful god but like most she had two personalities. She was to go to earth and kill the humans that were daring to conspire against Ra. (3) When this was said she immediately transformed into her other personality. She took form as Sekhmet an All Powerful goddess. Her form as this was a great lioness. And with a mighty roar she set off. Ra after time watched the massacre in horror. He had wanted the humans to be punished for plotting against him but not to the amount Sekhmet had taken it too. He gathered the council once again. He had come up with a brilliant plan but he could only achieve it in one night. (3) Ra sent his messengers to Yeb Island with orders to collect large amounts of red ocher. They were to gather as much as possible and bring it back to Heliopolis. While his messengers were away he ordered the kitchen women in his palace to grind millet and corn to make vast quantities of beer. The messengers soon returned and added the red ocher to the beer. Soon morning was approaching. Ra and the other gods took the red beer and made their way to the fields by the Nile River. They spilled the beer on the fields flooding the fields to a depth of about 9 inches. (3)  They had been just in time because Sekhmet was up and ready to start killing again. When she arrived to the fields she roared with pleasure because she thought the fields were flooded with blood and started to drink. She drank every last bit and was now drunk. She had felt very dizzy and fell on the ground and slept. When she woke it was now night and she thought she had killed everyone and went back to Ra’s palace. He welcomed her and she instantly turned back into Hathor. Now at this time the human race was saved and the people had learned their lesson. From then on they worshiped Ra as their ruler and god. Every year they would have a festival in Hathor’s honor known as the Festival of drunkenness. (3)
 * __Ra the Sun God- (//Overview//) __**

Even though the humans plotted against Ra in the beginning, by the end they realized he was a great god and that he would even help save them in a time of great horror. Ra realized that the humans were good and that they can learn from their mistakes and helped saved because he loved them in return. Ra would be considered a hero because he helped save mankind and the human race.
 * __Conclusion __**


 * Bibliography**

Library:

1. Press, Petra. __Great Heroes of Mythology__. Michael Publishing Group,Inc: Metro Books,1997: 11-27.

2. Fleming, Fergus, and Alan Lothian. __The Way To Eternity Egyptian Myth__. Castle House: Duncan Baird Publishers, 1997.

3. Kramer, Ann. __The World of Mythology Egyptian Myth A Treasury of Legends, Art, and History__. Marshall Editions: M.E. Sharpe,Inc, 2008.

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