Egypt Legends

Set the Betrayer

Osiris and Isis ruled wisely. The men of Egypt were their children and they taught them how to grow and harvest wheat and barley to make bread and how to grow fruit, dates and grapes and make wine. They taught Egyptians how to love the law and honour the gods, especially Amon-Re at Thebes. They taught the men of the Delta and Upper Egypt. When this was done peace and order came to Egypt.

Osiris went out to other distant places to teach men to live in peace and while he was away he left Isis to rule Egypt.

Osiris went in peace to the distant communities and they came to the ways of Egypt. But not all men in Egypt followed Osiris, some followed evil and Set, the brother of Osiris, became the leader of the evildoers and sought to gain the throne of Egypt by trickery.

Set pretended to love Osiris but he secretly gathered a band of conspirators and plotted against him.

When Osiris returned from his journey Set held a feast in his honour and planned a cunning trick to get rid of him.

The food and drink were plentiful at the banquet and many flattering speeches were made for Osiris. And at the end of the evening Set declared that he had a gift for one of his guests. He brought forth a beautiful chest made of cedar wood from Lebanon and ebony from Ethiopia. It was inlaid with gold and silver and many precious stones.

Set cried out to his guests, "I will give this chest to the one who most perfectly fits inside it. Come now and try it on for size for it is a beautiful thing."

All the guests tried the chest in turn, but some were too short, some too fat, some too tall and some too thin.

Finally Osiris stepped up and said, "Let me try". Into the chest he stepped, and it fit perfectly for Set had had it secretly made to fit him. "It is mine," Osiris cried triumphantly, "just like it was made for me!" As it had been.

Set stepped up to the chest and slammed the lid and locked it saying, "It will be your beautiful coffin." And he and his companions nailed the coffin shut and sealed it with lead and threw it into the Nile in the secret hours of the night.

The swift current of the Nile carried the chest out to sea.

The chest floated over the waves until it came to shore near Byblos. As the chest approached the beach a great wave arose and tossed it into the branches of a tamarisk tree. The tree quickly drew the chest into its innermost heart and folded its truck around it. And the god's presence made the tree grow into the most beautiful tree in the land.

The tamarisk tree had such fragrant blossoms and wood, that its fame reached the ears of the King and Queen of Byblos.

They had the tree cut down and made a pillar out of the trunk. The pillar was set in the palace and its fame spread throughout the land, for it had the most beautiful fragrance that made all those around it feel blessed.