Up until the Greek period, marriage among royalty consisted of
brother/sister and father/daughter relationships.
However at the same time, marriages for the common were consisted
more of marriage between cousins, uncles and nieces.
After the Greek period, even common people married brother/sister.
This is the same as the Gods.
The reason that only royalty did this was because they felt it was their
right, since after all, Pharaohs were thought to be Gods or at least
rulers who would become Gods.
The first God we have on the list of genealogy is Atum (Re) he was
known as “The Complete One” and “The Sun God”. He then created
the God of Air, Shu and his sister, the Goddess of Moisture, Tefnut.
It’s said that he did this by spitting out Shu and vomiting Tefnut.
From here Shu and Tefnut married (yes sister and brother) and bore
Geb, the God of Earth and Nut, the Sky Goddess. Now this is where it
gets a bit tricky. These five Gods/Goddesses made up the Cosmic
Gods, the ones needed to complete the elements for creation.
Which were Light, Air, Moisture, Earth and Heaven. So these guys
are like THE Gods.
Now Geb and Nut both married to each other, and had four children.
Now in some other stories, it is said to be five. But for this purpose
I’m picking one, only because it got to confusing. Also it’s important
for you to know too, that their children were not considered “Gods” or
“Goddesses” or even Cosmic Gods. They were thought to be mortal
first. Ok so their children were, Osiris (the Eldest and God of the
Underworld, he was said to be mortal before he became a god), Set
or Seth (The Evil One), Isis (The Goddesses of Many Names so to
speak, she was the Supreme Mother Goddess, healer, Goddess of
magic, etc.) and Nephtyhys (Her name means “Lady of the House”
and later became known as Friend of the Dead). Now with these four,
plus the Gods/Goddesses above, these make up what was and is
known as the Heliopolitan.
*Referenced Above Information From:
Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt, pg. 152
Gods of Ancient Egypt, Pages 30, 72 Introduction to
Egyptology
Part 2:
Osiris is the Oldest, followed by his brother Set, his sister Isis and his
other sister Nephtyhys. Now there other stories, there is said to be one
more, Horus, who was known as Horus the Elder, he was known as the
second eldest, under Osiris and over Set.
*Referenced Above Information From:
Gods of Ancient Egypt, Pages 30, 72
Now…for my main Couple of the
hour…
The Story of Osiris and Isis
-
Osiris and Isis married, while Set (Seth) married his other sister
Nephtyhys. Isis was extremely devoted to Osiris as his wife, even
though she was also his sister. As was Osiris’ devotion to Isis just as
strong. It’s said that Osiris lived as a mortal man here on Earth, where
he ruled Egypt as its first known Pharaoh. Till his brother Set decided
to be a real jerk, as I put it. Now from here, there are soooo many
myths about what came about between Set and Osiris. So I decide to
pick two that I would share with everyone, but before I do that, I want to
give you a little extra bit of information.
So it’s thought that Nephtyhys either seduced or tricked Osiris, making
him think that she was his wife Isis. Or that it was a mistake to begin
with. Either way it’s said that Osiris “mistakenly” slept with his other
sister Nephtyhys, believing her to be Isis. It’s also said that Nephtyhys
did so, because she couldn’t bare children for Set. Well that was a
mistake, because that’s what led Set to kill his brother. Anyways, from
this union it’s thought that the God Anubis was created. It’s also thought
that his father was either Osiris or Set and even more interesting that
his mother was either Nephtyhys or Isis, with Nephtyhys being the most
logical claim.
Osiris and Isis had their own child, Horus, who was known as the Sky
God and King of the Living, compared to his father Osiris who was
thought of as the King of the Dead.
*Referenced Above Information From:
Introduction to
Egyptology
Gods of Ancient Egypt, Pages 30, 72
Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt, pg. 152
The True Names of the Gods
–
The Egyptian Names of the Gods in Order of Existence:
Note: Osiris, Isis, Nephtyhys, Horus and Anubis are all thought to be
the Greek Version of the Egyptian Name.
Atum - Variations: Re, Ra
Shu – No change
Tefnut – No change
Geb - Variation: Seb
Nut - variation: Nuit
Osiris’s Egyptian Name - Asar (variation: Ausar)
Isis’s Egyptian Name - Aset (with variations: Iset and
Auset)
Isis was Horus mother and it was her job to protector him from Seth,
before and after he was born, during the time when he was just a child.
However this isn’t the only time when she had been seen as a
“Protector.” Isis also became a protector to one of the Four Sons of
Horus, Imsety, guardian of the liver of the deceased. Isis did this job
along with three other Goddesses, including her own sister:
Selket (scorpion-goddess), who protected: Qebehsenuef, who
guarded the intestines of the deceased
Neith (Goddess of War) who protected: Duamutef, the god of the
stomach of the deceased.
Nephthys (Goddess, considered Friend of the Dead and Lady of the
House, sister to Isis) who protected: Hapi, protector of the lungs of the
deceased
Rosalie David (2003). Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt. New York,
New York.
Facts on File, Inc.
Barbara Watterson (1996). Gods of Ancient Egypt. Hong Kong, Japan.
Sutton
Publishing Limited
Knight, Shawn (1994-2003). Introduction to Egyptology: Brief
Biographies of Egyptian Gods. Retrieved: September 12, 2006
from http://www.sk4p.net/egypt
/gods.shtml
Part 2:
Barbara Watterson (1996). Gods of Ancient Egypt. Hong Kong, Japan.
Sutton
Publishing Limited
Now…for my main Couple of the
hour…
The story of Osiris and Isis
–
Knight, Shawn (1994-2003). Introduction to Egyptology: Brief
Biographies of Egyptian
Gods. Retrieved: September 12, 2006 from
http://www.sk4p.net/egypt/gods.shtml
Barbara Watterson (1996). Gods of Ancient Egypt. Hong Kong, Japan.
Sutton
Publishing Limited
Rosalie David (2003). Handbook to Life in Ancient Egypt. New York,
New York.
Facts on File, Inc.
The True Names of the Gods
–
Knight, Shawn (1994-2003). Introduction to Egyptology: Brief
Biographies of Egyptian
Gods. Retrieved: September 12, 2006 from http://www.sk4p.net/egypt
/gods.shtml
Job of Protection by
Isis:
Knight, Shawn (1994-2003). Introduction to Egyptology: Brief
Biographies of Egyptian
Gods. Retrieved: September 12, 2006 from
http://www.sk4p.net/egypt/gods.shtml