MYTH-401 Lessons

As the students filter into the classroom today, there is an enormous stone sarcophagus laying atop the desk. It looks impossibly heavy for a wooden desk to bear, but fortunately nothing collapses in the minutes before class. Images of Osiris and Anubis are carved into the sides of the sarcophagus, with hieroglyphics taking up the rest of the free surface. One might almost suspect Professor Wessex to pop up out of the ornate coffin to get a laugh before starting class, if one didn’t know Professor Wessex, that is. Instead, she walks up through the aisles to approach it as she begins to address the class. 

While we won’t be mummifying anyone in this class I have to say that this sets a perfectly somber atmosphere. This lesson marks our last chance to discuss ancient Egyptian before moving onto the Middle East, as promised. Our myths and legends this week will center on the topics of death, rebirth, and the Afterlife, and will therefore deal heavily with those related gods. As a callback to the last lesson, we’ll also be treated to a look at how the unpleasant rivalry between Osiris and Seth all began. First, though, we must set the scene and discuss some core concepts that we will cover in these myths.

The Afterlife
With Egyptian beliefs coming from such a long period of time and so long ago, it is nearly impossible to say exactly what the vast majority of Ancient Egyptians believed or did for thousands of years. There was a constant ebb and flow. As we noted, even the gods and goddesses themselves went in and out of fashion. But one thing remained a constant, a belief in the Afterlife. We know, from funerary equipment found at grave sites, written materials such as the Book of the Dead, many myths, and the great care paid to recording their funerary traditions that the Ancient Egyptians believed unshakably in both the existence of an Afterlife as well as the possibility of being reborn into it. This belief is older than dynastic Egypt -- dating back to somewhere between 5,500 and 3,100 BCE. It is, if you can believe it, older than hieroglyphics themselves.

In general, ancient Egyptians believed that through correct funerary rites and the proper behaviour during their lifetime, they would be reborn into the Afterlife. The proper funerary rites were quite fussy, but one of the main tenets was keeping the body intact. For those of you familiar with canopic jars and the procedure of removing many organs to be stored in there, this may seem a contradiction, but essentially, the body parts just needed to be all accounted for and placed in the correct parts of the burial area, though the heart was allowed to be taken out of the body and stored in a clay jar. What was not acceptable, however, was missing a limb, or even something as small as a finger. If you died with it, you needed to be buried with it.

Another requirement was that the proper funerary procedure occur. This included a whole host of preparations such as embalming with particular ingredients, particular prayers said by family members, and more, some of which will be covered in the myths we discuss today. While this may sound simple enough, the ancient Egyptians were so dedicated to making sure these procedures were followed that they were terrified of dying away from home in case their family could not see to them and ensure the proper rituals were observed. As the funeral preparations took 70 days to complete after a person had died, you can imagine the extent of the rites as well as the commitment to, and importance of, them.

It was believed that after the proper rituals had been carried out, the deceased person would travel to the Afterlife on the back of a falcon, goose, or other bird. Other forms of transportation to the Afterlife included being lifted upward by incense wafting into the air, travelling through the air on a boat made out of reeds, or climbing up a ladder formed by the arms of the gods. 

Mythology -- specifically the myths surrounding certain gods -- played a huge role in what the ancient Egyptians believed would happen to them after they died, what the Afterlife was like, and what funerary rites needed to be done to have a successful transition from death to rebirth. Most of these beliefs centre around the god Osiris, who we mentioned in passing in the last lesson. While the previous lesson contained myths that recounted events after his death, today we’ll be looking at what happened before (and during).

Osiris and Murder Most Foul
Before Osiris met his untimely end, he was the king of all Egypt alongside his sister-wife, Isis. He was considered to be a caring king who ruled over humanity justly. He was the one who brought them out of chaos into a more ordered, structured life and made sure they were educated. He was the one who introduced not only agriculture -- a very crucial part of ancient Egyptian society -- but also the arts. 

Sadly, Osiris’ peaceful reign was destined to be cut short by his jealous brother Seth. At a celebration in Osiris’ honour, Seth tricked him into climbing into a box through the cunning ruse of asking Osiris if e could fit in it. While Osiris did fit, Seth quickly slammed the lid shut, trapping him inside. He died, and the box was tossed into the Nile where, Seth hoped, his remains would disappear and never be buried, therefore barring him access to the Afterlife.

Upon learning of her husband’s demise, Isis was distraught and set out to locate his remains. After quite a journey (and after hiding their son, Horus, from Seth) she located the box in a temple. Unfortunately, Seth was able to regain possession of the box and, in a fit of rage and to ensure Isis would not find Osiris so easily again, he opened it and dismembered Osiris. When all was said and done, his body lay in 14 pieces (roughly, according to most accounts), which he scattered all over the world.

Isis then went on another quest to locate all of the pieces of her husband’s body. This was a much more arduous task. She was aided by her sister, and Seth’s wife, Nephthys. The reason was simple, if perhaps inappropriate for anywhere but Egyptian mythology, Nephthys actually owed Isis an interesting debt. You see, despite being married to Seth, Nephthys had been Osiris’ lover as well, and they had a child together: Anubis. When he had been born, Nephthys was overcome with worry that Seth would find and kill Anubis out of spite. She hid the baby, leaving him in the reeds of the Nile and hoping for the best. Fortunately, Isis ended up finding the baby before any harm could befall him, and he was raised by Isis and Osiris as their own. Once Horus was born, the two were raised as brothers (and, in fact, they were). Knowing that Isis had saved Anubis from a grisly fate at Seth’s hands, Nephthys could not abandon the father of her child, nor turn her back on a woman who had helped her son. Nephthys was able to aid Isis by transforming her into a bird, allowing her to search the world far and wide. When she had found each of various parts, it was time to join them again.

Once more, Isis was aided by Nephthys in preparing the funeral rites, though Anubis was the most instrumental person in the process. After reuniting all of the pieces, they carefully wrapped them in strips of cloth, preserved the body as called for, and performed the other rites. In this way, Osiris actually became the first mummy. He was in a state between living and dead, and finally proceeded onto the Afterlife to begin his new existence there.

Anubis’ assistance in this most honoured task -- laying the former king of gods to rest properly -- led to his association with the dead, embalming, and the Afterlife. In fact, he was  proclaimed the inventor of funeral rites, the “Lord of the Mummy Wrapping”, and the god of embalming and cemeteries. Due to these associations, the ancient Egyptians would often pray to Anubis for the safe transition of their loved ones from death to rebirth in the Afterlife, and also to help tip the scales when their loved one’s heart was weighed in front of Osiris. Ah, but the weighing of the heart is the next part of the story, we’ll get there in just a moment.

Deconstruction of Osiris’ Murder Myth
For now, we will take a moment to pause and dissect some of the themes and examples of magic in the previous myth. While we didn’t have much time to discuss it, the accounts of Osiris’ development of agriculture have interesting implications on the development of charms and potions relating to runic magic, herbology and weather, alluding not only to similar modern concepts, but magic that has been lost to time as well. 

The next topic of note is the box that Osiris was forced into. It may seem strange to bring up such a seemingly mundane thing in a discussion of magic, but this is a topic that would be of interest to any on a curse-breaking team. Obviously, we know the gods and goddesses in these stories are extraordinary, what with their growing back heads and eyes and staying underwater for months at a time. How, then, could Osiris, the king of the gods, be bested by a mere box? Surely he could use some of his powers to get out? To you or me it seems simple, Seth must have done something to the box to keep Osiris from getting out of it. Details on what exactly he might have done are obviously lacking, which makes speculation difficult, but it seems congruent with curses that have been known to trap various tomb explorers in certain wings, rooms, or chambers. Similarly, one could speculate that Seth employed a number of further, nasty curses in order to actually kill Osiris. After all, gods had been through much worse than simply being in a small box. 

There is also an interesting discussion to be had about mummies. When Osiris’ funerary team finished their work, the various accounts of this myth allude to his state “between life and death.” Now, if Osiris had been well and truly dead previously, how did reassembling his body reanimate him? This may well just be a case of divinity creating supernatural effects, but based on the prevalence of animated mummies in tombs, there remains the possibility that not only was Osiris the first mummy, he was also the progenitor to the concept of deadly mummies attempting jump out of sarcophagi and attack you (or, at least, the persons Osiris was based on).

The Weighing of the Heart
But being mummified was not the end of Osiris’ story, even though it was the end of his earthly existence. After his death, Osiris was reborn into the Afterlife where he remained King of the Dead. His job as the king of this particular realm was to weigh the hearts of those who had passed. You see, it was believed that if you had lived a good life, your heart would be lighter than a feather and, when put on the scales, it would not weigh them down, despite only being counterbalanced by a literal feather. Therefore, during the mummification process, while many of the internal organs are removed from the body and put into canopic jars, the heart is not one of them. Ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris needed the heart completely intact in order to most fairly judge the deceased person and give them the best chance of passing on to the Afterlife. The deceased would be escorted by Anubis himself until they reached the throne of Osiris and the scales where your heart would be weighed. If you passed, you would proceed through the doors behind to the Afterlife in earnest. 

But we all know a human heart could never weigh less than a feather without some charms applied. So, how, pray tell, were deceased ancient Egyptians supposed to make sure their heart was light? It was based upon the number of good and bad deeds a person had done in their life. Of course, prayers from both them and their family could also tip the scales in their favor as well. Fortunately, the bad deeds you needed to avoid were clearly laid out for you in life and, in death, you only needed to stand before the 42 assembled gods and goddesses that served as your jurors as you recited the 42 negative confessions. That is, you declared you had not done those things while alive, hence them being negative confessions. As long as your heart was truly pure of these 42 sins, it would be lighter than a feather and you would pass on to your new life. However, if your heart was not weightless, it was removed and cast down into a pit for Ammit, a crocodile-headed goddess, to devour and your soul would wander restlessly for eternity. Not a particularly tantalizing prospect.

Magical Development in Ancient Egypt
These deep-seated beliefs in the Afterlife and the gods involved in that process had a direct impact on development of magic in ancient Egypt. As the dead were believed to have supernatural powers that could both help or hinder the living, it seemed reasonable that the ancient Egyptian witches and wizards would want to work with these powers. As such, divination was very popular, as it was believed to be the best way to commune with the dead, in addition to the typical perk of seeing the future.

Another benefit of their fixation on death and rebirth, namely on the fact that the body needed to remain protected and in one piece, also led to incredible feats of magic to protect the tombs of the pharaohs and other persons of high esteem. Many of these accomplishments have never been replicated in our time as the knowledge has been lost, and any enchantment that can outlast its caster for thousands of years and still kill someone is very advanced indeed. Of course, as a professor of Ancient Runes, I am surely quite biased, but I find their hieroglyphic-based enchantments to be the most astonishing achievements. Of course, their work with Charms and Potions in their defensive and offensive systems are not trifles, either.

Closing
However, we should stop there if there is any hope of narrowly avoiding making this into an additional Ancient Runes lesson. Suffice it to say that if this has only whetted your appetite and you want to study actual feats of ancient Egyptian magic rather than contorted glimpses of them through myths, Ancient Runes is a good place to start. But that is all the time we have in this class for Egypt, as we have many more civilizations to cover. Our next stop will be Sumer, an equally interesting place. 

To wrap up the lesson this week, we have only a quiz to review the content. However, as your midterm for the class is coming up swiftly, I highly recommend you take this additional time to review what you’ve already learned to set yourself up for success on the exam next week. I hope you’ve taken good notes. If not, you have a week to remedy that.

Original lesson by Liria Morgan
Additional portions by Professor Venita Wessex
Image credits here, here, here, and here

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Sources:

Cotterell, Arthur & Storm, Rachel. 1999. The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Mythology. Hermes House Anness Publishing Ltd. New York.

Grimal, Pierre. Ed. 1989. Larousse World Mythology. Gallery Books, New York.Oakes, Lorna, and Gahlin, Lucia. 2002. Ancient Egypt. Hermes House Anness Publishing Inc., New York.