Evil usurping Pharaoh Set had the body of Osiris cut into fourteen pieces and thrown into the Nile for the crocodiles to eat. Read on…
But the crocodiles did not touch the remains of the gentle god and Pharaoh, Osiris. Poor Isis began her search once again. She made a boat of papyrus leaves and travelled up and down the Nile looking for the pieces of Osiris’s body. Nephthys, Set’s wife and Isis’s sister, helped her in her search and together they managed to find every piece.
As the sisters wept, Ra, the great God heard them and sent down Anubis, the jackal-headed god. Anubis showed them how to bind Osiris’s body with linen bandages and thus made the first mummy.
Isis tried to breathe life into her dead husband’s body, fanning him gently with her magical wings but her powers could only restore him to a half life and it was decreed that he live in the Land of the Underworld as King.
Horus, the infant son of Osiris and Isis, who lay hidden in the marshes, was attacked by Set who appeared in the form of a scorpion and poisoned him. All of Isis’s magical powers could not bring him back to life.
The cries of a distraught Isis, were heard by Ra, again. This time he sent Thoth, the Wise. Thoth took the still baby in his arms and said, “Wake up Horus! Live to destroy the one that killed your father! Live to bring happiness to your mother! Live to sit upon the throne of Osiris! You are Horus, the Avenger!”
And thus the infant son of Isis was revived. She entrusted the child in the care of Thoth so that his words could be fulfilled. Horus grew up under the tutelage of Thoth and the day came when he sought to win his kingdom back.
He approached the Council of Gods claiming his right to the throne. But Set was not one to give up so easily. “I’m the mightiest of all gods,” he thundered, “no one can take away my kingdom, especially not a mere boy like this!” He summoned his army of wicked followers to fight Horus.
The great battle between Horus and Set was fought up and down the Nile. Horus, the Great Hawk, soared high up in the sky and into the eye of the Sun, whereupon he became a winged disk. As he swooped down upon his enemies, their eyes were blinded by the light and their ears could not hear the horror of it. In confusion they killed each other not being able to see their adversaries. As they lay dead, Set led an army of crocodiles against the boats of Horus.
But Horus’s men threw chains into the waters of the Nile and entangled the crocodiles and speared them. Set transformed himself into a serpent and disappeared.
The battle continued for 80 years. Finally Horus challenged Set to a duel. When she heard of the duel, Isis brought her son a boat made of gold.
“This boat will bring you victory! Go and fight for your father’s throne and my spirit goes with you…”
When Horus set sail in the golden boat, Set turned himself into a giant, red, hippopotamus and lay in wait in the Nile. As the boat approached, he cursed Horus in a thundering voice.
The earth shook and the winds rose. The waters of the Nile swirled and the boat was tossed around. But Horus was unfazed. He stood on the prow of his boat, resplendent and regal holding a great harpoon. The golden boat held its course, unshaken by the mighty storm that Set stirred up.
Set was just under the surface of the water, waiting for Horus to approach so that he could topple the boat. But Horus had spotted the hippopotamus’s red form under the waters and stood poised with harpoon ready to strike.
Set raised his nostrils above the water and immediately the harpoon came down upon him striking his large head and sinking it deeper into the river. In one stroke, Evil Set was dead!
Horus was now crowned Pharaoh and ruled for many hundred years.