The most comprehensive narrative of the Osiris myth comes from the works of the Greek historian and philosopher Plutarch, who lived from approximately 46 to 120 CE. While his recounting is relatively late, it aligns harmoniously with evidence derived from earlier historical periods.
Osiris is renowned as the inaugural ruler of Egypt, born to Geb, the deity representing the earth, and Nut, the goddess symbolizing the sky. Together with his wife, Isis—who was also his sister—he enlightened humanity on agricultural practices, teaching them how to cultivate and harvest crops. In contrast, his brother Seth embodied the chaotic forces of the desert, storms, and winds, representing disorder and antithesis to maat, which signifies ‘the right order’. Seth was so perilous that a protective amulet was often employed in place of his name when it was required to be inscribed.
Motivated by jealousy, Seth devised a plan to eliminate Osiris and usurp the throne. Various variants of the story exist regarding his method of murder. In one version, Seth viciously dismembered his brother’s body and concealed the fragments across different regions of Egypt. Isis managed to locate all the pieces except for the phallus, which had been consumed by a fish. After reassembling Osiris, she and her sister Nephthys transformed themselves into kites, deploying their wings to shelter Osiris’s remains and reinvigorate him with the breath of life.
Alternatively, the tale describes how Seth lured Osiris to a gathering where he promised a magnificent chest as a prize for anyone who could snugly fit into it. Like the famous Cinderella tale, many attempted to fit, but only Osiris succeeded. Once Osiris entered, Seth’s accomplices hastily closed and secured the lid, leading to Osiris’s demise in the Nile. The chest eventually drifted into the Mediterranean Sea and settled on the shores of Byblos in Lebanon. From the chest, a tree grew, prompting Isis, who was searching for her husband in the form of a kite, to alight upon its branches. Through her magical abilities, she was able to revive Osiris.
Posthumously, Osiris claimed the title of king in the afterlife. Meanwhile, their son Horus was anticipated to inherit the Egyptian throne, although he first had to confront Seth, the murderer of his father.
Multiple narratives exist regarding Horus’s ultimate recognition as the legitimate ruler of Egypt. One account, discovered on a papyrus from the workers’ village near the Valley of the Kings, narrates how a council of gods adjudicated between Horus and Seth. Another illustration found on the temple walls of the Horus in Edfu shows Horus defeating Seth, who had transformed himself into a hippopotamus.
These myths formed the cornerstone of the Egyptian understanding of kingship. The living monarch was identified with Horus, while the deceased king was symbolically associated with Osiris. Following the death of a ruler, their successor (irrespective of whether they were the biological offspring) would assume the identity of the next Horus.
The Osiris mythos was integral to the belief in rebirth. However, the ancient Egyptians also recognized a significant role for the sun in this transformative process. This significance is vividly illustrated in the tombs of the Valley of the Kings, where the walls are adorned with images of the sun-god traversing the Underworld accompanied by the king, during which journey the sun-god resurrects Osiris in the fifth hour of the night.
