Ancient Egyptian Myths

The Betrayal of Set

The Betrayal of Set

In ancient Egyptian mythology, the God

Set was a very powerful god. He can be
easily identified on wall paintings by his
long snout (nose). He was the god of
storms and the desert. He was also a
brother of the wise king Osiris.

(1) What god is this article mostly

about?

Set was jealous of his brother Osiris

and wanted to become the king of
Egypt. So, he plotted to kill Osiris with

(3) Who was Set's brother?

a trap: Set made a beautiful box and

brought it to a feast. Set told
everybody at the feast that whoever
could fit into the box perfectly could
have the box as a gift. However, Set
made the box so that it would only
perfectly fit his brother Osiris.

(2) What is Set the God of?

(a)
(b)

(4) Why was Set jealous?

(5) What plan did Set make?
(6) What did Set bring to the feast?
(7) Who did Set say he would give the
box to?

Osiris saw the beautiful box and

wanted to have it, so he got into the
box and it fit him perfectly. He smiled
and said, "The box is mine!"

(8) Who did the box fit?

At that moment, Set put the lid on the

box and locked it shut. He took the box
away and threw it in the river. Osiris,
who was trapped in the box, died and
Set became the king of Egypt.

(10) What happened to Set after

Osiris was dead?

(9) What did Set do when Osiris was

in the box?

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Ancient Egyptian Myths

Isis and Osiris: the First Mummy

Isis and Osiris: the First Mummy

Two of the most important ancient

Egyptian gods were Isis and Osiris.
Osiris was a wise king of Egypt and Isis
was his wife.

(1) What two gods is the article

mostly about?

When Osiris's brother Set killed

Osiris, cut up his body into 14 pieces
and threw the pieces into the Nile
River, Isis wept. In some stories, the

(3) Who was Isis?

tears of Isis cause the flooding of the

Nile River, which brings the water and
soil needed for growing crops.
Isis searched far and wide to retrieve
the pieces of her dead husband Osiris.
The crocodiles left the pieces alone
because they respected Isis. And so,
after a long search, Isis was able to
find all of the pieces except for one,
which was eaten by a fish.
Isis sewed the pieces together and
wrapped them in bandages. Then she
used a spell to bring him back to life.
And so, Osiris became the first mummy
and his coming back to life, represents
the journey to the afterlife.

(2) Who was Osiris?

(4) What terrible thing happened to

Osiris?
(5) What do some stories say the
tears of Isis cause?
(6) Why are the floods important to
Egyptians?
(7) What animal didn't eat the pieces
of Osiris?
(8) Why didn't the crocodiles eat the
pieces of Osiris?
(9) Did Isis find all of the pieces?
(10) What happened to one of the
pieces?
(11) What did Isis do the pieces?

Later, Osiris became the god of the

dead. He is often depicted with green
skin (the color of rebirth) and his lower
body wrapped in white bandages (like a
mummy).

(12) What did Osiris become?

(13) What does Osiris look like in
pictures?

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Ancient Egyptian Myths

The Revenge of Horus

The Revenge of Horus

Horus was the ancient Egyptian god of

the sky. Sometimes he appears as a
falcon and sometimes he appears as a
person with the head of a falcon. (A
falcon is a fast hunting bird that looks
like a hawk.)

(1) What god is this article mostly

about?

Ancient Egyptians said Horus's right

(3) What is a falcon?

eye was the sun and his left eye was

the moon. As he flew across the sky,
the sun and moon moved overhead. One
story about Horus explains why the
moon is not as bright as the sun. This
story is called the Battle between
Horus and Set.

(2) What does Horus look like?

(a)
(b)

(4) What did the ancient Egyptians

say about Horus's eyes?
(5) What does one story about Horus
explain?
(6) Who does Horus fight?

Horus was the son of the gods Osiris

and Isis. Before Horus was born, his
father Osiris was the king of Egypt.
However, another God named Set (who
was Horus's uncle) killed Horus's
father to become King of Egypt.
After Horus grew up his mother
convinced him to battle his uncle to
claim the throne of Egypt. There was a
long struggle between Set and Horus,
which lasted over 80 years. Although
Horus eventually won and become King
of Egypt, in the battle Set damaged
Horus's left eye. The eye healed but it
was never as bright again.

(7) Who were Horus's parents?

(8) How did Set become the king of
Egypt?
(9) What did Horus's
convince him to do?

mother

(10) How long did the battle between

Horus and Set last?
(11) Who won the battle?
(12) What happened to Horus's eye?

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Horus

Osiris

Set