Egyptian mythology seems to have been very rich : legends of the gods were attached to every sanctuary, and dramatic representations of them, in which priests played the part of gods, were given at the local festivals. Allusions to these myths abound in the religious texts, but details are rarely given, and. of all the great mass of Egyptian mythological lore. only the myths relat ing to Osiris and his family and a few legends of the sun-god Re have survived. Osiris, origi nally the local god of Abydos and Busiris. was one of the many deities who, in course of time, acquired a solar character. He was especially identified with the setting sun, ruling the lower heavens and the mysterious region below the western horizon. lie thus came to be regarded as the god of the realms of the dead. and his worship became popular throughout the land. In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was the benefieent ruler of mankind, who elevated his subjects from barbarism, and taught them the arts of civ ilization. lle, however. incurred the enmity of his wicked brother Set. by whom he was treach erously imirdered. his body, inclosed in a chest. was cast into the Nile, and floated out to sea. Isis, the sister and wife of Osiris, after a long search found her husband's body. and buried it; hut it was di,intorred by Set, who eut it in pieces and seittered the fragments far and wide. Isis searched out all the pieces and buried them separately. In the meantime. Horns, the young son of Osiris and Isis. grew to man hood, and avenged his father by defeating his murderer in a territie combat. Osiris, though dead on earth, lived in the under world. and be came the ruler of the dead. His sister and wife Isis may be identified with the constella tion Virgo, and their child Horns is the young morning suit. Osiris has another sister, Neph thys, who is married to his brother and mur derer Set (Typhon). The jackal Anuhis (q.v.), the guardian of the lower world and the patron of embalmers. is the son of Osiris and Neplithys. Set may have been originally the constellation Ursa Major: he then became the personification of every force of nature to the the prime mover of all disorder and violence. De thus came to be a god of war, and, after n.c. 1000. a sort of Satan. Every evening he cuts Osiris in pieces (the stars), which Isis unites every morning. The parents of the hos tile gods are Seb (or Geb) and Nut--earth and heaven. The parents of these are Shu (Shoo) and Tefnut (perhaps ether and moist air), while the father of all the gods is Null (later erroneous form Nun), the primeval abyss. The Osirian myth is very fully treated by Plutarch in his Ifepl "kilos Kai 'OcripuSos, and the general accuracy of Plutarch's account is attested by numerous allusions in the Egyptian The legends of the sun-god Re are derived from monumental sources. According to these legends, Re appeared in primeval ages, and, after de feating the powers of darkness, assumed the gov ernment of the world. Ile reigned long and peacefully. but filially grew old, and his powers failed. The wise goddess Isis took advantage of his weakness to gain a long-eherished wish. She was deeply versed in magic and in all hidden and mysterious knowledge, but one thing was wanting—she did not know the secret name of Re, upon which his power was founded. In wider to learn the secret, she had recourse to a stratagem. Taking sonic of the gud's saliva, she kneaded it with earth and formed a poisonous serpent, which she placed in the path along which Re was wont to walk. As the god took the air with his attendants. the serpent stung him. and the poison eaused him intense pain. Ile called upon all the gods for aid, but none could re lieve him save Isis. and she would heal him only at the price of hi, secret name. For a long time Re held out, but finally, no longer able to endure the torment, lie revealed the secret. and regained his health through the magic powers of Isis. llis vigor was, however. impaired, and even men dared to rebel against him. In his anger he called a c.-uncil of the god•. in which it was decided to send the goddess Athor to de stroy till mankind. In the night Athor de scended to the earth, and began such a fearful slaughter that blood ran in rivers, and even the gods were appalled. Be determined to stop the massacre. He caused beer to be prepared. and had it poured out at evening so that it over the fields. In the morning the goddess, drinking copiously of the beer, became and was unable to recognize mankind. Re was now weary of rule, and be retired to rest in heaven. leaving the god Thoth as his deputy upon earth. Consult, in regard to Egyptian mythology: Wiede mann, Religion of the Ancient Egyptians (Eng. trans., \cw YOEk. 1897 ; F:1'111/111, Li& in an cient Egypt (Eng. trans., 1894).
It was at all times a deeply rooted belief of :lie ancient Egyptians that man possesm.d a spiritual part which continued to exist after death, although the precise nature of this ex istence was never very clearly defined. They regarded the human personality as consisting of at least three parts: the mortal. corruptible body (khan), the living soul ( ba), and a sort of spiritual double. or ghost, which was called the ka. The l' or soul seems to have represented the vital principle: but it had other functions which are by no means clear. After death it was supposed to leave the body in the form of a lord. usaally represented with 1111111a head and
hands, and to fly up to the gods in heaven. The ku was an independent spiritual being, living within a man, an 1 representing his human personality both during life and after death. It was his inseparable companion during life, and after death it hovered around his mortal re mains. At times it could enter and reanimate the body: it was necessary, therefore, to preserve the body in such condition as to be always ten antable by its spiritual visitor. To this end it was incumbent upon the relatives of the deceased to have his body as carefully embalmed as their means would allow. and to place it in a tomb where it would find protection from all accidents. But although separated from the body, the ka still experienced hunger and thirst, and other human needs. It was therefore necessary to provide food and drink. books, games. and such household effects as would secure the comfort of the ka in the tomb. It was not absolutely required that material food and drink should be supplied. Magical formulx recited over the body or inscribed upon the tomb insured to the de (eased the enjoyment of "thousands of bread, Leer. oxen, and geese." Such formulte were always repeated at the funeral by the reciter priest, and the inscriptions com-tantly adjure visitors to the tomb to repeat these important words.
The ba and the ka existed in the individual during life, and continued to I iVe as separate entities after death. But when life departed from the body, the spiritual personality of the deceased assumed a la Ay farm, as Osiris. Of what elements this spiritual counter part of the deceased was made up is not ex plained, and the Egyptians themselves seem to have had very vague and confused notions upon the :object. So much, at any rate, is clear, that just a. Osiris died and lived again. so the spirit ual of the deceased lived again and was merged in 0:iris, or rather it became Osiris himself. As to where and how the individual lived after death. various idea; were entertained. He was supposed to find a home among the stars: to sit like a bird on the branches of trees; to hover around his mummy in the tomb; or to appear upon earth in various transformations. Aceording to the most widely prevalent belief, however. the defunct was conducted by the god Annbis to the realm of the dead, where he had to undergo before Osiris. the King of the Lower World, and forty-two Assessors. of strange and monstrous form. The path was beset with difficulties and dangers: gates had to be passed which opened only I0 those W110 knew the proper password: demons lay in wait to seize Up011 unwary souls; lakes of lire must he traversed; and ninny other obstacles lay in the Way. But if the deceased provided with the appropriate formula. of the Book of the Dead he surmounted all these difficulties, and finally entered the judgment hall. If the judg ment was adverse. he was cast into a fiery lake, or given over to be devoured by a 111410MA If, the judgment was favor able. the defunct was assigned an abode in the Elysian Fields, and enjoyed a perpetual banquet at tile table of Osiris. If, moreover. lie knew the proper magical formula., he could come forth upon earth. and assume any shape he pleased: he traversed the heavens in the boat of ItC. and Horns, and shared in their triumph over the powers of darkness: all earthly impurities were washed away, the divine portion alone remained, and he became a god. In the course of the final judgment. the deceased was obliged to present himself before each of the forty-two judges in turn. and declare himself free from a particular sin. This constituted the celebrated "Negative Confession," which is to be found in chapter •XNA". of the Book of the thud. It indicates the existence of a high standard of morality. and is thoroughly in accord with the teaching of the moral papyri, and with many funerary inserip thins. in which the particular virtues of the deceased are detailed. It was not. however. necessary that the deceased should be actually guiltless of all the sins; it was only necessary that he should declare himself guiltless of them, and, above all, that lie should know the names of the infernal judges. if he knew the proper chapter of the Book of the Dead. or even if it were written out and placed in his coffin, he had nothing to fear.
It is sometimes assumed that the Egyptians looked for a general resurrection of the dead and for a great day of judgment, when all man kind must answer together for the deeds done in the flesh. Of this, however, the evidence is far from satisfactory. and it would rather seem that each individual underwent judgment, and re •eived hi; reward or punishment shortly after death. Commit: Wiedemann. The .1 uciunt Egyp tian Doctrine of Immortality (New York, 1495) Erman, Lift: in Ancient Egypt (London, The best works on Egyptian religion are: INIasiwro. Etudes de mythologic et t'gaptienne (Paris. 19,931: Wiedemann. Thu- Re. ligion of the Ancient Egyptians (New York. 11971. Brugsch. Religion and 11 ythologic ( Leip. zig, is very full, but not critical. For illustrations, consult Lanzone. Di:ionario di mito logia rqi in (Turin, 1.-+81-Ss Champollion, Pan Won ,gyptica (Paris. IS251 is still useful.