The Relation Between Osiris Isis and Horus in Egyptian Mythology

The Relation Between Osiris Isis and Horus

To understand the Relation Between Osiris Isis and Horus you have to go back to the beginning of their creation. In the ancient Egypt each aspect was created from a part of his body. A detailed description of the relation between Osiris, Isis and Horus. A set that are all related to each other. One cannot live without the other. The story is a beautiful one. The father is murdered by his brother, the son avenges his father’s death by killing the murderer with a bow and arrow made from a tree branch he found in the desert while he was looking for water. The mother mourns her husband’s death by putting on black clothes and refusing to leave her home for several days. This is what makes the story so appealing because it shows how human beings can be affected emotionally when something tragic happens in their lives.

Osiris – God of Agriculture and Forests

Before he was Osiris, God of the underworld, he was the King of the living and teaching the Egyptians, then later, the rest of the world, how to live, worship, and grow grain. His birth name was Wennefer, meaning eternally good. In his envy, Seth tricked Osiris into a chest made of wood and drowned him in the Nile River. Isis, Osiris’ wife, found the body and restored it, but Seth took the opportunity to slice the corpse up into small pieces and scatter them all over Egypt.

With much painstaking effort, Isis, the Goddess of life, with her sister Nepthys pieced Osiris back together. Isis enlisted the help of Anubis, the guide of souls to the underworld, and Thoth, the scribe of the Gods. This occurred after Isis turned herself into a kite and hovered over Osiris, with her wings fanning life into him; at this moment she conceived her son Horus, who would avenge his father. The reborn Osiris journeyed down to the shadowy, somber underworld to rule as king and judge of the deceased.

Isis – Goddess of Nature, Magic and Healing

Though pregnant, Isis fled from Seth to the Nile delta with seven scorpions, with her first stop being a woman’s house named Usert. On the night Isis arrived, the lady turned her away. The scorpions were furious, so they all pooled their venom and attacked Usert’s son. Having pity on the dying child, Isis saved him. Despite her poverty, Isis left her baby alone when she had to go out and find food.

Eventually, Isis went to Khemmis and had Horus. In one instance, Isis found Horus lying lifeless, with a scorpion bite, but was not able to use her power to heal him because she had already used it to cure Usert’s son. Her grief was so great that she halted Re as he crossed the sky and plunged the world into darkness. So great was her grief that Re sent Thoth to cure Horus and continue creating light in the sky. For while Horus would not be healed, there would be no light, the wells would dry up, and the crops would wither.

Horus – God of Light, the Sky and Kingship

Here Horus is depicted as a falcon-winged wedjat eye. His origins come from the early Egyptian conception of the sky as the wings of a falcon. With shining eyes and a speckled belly, the falcon represents the sun, moon, and stars.

What was the relationship between Osiris Isis and Horus?

The relationship between the gods Osiris, Isis and Horus played a large role in Egyptian mythology. Although the exact origins of these characters are unclear, their powers were depicted throughout several books including The Book of the Dead. Osiris was the god of fertility, life and death while his wife Isis was the goddess of motherhood. Their son Horus was the god of the sky and war. The three deities worked together to bring balance to nature through their combined powers.

The Royal Family OF The Gods

This statuette displays the god Osiris raised on a plinth, with his loyal wife and son Horus on each side. He was once the king of Egypt. Horus, the son of Osiris, was the last god to become Pharaoh, but he sent his spirit into the pharaohs who inherited the throne of Egypt.

The story of Osiris Isis and Horus

In Egyptian myth, Isis and Osiris represent a story of death and resurrection that is representative of the harvesting of grain and its rebirth as seed; a toy of Osiris containing seed kernels were placed in Egyptian tombs as a promise of this rebirth. In order to reach eternal life, the Egyptians took careful steps to preserve their dead with mummification. The technique was closely copied by the jackal-headed god Anubis when mummifying the body of Osiris. Horus, Horus first mummified Osiris’s body with the key mummification ritual of opening the mouth. By performing other rites before they were buried, they ensured that their bodies would be restored after death with the spells in the Book of the Dead.

After Osiris had descended to the underworld, he was no longer able to rule his earthly kingdom, so he left it to his son Horus. But his evil brother Seth, the god of chaos and confusion, claimed the throne. It wasn’t until eighty years had passed that Horus won, was awarded the kingdom, and Seth was exiled to the desert.

Falcon’s head

Horus was typically portrayed as either a hawk or a man with a hawk’s head. Originally a god of the sky, his eyes were said to be the sun and the moon. as the god of the sun, he joined with the deity Re.

Consequently, the sky grew dark when he was dying as a child.

Dead king

Osiris is here presented as a mummified king and is, in his role as culture hero, seen as the one who became a real king at the start of Egyptian civilization.

Lost eye

Horus lost his left eye (the moon) during a battle with Seth. Horus castrated Seth, who was himself incapable of creating progeny.

Crown

The king Osiris wears the atef crown, which looks a bit like the Phrygian cap, which is topped with a line of ostrich feathers.

Cow’s horns

The goddess Isis wears a solar disc in between two cow horns and it’s used to imply a strong link to the cow mother goddess Hathor. The Egyptians see Isis and Hathor as the mother of Horus, who at times can also be the father of the Egyptian king. This suggests that the two were the source of the human kings of Egypt.

Wife and mother

Isis is the archetypal wife and mother, her hands placed on Osiris’ shoulder, Horus mirroring her on the other side, emphasizing the union of this family. Ancient depictions of her include scenes where she is depicted breastfeeding the infant Horus.

Worker of magic

Isis was the goddess of magic, and could use her spells on the gods themselves. This is what helped her to breathe life back into Osiris after his body had mummified and to help her son Horus win duels with Seth.

Souls in the Balance

After death, everyone would go before Osiris in the Hall of Two Truths. This man, Hunefer, is led by the jackal-headed god, Anubis. Upon meeting, Anubis and his deputy Thoth must compare Hunefer’s heart against a feather of Maat, which signifies a truthful heart. If Hunefer is found guilty, Ammit will gobble up his heart. Egyptians protected themselves against this outcome by including in their tombs a Negative Confession, a list of sins they have not committed.

The ibis-headed Thoth, God of writing and knowledge, then transcribed the results. A little to the right, Horus brings Hunefer before Osiris and Isis and Nephthys stand behind the throne. Above, Hunefer appears as one who is content to accept Re-Harakhty and a company of gods as witnessing witnesses in the judgment of Osiris.

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