Reading Notes: Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories Part A

Creation:

Nu was a waste of water at the beginning of the world
The god of brightness appeared as a shinning egg that floated on the water
Ra is the god of sun and was greater than Nu
Seb came to be next. Seb was the earth god
Nut, the goddess of the firmament
See and Nut were the parents of Osiris and his consort Iris
Ra made the earth and heavens rise from the waste of water
Ra created all things that move in the water and on dry land
He created space and mankind was born of his eye and he became the first king on earth

The Secret Name of Ra:

Ra had a secret name that gave him his divine power. It was hidden in his bosom
Isis the goddess sought to have power equal to that of Ra so she sought out his secret name
Isis made a poisonous serpent from the moisture that dripped from Ra’s mouth as he spoke
She cast it from her to hide and wait for Ra to walk by like he did every day
The serpent struck him and the venom entered his body
The other gods he was with asked him what was wrong but Ra was unable to answer because of the venom
Finally, he was able to talk and he told the others to gather his children and tell them of his pain
Isis came to Ra claiming that she would create potions to help him
She tried to convince him to say his name of power in hopes that it would heal him
He sent the name to Isis and once she got it she works the spell and cleared his body of the venom.

Ra and Hathor:

As Ra grew old many spoke poorly of him and called him weak
Ra called the gods to assemble in his temple
He asked them to instruct him on what to do about the men that wished to slay him
Ra sent his eye forth to mankind who hid in the mountains; where they were slain
Elephantine brought back plants of virtue and jars filled with the blood of mankind
They used this blood to make beer and the jars were sent to the place where the vengeful goddess rested
From that day on, when the Nile rose in red flood offerings of beer were given to Hathor

The Sun’s Journey:

Osiris:

When Ra ascended into heaven, Osiris sat in his throne and ruled over Egypt.
Osiris made good and binding laws
He caused peace to prevail over all the land
Isis was the queen of Osiris
Men learned much from him and his wisdom
While he was away, Isis ruled over Egypt instead of Set
Set, Osiris’s brother was very jealous of Osiris and wanted to create a rebellion in the kingdom
He plotted to overcome Osiris

The Death of Osiris:

When Osiris returned, Set brought him a chest that was made for Osiris
Once Osiris put on the chest Set’s followers sprung forward and shut the lid and soldered it closed
The chest now became the coffin for Osiris
Isis searched everywhere for his body until she was finally told that it was seen floating down the Nile river
Set took over the throne and became a tyrant
Isis sought shelter in a woman’s home

The Journey of Isis:

Isis gave birth to her son Horus
Set found where they were and made them prisoners in the house
Thoth warned Isis that Set was going to kill her son so she took him and ran
As Isis looked for the coffin of Osiris, her son was stung by a scorpion
Isis pleaded with the god Ra for his safety and Thoth came down and restored him to life
Isis set forth to Syria and pleaded with the king and queen for the coffin
When she reached Egypt again she hid the body
Set stumbled upon it and took the body of Osiris and split him into 14 pieces
When Isis found out she was filled with grief and searched everywhere for the pieces of her husband
She found 13 of them and buried them where they were found and made a tomb for each
Temples were erected over the tombs and people worshiped there for centuries

King of the Dead:

Horus grew strong and prepared to fight Set for the throne
Horus dreamed his father told him to overthrow Set and he vowed to do it
Set and Horus fought many times and finally Set appeared before the divine counsel and claimed the throne but the gods ruled Horus the rightful king

The Wax Crocodile:

A Pharaoh went to the temple of the god Ptah
He was followed by many and one of them was a handsome youth
The scribe’s wife beheld them with love and sent gifts to him
They had secret meetings
A butler told the scribe of his wife’s doing and he requested a magic box be brought to him
Inside the box was a small wax crocodile and he cast a spell to cast its image into the lake the next time the youth bathed himself
The crocodile presented the body of the youth to the scribe and he returned it to its origin wax shape with the touch of his hand
His was then burned alive at the stake

The Green Jewel:

Sneferu (a king) sought entertainment but could not find any
The scribe told him to go boating on the lake with beautiful girls
Sneferu did as was suggested and took pleasure in the activity
One of the girls lost her green jewel in the lake as she was rowing
Sneferu told her to continue rowing and that he would replace it for her
She did not want a replacement but instead wanted to find her own jewel that she had lost
The scribe muttered spell and the lake was divided
He found the jewel and returned it to the girl and the king continued on with his day of enjoyment

Mythology & Folklore