OSIRIS - PART ONE
 In the episode "The Curse," the audience is introduced to a new threat: the god Osiris is back and thirsty for vengeance. With this latest introduction, most of the major figures from Egyptian legend are now brought into the Stargate series. Typical to the needs of the show, the portrayal is off and he is turned into the prerequisite evil Goa'uld.
After all, the SG team has - at least in theory - killed off a good number of these Egyptian false-gods. Sadly, a large amount of mythic detail is lost when adapting Osiris into the Stargate mythos.
Historically, Osiris and his queen Isis were primarily known as beneficiary (good) deities.1 When he was living in the mortal (human) world, he ruled as a just king. The ancient Egyptians accepted him as a king. Also, the symbols of his office were (appropriately featured in the episode) the crown, the crook and the flail2. With the help of his wife, Isis, he was the primary one responsible for bringing civilization and agriculture to the ancient Egyptians (Isis found wheat and barley growing wild); before, they were 'uncivilized cannibals.'3
Having brought civilization to Egypt, Osiris, in his infinite wisdom, decided to bring the same thing to neighboring countries and ultimately to the rest of the world. In his absence, his wife, Isis, acted as his regent in Egypt. As a result, Osiris enjoyed enviable fame. His reputation proceeded him and Seth was no doubt jealous since he wanted the same thing.
 In an elaborate plan, Seth built a beautiful box, a chest adorned with ebony and ivory, and he held a banquet honoring Osiris's latest conversion of Ethiopia.4 Many people admired the box's craftsmanship and a contest was issued - whoever could fit in this box would get to keep it. Though hesitant at first, Osiris would eventually lay within it and before he could react, Seth and his conspirators (there were many in this party) rushed forward, nailed the box shut and encased it with a fine sheet of molten lead to suffocate this great king.
This box was then tossed into the Nile and, by some miracle, it would wash up to a distant shore. There a tree instantly grew, enclosing it within its trunk.
This tree grew to tremendous size and eventually, it drew the attention of the king of the nearby country of Byblos. He ordered the trunk cut down and it was used to as a decorative pillar in the main hall. This myth continues, with Isis learning about Osiris' death, lamenting and searching for her husband's body. Eventually, through her own adventures, she would find him and free the body from its prison. After recovering it, she brought some life back to this god, transformed into a bird, took his seed and left to give birth to Horus.5
 ALT="The Isis Jar, Isis' prison on SG-1">Later, in a midnight hunting expedition, Seth would luckily discover the box containing Osiris' body. In order to insure that he can't be recovered again, Seth tore the body apart and scattered it throughout Egypt. Isis would go on yet another long journey to recover her husband's body. In each place where a body part was found, Isis would fashion a wax effigy of that member for the priests to worship.
The only part that wasn't found was his penis - and it is believed that organ was thrown into the Nile and eaten by fish.
After recovering the body for the second time, Isis and Nephthys, a fellow goddess and Seth's wife, finally mourned the dead king. From the heavens, Ra took pity and sent two other gods, Anubis and Thoth to help reassemble Osiris and mummify him. In some variants of this myth, Horus also assisted.6
Wrapped in white linen and placed into a sarcophagus, Isis would then transform into a kite and use her wings to breathe life into the body. Revived, Osiris' reign in the mortal realm came to an end and with the help of his son, Horus, he was transported to the Underworld where he would serve a new purpose. There, he became the lord and judge of the underworld. As detailed in the "Book of the Dead," Osiris would preside in a council to determine if a soul was worthy of entering the afterlife.7
In the next article, this myth's relation to the episode "The Curse" will be explored. There are far too many problems in that episode to explore fully in this treatise. Overall, the direction in the series is nicely done, but the amount of time spent in writing worthwhile material has gone downhill.
FOOTNOTES
1. Shorter, Alan., The Egyptian Gods, 37
2. Watterson, Barbara, Gods of Ancient Egypt, 54
3. Ibid, 56
4. Armour, Robert A., Gods and Myths of Ancient Egypt, 74
5. Based on the documented Greek (Plutarch's) version of the myth and taken from various sources.
6. In a sequel to this myth, Horus avenged the death of his father by challenging Seth to an eighty year long battle
7. Watterson, Barbara, Gods of Ancient Egypt, 59-63
|
