The Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt and Africa

The Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt and Africa — page 7
massive tree in Byblos in Lebanon With her magic she restored Osiris to life and the two returned to Egypt But Seth was waiting for Osiris With a knife he cut him into fourteen pieces which he then scattered across Egypt But Isis was not to be deterred She tirelessly roamed the country gathering the pieces to make Osiris whole again Her doing so led the Egyptians to see Osiris as the symbol of resurrection after death Plutarch wrote For the Egyptians the Nile also served as the source of resurrection not after death as with Osiris but after the river’s waters flooded the land The Egyptians also considered the river as the source of fertility Because Osiris died and came back to life the Egyptians saw in him a similarity with the crops It was said that his blood and other bodily fluids became the source of the floodwaters and that they caused the Nile inundation Osiris therefore was the source of the new water that made the land fertile Fall of the Nile The Egyptians saw the death of Osiris in the waters receding and the plants drying up In his honor they celebrated a festival of mourning called Fall of the Nile 10 The Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt and Africa