Isis And Osiris Research Paper

Within every culture there is a creation myth. These myths tell a story of how each culture was born, and what they had to achieve in order to get there. Moreover, these myths portray each culture’s beliefs and values usually in a battle between good and evil. And that seem to also be the case when it comes to the Egyptian myth “The Story of Isis and Osiris.” In the Egyptian myth “The Story of Isis and Osiris,” there is a power struggle between the forces of good and evil. This battle of good vs. evil is fought by Horus and Seth. This battle ends with Horus killing Seth, which avenges his father’s death and restores order to all of Egypt. According to John Gwyn Griffiths, a former Egyptologist and professor at Swansea University, this myth presents a “strong

evil. One in particular seems to be that although the forces of evil will win a few battles against the forces of good, they will never win the war. We see this when Seth deceives and kills Osiris but is repaid the dishonor by being killed by Osiris’ son Horus. Another lesson that is portrayed about the Egyptian culture in this battle is their desire for power. According to Dr. Herman te Velde, a former professor and chairman of Egyptology at the University of Groningen, we see this in Seth’s slaying of Osiris, which seems to represent the power struggle between good and evil (82). Another example of the desire for power in this story comes Seth turns himself into a black pig to distract Re from seeing the outcome of the war through Horus’ eyes. Taking into account Seth’s actions in this myth, we learn that the Egyptian culture desires power and will do anything to get it. For example, consider the actions of the gods, who willing killed each other just to cement their place in history. Horus on the other hand had a justified reason for murder, which points to the possibility that some of Egypt favored honor more than