In the ancient days when the gods were the living kings of the Two Lands, Egypt flourished under the wise and gentle rule of Osiris. Known as the Green One, Osiris had emerged from the primordial waters to bring order to the world, teaching the people the arts of agriculture, the laws of justice, and the rites of worship. Under his reign, the Nile flowed with a predictable and life-giving rhythm, and the fields yielded grain so abundant that hunger became a distant memory. However, in the shadows of this golden age, a darkness was festering. Set, the brother of Osiris and the god of the desert, storms, and chaos, watched the prosperity of the valley with eyes full of burning envy. While Osiris was the lord of the fertile black silt, Set was the master of the red, sterile sands. He grew weary of the praise heaped upon his brother and the love the people showed for the king who had tamed the wild elements of the world. Set believed that power belonged to the strong and the ruthless, not to the merciful, and he began to plot a coup that would change the face of the universe forever.
Set was not alone in his treachery. Through whispered promises and displays of raw power, he recruited seventy-two accomplices, including the queen of Ethiopia, Aso, all of whom shared his desire to see the old order overturned. Set’s plan was as meticulous as it was cruel. He secretly obtained the exact measurements of Osiris’s body, recording the length of his limbs and the breadth of his shoulders with the precision of a craftsman. With this information, Set commissioned the construction of a magnificent chest. This was no ordinary box; it was a masterpiece of carpentry, carved from the finest cedar from the mountains of Lebanon and adorned with plates of shimmering gold, intricate carvings of lapis lazuli, and rows of precious stones that sparkled like the stars in the night sky. The chest was designed to be a gift that no man or god could refuse, yet its interior was a perfect, claustrophobic mold of the king himself. Set waited for the perfect moment to unveil his trap, choosing a grand banquet held in the capital city of Memphis to celebrate the king’s return from his travels through the land.
The night of the feast arrived, and the royal halls of Memphis were filled with the sound of harps, flutes, and the rhythmic clapping of the many guests. Tables groaned under the weight of lotus-shaped cups filled with sweet wine, honeyed cakes, and roasted meats. Osiris sat upon his throne, unsuspecting and joyful, surrounded by his family and his court. In the center of the hall, Set presented the ornate chest. The guests gasped at its beauty, their eyes tracing the gold leaf and the expertly joined wood. With a booming laugh that masked the coldness in his heart, Set announced a game: he would gift this magnificent chest to whoever could lie inside it and fit its dimensions exactly. One by one, the conspirators and other guests stepped forward. Some were too tall, their heads pressing against the rim; others were too short, leaving wide gaps at their feet. Some were too broad, and others were too thin. The laughter of the guests echoed through the hall as person after person failed to claim the prize. Finally, with a playful smile, Set turned to his brother and invited the king to try his luck. Osiris, believing this to be nothing more than a lighthearted competition among kin, stood from his throne and approached the chest.