Myths and Legends (Story Library) - Softcover

Horowitz, Anthony; Mosley, Francis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 185697975X ISBN 13: 9781856979757

Publisher: Kingfisher, 1994

Synopsis

Thirty-five ancient myths and legends, including lesser-known tales from Polynesia, North and South America, the Far East, Europe, and Africa, as well as some of the best stories from Greece, are gathered together in this far-ranging anthology of the tragedies and triumphs of the ancient world.

About this title

About the Author:

Anthony Horowitz is an award-winning, best-selling author, well known for his popular movie, theater, and television scripts. He has written more than 20 children books, including the best-selling Alex Rider series.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

Chapter One

ISIS AND OSIRIS

The fourth great pharaoh of Egypt was named Osiris. He was a god, the great-
grandson of Re, who, according to the Egyptians, created the world. Tall,
dark-skinned, and remarkably handsome, he was one of the very best of the
gods. He was even known as Onnophris, which means "the Good One," for
he never got drunk, he never chased women, and he was a sworn enemy of
violence.

Osiris took as his wife the goddess Isis, who also happened to be his sister.
You might think this was not a particularly good thing to do, but in those
days (around 4,000 years before Christ) nobody would have batted an eyelid.
In fact, all of the human pharaohs made a point of marrying their sisters too—
just to show how much they approved of the idea.

Isis was a very beautiful goddess, with slender arms, a lithe, elegant body,
and wonderful green eyes. She would have been easily recognizable because
she liked to wear a tall helmet with a gold disk set between two horns.

Osiris, of course, wore a crown and carried a scepter and whip—which were
the symbols of his high office.

For many years Osiris and Isis reigned over Egypt, doing good wherever they
went. The first thing they did was stamp out cannibalism. For, at that time,
the people were no more than savages who didn't even know how to cultivate
the land. Osiris showed them how. He also taught the men how to make
bread and wine. He built the first temples and designed the first statues. He
even invented two different types of flutes.

Meanwhile, Isis was just as busy. She showed the women of Egypt how to
grind corn and how to weave cloth and instructed the men in the art of
medicine. She bore Osiris a son, Horus, who had the head of a falcon and
was later worshiped as a sun god. It was Isis who introduced the whole idea
of marriage to the people. Before that, everyone had just lived together as
they pleased.

Isis and Osiris couldn't have been more popular. Nobody could have ruled
Egypt more wisely. But still Osiris wasn't content.

"You know," he muttered one day, "I really think it's time I left Egypt."

"Left Egypt?" his wife cried. "Why?"

"Well, we've done a lot of good work here. But what about the rest of the
world? I mean, look at Asia—just for starters. The people of Asia are still
living in caves. They have the most disgusting personal habits. They never
bathe. They grunt at each other. I think it's time I went and did some good
over in Asia."

"You're very good," Isis said. "But who will look after Egypt while you're
away?"

"You will. You'll do just as good a job as me."

"If you say so."

"Good. That's settled, then."

Osiris left for Asia the next day. He took no soldiers with him and no
weapons. Instead he trusted that music and kind words would win over the
natives. Meanwhile, Isis ruled Egypt, keeping everything in perfect order.

But Osiris had a younger brother named Seth, who was his complete
opposite in every way. For a start, Seth was repulsively ugly, with chalk-white
skin, violent red hair, and a pointed nose. He had pimples, and he spoke in a
whiny voice. Seth was jealous of his older brother. He hated Osiris and
wanted to be the king of Egypt himself.

"The trouble with Osiris is that he's so good," he remarked one day to the
queen of Ethiopia, who happened to be a friend of his.

"What's wrong with that?" the queen asked.

"Well, it's so boring for a start. And take this business of cannibalism. Osiris
may not like it, but why should that mean we all have to stop it? Personally, I
have always adored a young boy lightly poached with rice. Now I'm not even
allowed a nibble. And what's the harm in eating people? That's what I want to
know."

"I wouldn't like to be eaten," the queen said.

"That's not the point. I think things were much better the way they used to
be. We used to have so much fun . . ."

Seth would have liked to have taken advantage of his brother's absence to
take over the kingdom, but Isis was so watchful that it was almost
impossible. Instead he got together with 72 accomplices and devised a
horrible plot. He pretended that he admired Osiris. Whenever his brother's
name was mentioned, he would smile sweetly and praise him endlessly. And
when Osiris got back from Asia, he invited him to a celebratory banquet.
Because of Seth's performance, Osiris suspected nothing and happily joined
the 72 other guests at his brother's palace. It was indeed a truly delicious
banquet, with great heaps of food served on solid gold plates and the finest
wines flowing from solid gold jugs. At the end of the meal, Seth clapped his
hands, and four servants entered, carrying an ornate chest, lined with silver
and gold and studded with jewels. Calling for silence, Seth got to his feet.
"I thought I would end this feast," he said, "with a little competition. I'm sure
my dear brother (whose goodness cannot be praised quite enough) will join
in. The chest is both the challenge and the prize. I will give it to whomsoever
can fit inside it. If you can fit inside the chest, then it's yours."

Osiris smiled when he heard this. He had noticed from the very start that all
of Seth's friends were on the fat side, although he had been much too polite
to mention it. What he didn't know was that Seth had chosen them for that
very reason. Now he watched as one after another tried to squeeze into the
box, and he joined in the laughter as the task proved impossible. At last, he
stood up himself.

"My dear brother," he announced, "I think that I have more chance than
anyone of winning your precious box. Let me try."

He walked down to the chest, got in without difficulty, and lay on his back.
"There you are . . ." he began.

And at that moment all 72 guests leaped on the chest, slammed down the
lid, locked it, wrapped it in ropes and chains, and nailed it shut. Then they
carried it out of the palace and, ignoring the muffled cries of protest from
inside, hurled it into the Nile river.

The coffin—for that was what the chest had now become—was carried out to
sea by the Nile. At last it was washed up on the Phoenician coast and came
to rest under a tamarisk tree. The tree reached out with its branches and
embraced the chest, pulling it inside its trunk. And that is where it remained
for many years.

Eventually the tamarisk tree was cut down by a local king who needed a
pillar to support the roof of his palace. But when the tree was set in place, it
was discovered that it gave off a marvelous scent. People could smell the
tamarisk tree for miles around, a smell of summer, of honey, and of fresh
blossoms. So remarkable was the phenomenon that news of it spread first
across the country and eventually all the way to Isis in Egypt. Because of her
knowledge of magic, she guessed that the tree must contain the body of
Osiris and slipped away at once to retrieve it.

After the death of her husband and brother, Isis had torn her clothes and cut
her hair in mourning, as custom dictated. For a long time she had searched
for his body, but without success. And, meanwhile, Seth had seized the
throne of Egypt, ruling with cruelty where Osiris had shown only kindness,
enslaving the people, and once again encouraging cannibal feasts. Now Isis
wasted no time in cutting open the pillar and removing the chest. Once it was
in her possession, she carried it back to Egypt and hid it on the floating
island of Chemmis in the middle of the Nile.

There she remained, bathing the chest in tears, while she prepared the
necessary funeral rites. But her misfortunes were far from over. For it
happened that Seth, who loved to go hunting at night, chanced to go to the
island of Chemmis and, to his great surprise, stumbled on the chest.
"What is this?" he exclaimed. "My dear brother seems to love me so much
that he has returned to plague me. Well, this time I must get rid of him once
and for all."

And so saying, he opened the casket, drew his sword, and cut the body into
14 pieces. Then he scattered the pieces across the land of Egypt and went
back to the palace to sleep.

Now, Isis had seen what had happened, and the next two years of her life
were spent searching for the 14 pieces of Osiris. It was, you can imagine, a
strange business. One day, in the middle of a clump of bulrushes, she might
discover an arm and part of an elbow. Then, several months later, in a grove
of palm trees, she would come across a foot or a knee. It was a complicated
and gruesome jigsaw puzzle, but at last the time came when she had found
13 pieces of Osiris. The last piece had been eaten by a crab.

Using all of her powers of magic, Isis joined the 13 pieces together again so
that the body was whole. The process that she discovered that day was
called embalming, and afterward all of the great pharaohs and the wealthiest
noblemen were embalmed in exactly the same way, which is why there have
always been so many mummies in Egypt.

When Isis had finished her work, Osiris woke up as if from a deep sleep and
embraced her. He could now have chosen to stay in Egypt in order to punish
Seth...

About this edition

• Publisher: Kingfisher
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 185697975X
• ISBN 13: 9781856979757
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 254