The Osiris Myth

The most important Egyptian sacred story tells how Osiris, a good king, was murdered by his jealous brother Seth. His wife Isis, with her sister Nephthys, searched for and restored his body, and conceived their son Horus. Osiris became king of the dead, while Horus grew up to claim his father's throne. The story gave Egyptians their model of kingship, of resurrection, and of the triumph of order over violence. No single ancient Egyptian text tells it whole; the fullest continuous version is the much later Greek account by Plutarch.