Some years ago I came across a book that opened my eyes to how the gods of old interacted with humans – Daily life of the Egyptian Gods ISBN: 0-7195-5626-0. It’s an English translation from a French manuscript which is essentially a dig around some lesser well-known codexes.
My interest is in the deep past – pre 1st Dynasty – the date I was aiming for was 10,500BC. I’ll skip a full description of what the book has to say and focus on the bits that I think might be relevant to the ongoing digs.
Firstly, serpents. In the Egyptian creation myth serpents are the first thing that the creator god creates (after himself). The serpents are benign, in that they act as carrier vessels for the creator’s thoughts. Once the multiverse has been created, our universe came next. Outside of the multiverse is a load of horribleness which is constantly trying to break in. The serpents are the means by which these demons are able to travel into our universe. The battle to keep them out is constant. The most important of the serpents is Nehebkau, who is a lesser god. At the end of each physical day the sun sets and come the next morning Ra must battle with Apophis (the destroyer), who often takes the form of a serpent, in order to assist the sun to rise. The Pharaohs made use of the serpent symbolically in the form of the Uraeus, which is a rearing cobra worn on the crown. This snake is the means by which the Pharaoh is able to direct his will.
The God sphere.
In the deep past, the God sphere was physically connected to our universe. Eventually man, along with the third generation of gods (Horus, Isis, etc) rebelled against the creator. The creator god and the foremost gods then left our universe behind, along with the 3rd gen gods – who went on to rule Egypt for around 14,000 years. Manetho and other historians refer to this period of rule, although Egyptologists consider it to be a myth. The 3rd gen gods had very long lifespans – Thoth for instance ruled for 7,726 years. After the rule of the gods came the rule of the demi-gods, followed by the rule of the Pharaohs, who ruled by the ‘divine right of kings’. This is the earliest establishment I can find of a divine bloodline. By the time we get to the Middle Kingdom, everything has become Hollywood-ised. Hence I prefer to refer to the earliest writings, which are pre-2,200 BC.
Horus the Elder
Horus the Elder has been mostly erased from the pantheon of Egyptian gods and replaced by Osiris. Piecing together the story, Isis and Horus the Elder were an item and ruled Egypt as King and consort. Set is Horus the Elder’s brother. Nephys (the sister of Isis) is married to Set. In reality, she’s his beard, as Set has a liking for boys. Horus the Elder was given to behaving like many modern monarchs, in that he couldn’t keep his front bits under his Pharonic skirt and when Set was busy partying with the guys, he snuck in and lay with Nephys, his sister-in-law, who later gave birth to twin boys (Anubus & Wepwawet). As he didn’t do it with his wife, Set soon figured out what had happened and in the ensuing argument killed his brother and cut the body into thirteen pieces, which were hidden the length and breadth of Egypt. Isis, in her grief, set about finding the bits of Horus the Elder and reassembling them. However, just as her task was near completion Set revealed her husband’s infidelity. In order to punish her husband, Isis reassembled the body using bandages and magic, but took away none of the pain of the cuts, instead sealing the mouth so Horus’ screams could not be heard. What remains of Horus the Elder is now known as Osiris. His body, forever in agony, is encased in a magical sheath and sat atop a throne; the only part of his body which moves is his eye (the Eye of Horus), which sees all. Later, Isis performed a further magical ritual and had sex with her imprisoned husband, bearing a son whom she named Horus (the Younger). From a young age, Horus the Younger battled with his uncle Set, his back-hole coming under constant assault (& yielding) on many occasions. Finally, with the use of his father’s Eye Horus was victorious and banished Set from the lands of Egypt forever.
The name Osiris in Egyptian is more properly As-ir, which means ‘The eye and the throne’.
The name Isis in Egyptian is Ast.
The name Horus is Hru.
The name Set is Seth.
Hru is of interest, as I read the Histories of Herodotus once upon a time, and he makes reference to the many temples in Egypt where the worship of Hercules takes place. I finally twigged that Hercules = Heracles = Hru-cles. The myth of Hercules is drawn from the exploits of Horus. Of course, Isis and the baby Horus provided the early Church with the inspiration for Mary and the baby Jesus.