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Since early times, the local rulers of Egypt
had laid claim to mystical powers. Each important village had
its patron deity, and the noble who controlled the area took up
residence near the temple of the god, where he could evoke his
divine patron's blessing. Often the god was represented as an
animal. Thus the ruler of Upper Egypt derived his authority from
the truculent god Seth, pictured as a fierce, long-snouted beast,
and the chieftain of a nearby settlement secured strength and
cunning from the falcon-god Horus. In time, myths associated with
these local deities were combined to form a compelling legend
that told of a bitter power struggle and celebrated the emergence
of a god-king for all Egypt.
According to one popular version of this legend, Horus was
the son of Osiris, a god of nature whose power was manifest in
the ebb and flow of the Nile. Osiris himself had once ruled Egypt,
aided by his wife and sister, Isis, before he was brought down
by his murderously jealous brother Seth, who dismembered Osiris
and scattered his parts over the land. The faithful Isis went
about collecting the pieces and patched them back together, thus
resurrecting Osiris, who retired from his earthly responsibilities
to become lord of the afterworld.
Horus was left to contend with his uncle, Seth, for dominion
over Egypt. Ultimately, the two met in epic combat; although Horus
lost an eye, he succeeded in castrating Seth, and in subsequent
hearing, the earth god, Geb, declared Horus the victor and pronounced
him King of Egypt. With the emergence of the pharaohs, the message
of the legend was unmistakable: There would be a single ruler
of Egypt, and he would be the incarnation of the greatest of Egypt's
gods. Each pharaoh was the human form of Horus. Upon his death,
he became one with Osiris and reigned supreme in the next life,
while his heir ruled on earth as the new incarnation of the great
falcon-god.
Egyptian Burial Rites
At the tomb, the mummy case was stood upright (as in the
papyrus at right, from the British Museum). A priest
wearing the mask of Anubis supported it, and the closest female
relative of the dead person knelt in front of it, crying.
The central ceremony of Opening the Mouth then took place.
Priests and the eldest son of the deceased scattered water over
the mummy case, burned incense, and touched the mouth of the
mummy with magical implements. One was a curved baton ending
in a ram's head that suggested a constellation of stars.
Another was an adze made from a meterorite. Spells were
recited in which the god Ptah gave the dead Egyptian all the
abilities of eating, speaking, and moving that he possessed
when he was alive. At this point the dead person's spirit that
had left the corpse during mummification returned into it. The
corpse could be brought to life by the spirit in the burial
chamber.
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