SINCE the dawn of history, the sky had been a mystery to human beings. It was directly related to the unknown, and consequently man related his different myths to the different constellations of the sky. The most evident examples are found in the ancientEgyptian myths like the myth of Isis and Osiris, which we will talk about in details in this week's episode. The stars and constellations in the middle of the sky and around the North Pole reflect the whole story of Isis, Osiris and their son Horus who avenged his father after his uncle Seth betrayed him. The Myth tells us how the two brothers, Osiris (representing the good) and Seth (representing the evil), were married to two sisters, Isis and Nyphtis. Seth deceived his brother and killed him; he cut him into pieces and scattered the pieces all over the regions of Egypt. The faithful wife of Osiris was weeping all the time which caused the Nile to flood every year. Then patiently she collected all the pieces of Osiris and mummified the corps to allow him rebirth; Osiris became the lord of the afterlife. As a holy deity, Isis became pregnant from the Holy Spirit and gave birth to Horus, The son god. The good triumphs in this myth; Horus revenges his father and fights against Seth until he kills him. Let's now see how this myth is reflected in the sky by the ancient Egyptians: Seth is represented by the bull or simply the foreleg of the bull, in the constellation of the Big Dipper. Isis is represented by the hippopotamus in the constellation of the Dragon; Osiris is represented by the Orion constellation that is not present in the scene of the middle sky but in the southern sky. Horus is represented by himself spearing at Seth in the constellation of Cepheus. An exemplar text that tells this astronomical-myth relation is the inscription found in the tomb of Ramses VI, which is stated as follows: "As for the foreleg of Seth, it is in the northern sky, attached by two flints, sticks by a golden chain. It is attributed to Isis in the form of a female hippopotamus who keeps it. The gods' water is around everywhere like the gods of the horizon. Re has put them behind her while repeating: "Prevent him from going to the southern sky towards the water of gods, issue of Osiris who is behind Orion." When such a great civilisation connects its mythological thinking to different stars and constellations in an attempt to decipher the mysteries of the universe, it should make us stop and think. Next week, we will touch on how the Greeks also linked their myths to the sky to arouse even more curiosity about this phenomenon. [email protected] Saleh is the Director of Egypt's Centre for Documentation of Culture and Natural Heritage.
