Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories |
"The lamentations of the goddesses were heard by Ra, and he sent down from heaven the god Anubis, who, with the assistance of Thoth and Horus, united the severed portions of the body of Osiris, which they wrapped in linen bandages. Thus had origin the mummy form of the god."This story is part of the Ancient Egypt unit. Story source:Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).
This passage from the story King of the Dead struck me as interesting because in all the years of reading anything I can find on Egypt, I had not read about how the origin of the mummy came about. Everyone knows that the Egyptians have mummies, but did anyone know why? I did not.
"He (Set) brought a shapely and decorated chest, which he had caused to be made according to the measurements of the king's body. All men praised it at the feast, admiring its beauty, and many desired greatly to possess it."This story is part of the Ancient Egypt unit. Story source:Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).
After reading the passage in the King of the Dead it reminded me of the description of the ornate coffin that Osiris becomes entombed in. Set being the archetype of the Trickster, plays a folly on his brother Osiris that he is jealous of and creates chaos for the god/goddess in The Death of Osiris. Both of these passages bring very visual images to mind for me of mummies and sarcophagi of gold and precious gems.
Strangely, also what caught my attention is the reference to a box, or chest that was greatly desired. I cannot help but to think of the image of the arc of the covenant. Besides the biblical arc, I do believe that the ancient Egyptians had access to some technology, so my mind went to some science fiction areas with references to boxes, chests, arcs, especially in the part of the story of the wax crocodile that was put into a box, then came to life. What may have been magic to some, may have been science or technology.
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