Showing Revision 5 created 07/24/2020 by lauren mcalpine .

1. Title:
   The Egyptian myth of the death of Osiris - Alex Gendler
2. Description:

   View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-egyptian-myth-of-the-death-of-osiris-alex-gendler

   Long jealous of his older brother Osiris, the god who ruled all of Egypt, the warrior god Set plotted to overthrow him. Hosting an extravagant party as a ruse, Set announced a game— whoever could fit perfectly in a wooden chest could have it as a gift. But the chest was a coffin, trapping Osiris inside. Will his sisters be able to find and free him? Alex Gendler details the myth of Osiris.

   Lesson by Alex Gendler, directed by Keegan Thornhill.

3. Speaker:
   Alex Gendler
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   It was a feast like Egypt
   had never seen before.
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   The warrior god Set and his wife,
   the goddess Nephtys,
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   decorated an extravagant hall
   for the occasion,
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   with a beautiful wooden chest
   as the centerpiece.
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   They invited all the most important gods,
   dozens of lesser deities,
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   and foreign monarchs.
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    But no one caused as big a stir as Set
    and Nephtys’s older brother Osiris,
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    the god who ruled all of Egypt
    and had brought prosperity to everyone.
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    Set announced a game—

    ¶

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    whoever could fit perfectly in the chest
    could have it as a gift.
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    One by one, the guests clambered in,
    but no one fit.
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    Finally, it was Osiris’s turn.
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    As he lay down, everyone could see
    it was a perfect fit—
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    another win for the god
    who could do no wrong.
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    Then Set slammed the lid down
    with Osiris still inside, sealed it shut,

    ¶

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    and tossed it into the Nile.
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    The chest was a coffin.
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    Set had constructed it specifically
    to trap his brother
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    and planned the party to lure him into it.
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    Set had long been jealous
    of his brother’s successful reign,
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    and hoped to replace
    him as the ruler of all Egypt.
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    The Nile bore the coffin out to sea
    and it drifted for many days

    ¶

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    before washing ashore near Byblos,
    where a great cedar grew around it.
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    The essence of the god within
    gave the tree a divine aura,
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    and when the king of Byblos noticed it,
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    he ordered the tree cut down
    and brought to his palace.
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    Unbeknownst to him,
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    the coffin containing Egypt’s
    most powerful god was still inside.
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    Set’s victory seemed complete,
    but he hadn’t counted on his sisters.

    ¶

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    Set’s wife Nephtys was also his sister,
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    while their other sister,
    the goddess Isis,
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    was married to their brother Osiris.
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    Isis was determined to find Osiris,
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    and enlisted Nephtys’s help
    behind Set’s back.
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    The two sisters took the shape
    of falcons and travelled far and wide.
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    Some children who had seen
    the coffin float by
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    pointed them to the palace of Byblos.
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    Isis adopted a new disguise
    and approached the palace.
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    The queen was so charmed
    by the disguised goddess
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    that she entrusted her
    with nursing the baby prince.
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    Isis decided to make the child immortal
    by bathing him in flame.
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    When the horrified queen
    came upon this scene,
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    Isis revealed herself
    and demanded the tree.
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    When she cut the coffin from the trunk
    and opened it,

    ¶

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    Osiris was dead inside.
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    Weeping, she carried his body
    back to Egypt and hid it in a swamp,
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    while she set off in search
    of a means of resurrecting him.
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    But while she was gone,
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    Set found the body
    and cut it into many pieces,
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    scattering them throughout Egypt.
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    Isis had lost Osiris for the second time,
    but she did not give up.

    ¶

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    She searched all over the land,
    traveling in a boat of papyrus.
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    One by one, she tracked down
    the parts
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    of her husband’s dismembered body
    in every province of Egypt,
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    holding a funeral for each piece.
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    At long last, she had recovered
    every piece but one—
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    his penis,
    which a fish in the Nile had eaten.
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    Working with what she had, Isis
    reconstructed and revived her husband.

    ¶

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    But without his penis,
    Osiris was incomplete.
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    He could not remain among the living,
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    could not return to his old position
    as ruler of Egypt.
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    Instead, he would have to rule over Duat,
    the realm of the dead.
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    Before he went, though, he and Isis
    conceived a son to bear Osiris’s legacy—
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    and one day, avenge him.