OSIRIS - PART TWO
WARNING: The following contains spoilers for the Season Four episode "The Curse." Proceed at your own risk.
 For the "Stargate SG-1" episode "The Curse," nothing from the Osiris and Isis myth is preserved. All the audience knows from Daniel is that "he was put into a magic box and dumped into the Nile by his brother Seth." The rest of the myth is discarded because it would introduce various continuity and ideological inconsistencies that a faithful follower of the myth would hate.
Before comparing the myth to the episode, two important notes should be made. For one thing, in a Season Two episode, "Thor's Chariot", it is revealed that Heru-ur (i.e. Horus) is the son of Ra and Hathor, not Osiris and Isis. The Horus name was a catchall word to describe a group of warriors bearing the name than one individual. Although it is possible to have another Goa'uld take on a variant of the Horus' name, this could cause confusion to viewers but remain true to legend since there are many Horuses1.
The second point is that while the canopic jars that Osiris and Isis were found in are right in their purpose, storing an internal organ, there was never an Osiris Jar or an Isis Jar as depicted on the show. The earliest versions of the jar had plain lids and it wasn't until the Middle Kingdom that these bottles had a male and female head. However, they were never identified to be either Osiris or Isis. Instead, it was assumed to be the head of the deceased2.
By the Eighteenth Dynasty, these jars featured the heads of the sons of Horus. They were the jackal-headed Duamutef, falcon-headed Qebehsenuf, human-headed Imset, and baboon-headed Hapy3.
As for the Osiris and Isis myth itself, it has been modified to explain why a Goa'uld symbiote, presumably a "part" of Osiris, was placed into a canopic jar. There are interesting parallels when compared to the myth. Both the box and jar have two layers, sealing the body within. In theory, the jar replaces the magic box that was thrown into the Nile.
 ALT="The Isis Jar">While the myth never mentioned the fact that the box was magical, it was certainly ornamental. Curiously, unless those jars are extremely buoyant, they should have sunk deep into the Nile and remained there instead of being recovered and placed into a temple to be discovered centuries later.
Also, the jar also has the inscription, "Banished to oblivion4." It makes sense for Seth to be the one who made the jar and wrote the inscription. That way, some semblance of the myth is retained because it explains why Osiris is worshipped in many different temples throughout Egypt, including those located deep in a desert.
However, to put the Goa'uld into stasis is counterproductive on Seth's part. In legend, he just wants Osiris dead. For a fellow Goa'uld to banish another to oblivion, without a host, can possibly be a fate worse than death - but only if the snake is conscious of it. The audience is told that the canopic jars were stasis lockers so consciousness was not an option. Also, no acknowledged explanation is offered for why Isis was also banished. The myth reveals Seth lusting to make Isis his queen and possibly even his lover5.
Sadly, this episode turned Osiris into a malevolent deity. Even his most overlooked aspect as a fertility god, representing the annual flooding of the Nile to fertilize the soil, is off. The Goa'uld Osiris states, "The rivers of the earth shall run red with blood!6" This line is no reference to the folklore. His reference is to the stain of war, not to the life-giving essence that blood symbolizes.
The ancient Egyptians accepted Osiris as pharaoh and loved him. He was never considered a god of war. Interestingly, he wasn't feared until after he became the lord of the underworld. In a follow-up myth, he threatened to command the savage-faced messengers of this realm to heaven and have them tear the hearts out of even his fellow gods, in order to motivate them to finally settle the long-term dispute between Horus and Seth over who would rule the mortal realm. As a result, the Egyptians of the Old Kingdom used ancient spells to protect the dead even from Osiris, should he visit the tombs with evil intent7.
 Overall, the episode is wonderfully crafted in direction. Nothing was suggested about Sarah being Osiris' host and it was an unexpected surprise, especially when all hints pointed to Steven. But the writing was weak and the research completely off. As interesting as it was by finally establishing Daniel Jackson's archeological roots, its variation of the Osiris and Isis myth is a travesty. They are, by nature, good deities.
Thankfully, Isis was simply considered a Mother-Goddess figure, with no further assumptions and explanations made before being killed off. But the insult was indirectly made by considering her a possible Goa'uld. The suggestion is that she is like Hathor in the TV series. To modify her role would not be understood, especially when considering that the legendary figure was likened to the Virgin Mary, another mother figure. Both were just and charitable icons and were never hostile to humanity8.
While the old Egyptian legends sometimes portrayed Osiris (and also Isis) with an ego like a Goa'uld, believing himself superior and occasionally destructive to man, their actions were done under emotional duress. This credence explains why some humans have died when seeing Isis lament for her dead husband. Their overall contribution to the development of civilization over barbarism is a benevolent one than malevolent.
In the Stargate mythos, their introduction would be more interesting if they were imprisoned Tok'ra. Upon his release, Osiris took a host because he wanted to exact vengeance against humanity. His motivation is likely that his last memory was that of several humans forcibly placing him and his wife into the canopic jars. What he didn't know was that those humans were under Seth's control - much like the episode "Seth", where the worshippers did most of the dirty work.
Until the SG-1 team convinces him otherwise, his aggression would not be muted until the intervention of another Tok'ra that both Osiris and Isis trust, Nephthys. She would explain that much has changed since their imprisonment. As a result, the Tok'ra would gain a natural leader and a motherly figure to help raise their armies to fight the Goa'uld.
FOOTNOTES
1. Sum, Ed. Heru-ur the Elder.
2. http://www.britannica.com/bcom/eb/article/4/0,5716,20334+1+20032,00.html
3. Spence, Lewis. Myths and Legends: Ancient Egypt, 28
4. Teal'c gives the translation to Daniel; Stargate : "The Curse"
5. Watterson, Barbara. Gods of Ancient Egypt, 59
6. Stargate SG-1: "The Curse"
7. Shorter, Alan W. The Egyptian Gods: A Handbook, 44-45
8. http://www.kemet.org/nfrnames/aset.html
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