WEBVTT

00:00:07.086 --> 00:00:10.556
It was a feast like Egypt 
had never seen before.

00:00:10.556 --> 00:00:14.126
The warrior god Set and his wife, 
the goddess Nephtys,

00:00:14.126 --> 00:00:17.056
decorated an extravagant hall 
for the occasion,

00:00:17.056 --> 00:00:20.120
with a beautiful wooden chest 
as the centerpiece.

00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:24.530
They invited all the most important gods,
dozens of lesser deities,

00:00:24.530 --> 00:00:26.560
and foreign monarchs.

00:00:26.560 --> 00:00:32.792
But no one caused as big a stir as Set 
and Nephtys’s older brother Osiris,

00:00:32.792 --> 00:00:37.770
the god who ruled all of Egypt 
and had brought prosperity to everyone.

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:37.770 --> 00:00:39.640
Set announced a game—

00:00:39.640 --> 00:00:43.957
whoever could fit perfectly in the chest
could have it as a gift.

00:00:43.957 --> 00:00:47.777
One by one, the guests clambered in,
but no one fit.

00:00:47.777 --> 00:00:50.117
Finally, it was Osiris’s turn.

00:00:50.117 --> 00:00:53.987
As he lay down, everyone could see
it was a perfect fit—

00:00:53.987 --> 00:00:57.227
another win for the god 
who could do no wrong.

NOTE Paragraph

00:00:57.227 --> 00:01:03.319
Then Set slammed the lid down 
with Osiris still inside, sealed it shut,

00:01:03.319 --> 00:01:05.779
and tossed it into the Nile.

00:01:05.779 --> 00:01:07.889
The chest was a coffin.

00:01:07.889 --> 00:01:11.159
Set had constructed it specifically 
to trap his brother

00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:14.329
and planned the party to lure him into it.

00:01:14.329 --> 00:01:17.789
Set had long been jealous 
of his brother’s successful reign,

00:01:17.789 --> 00:01:22.406
and hoped to replace 
him as the ruler of all Egypt.

NOTE Paragraph

00:01:22.406 --> 00:01:26.176
The Nile bore the coffin out to sea 
and it drifted for many days

00:01:26.176 --> 00:01:31.315
before washing ashore near Byblos, 
where a great cedar grew around it.

00:01:31.315 --> 00:01:35.105
The essence of the god within 
gave the tree a divine aura,

00:01:35.105 --> 00:01:37.305
and when the king of Byblos noticed it,

00:01:37.305 --> 00:01:40.665
he ordered the tree cut down
and brought to his palace.

00:01:40.665 --> 00:01:42.095
Unbeknownst to him,

00:01:42.095 --> 00:01:47.050
the coffin containing Egypt’s 
most powerful god was still inside.

NOTE Paragraph

00:01:47.050 --> 00:01:51.401
Set’s victory seemed complete, 
but he hadn’t counted on his sisters.

00:01:51.401 --> 00:01:54.461
Set’s wife Nephtys was also his sister,

00:01:54.461 --> 00:01:57.413
while their other sister, 
the goddess Isis,

00:01:57.413 --> 00:01:59.433
was married to their brother Osiris.

00:01:59.433 --> 00:02:02.288
Isis was determined to find Osiris,

00:02:02.288 --> 00:02:05.828
and enlisted Nephtys’s help 
behind Set’s back.

00:02:05.828 --> 00:02:10.732
The two sisters took the shape 
of falcons and travelled far and wide.

00:02:10.732 --> 00:02:13.532
Some children who had seen 
the coffin float by

00:02:13.532 --> 00:02:16.152
pointed them to the palace of Byblos.

00:02:16.152 --> 00:02:19.812
Isis adopted a new disguise 
and approached the palace.

00:02:19.812 --> 00:02:22.782
The queen was so charmed 
by the disguised goddess

00:02:22.782 --> 00:02:26.682
that she entrusted her 
with nursing the baby prince.

00:02:26.682 --> 00:02:31.147
Isis decided to make the child immortal 
by bathing him in flame.

00:02:31.147 --> 00:02:34.167
When the horrified queen 
came upon this scene,

00:02:34.167 --> 00:02:38.291
Isis revealed herself 
and demanded the tree.

NOTE Paragraph

00:02:38.291 --> 00:02:41.501
When she cut the coffin from the trunk
and opened it,

00:02:41.501 --> 00:02:44.121
Osiris was dead inside.

00:02:44.121 --> 00:02:48.389
Weeping, she carried his body 
back to Egypt and hid it in a swamp,

00:02:48.389 --> 00:02:51.719
while she set off in search 
of a means of resurrecting him.

00:02:51.719 --> 00:02:53.279
But while she was gone,

00:02:53.279 --> 00:02:57.279
Set found the body 
and cut into many pieces,

00:02:57.279 --> 00:02:59.449
scattering them throughout Egypt.

NOTE Paragraph

00:02:59.449 --> 00:03:04.113
Isis had lost Osiris for the second time,
but she did not give up.

00:03:04.113 --> 00:03:08.563
She searched all over the land,
traveling in a boat of papyrus.

00:03:08.563 --> 00:03:10.981
One by one, she tracked down 
the parts

00:03:10.981 --> 00:03:15.381
of her husband’s dismembered body
in every province of Egypt,

00:03:15.381 --> 00:03:17.775
holding a funeral for each piece.

00:03:17.775 --> 00:03:21.775
At long last, she had recovered
every piece but one—

00:03:21.775 --> 00:03:26.629
his penis, 
which a fish in the Nile had eaten.

NOTE Paragraph

00:03:26.629 --> 00:03:31.063
Working with what she had, Isis 
reconstructed and revived her husband.

00:03:31.063 --> 00:03:34.553
But without his penis, 
Osiris was incomplete.

00:03:34.553 --> 00:03:36.583
He could not remain among the living,

00:03:36.583 --> 00:03:40.696
could not return to his old position 
as ruler of Egypt.

00:03:40.696 --> 00:03:45.242
Instead, he would have to rule over Duat,
the realm of the dead.

00:03:45.242 --> 00:03:51.697
Before he went, though, he and Isis 
conceived a son to bear Osiris’s legacy—

00:03:51.697 --> 00:03:53.818
and one day, avenge him.