Myths featuring Iris

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Thoth Winning Five Extra Days in a Game of Senet Against Khonsu

🏺 Egyptian MythologyHermopolis (El Ashmunein), EgyptThoth • Khonsu • Nut

Ra cursed the goddess Nut so she could never give birth on any day of the year. Thoth, the god of wisdom, challenged the moon god Khonsu to a game of Senet to win a fraction of his light. Thoth won enough moonlight to create five extra days, allowing Nut to finally bear her five divine children.

Horus Coming of Age and Challenging Set Before the Ennead

🏺 Egyptian MythologyHeliopolis, CairoHorus • Set • Isis

After reaching adulthood, Horus, the son of Osiris, challenged his uncle Set for the throne of Egypt before the divine tribunal known as the Ennead. For eighty years, the two gods engaged in magical contests and legal battles while the gods of Heliopolis debated the rightful heir. Ultimately, with the intervention of Osiris from the underworld and the wisdom of Isis, Horus was crowned king,...

Nut Swallowing the Sun God Ra Every Evening at Sunset

🏺 Egyptian MythologyWestern Horizon (Giza Proxy)Nut • Ra • Geb

In the ancient Egyptian worldview, the sky goddess Nut swallows the sun god Ra every evening at sunset, signaling the end of the day. Ra travels through her body during the night hours, facing various trials and the serpent Apep in the underworld. Each morning, Nut gives birth to the sun in the east, renewing the cycle of life and maintaining cosmic order.

Horus Presenting His Restored Eye to Osiris to Sustain Him in the Duat

🏺 Egyptian MythologyAbydos, EgyptHorus • Osiris • Set

Following his climactic struggle with Set, the god Horus recovers his gouged eye with the help of Thoth. Instead of keeping the powerful artifact for himself, Horus descends into the Duat to offer it to his father, Osiris. This act of filial devotion provides the deceased king with the spiritual sustenance needed to rule the underworld and legitimizes Horus as the rightful Pharaoh of Egypt.

Ammit the Devourer Eating the Heavy Hearts of the Wicked

🏺 Egyptian MythologyHall of Two Truths (Abydos Proxy), EgyptAmmit • Anubis • Thoth

Ammit is the terrifying funerary deity of Ancient Egypt who sits beside the Scales of Justice in the Hall of Two Truths. As a hybrid monster with the head of a crocodile, the body of a lion, and the hindquarters of a hippopotamus, she serves as the final executioner of the soul. If a deceased person's heart is found to be heavier than the Feather of Ma'at, Ammit devours it, casting the...

The Apis Bull Manifested by a Ray of Moonlight Striking a Cow

🏺 Egyptian MythologyMemphis (Mit Rahina), EgyptApis • Ptah • Osiris

The Apis bull was the most significant sacred animal in ancient Egypt, regarded as the physical incarnation of the creator god Ptah and the 'herald' of Osiris. According to myth, the bull was conceived when a divine ray of moonlight descended from the heavens to strike a virgin cow, imbuing the animal with a celestial spirit. This sacred creature was identified by twenty-nine specific...

Nut Giving Birth to Osiris on the First Intercalary Day

🏺 Egyptian MythologyThebes (Luxor), EgyptNut • Geb • Ra

When the sun god Ra cursed the sky goddess Nut so she could not give birth on any day of the year, the wise god Thoth intervened. By winning moonlight in a game of chance with the moon god Khonsu, Thoth created five extra days that existed outside the standard calendar. On the first of these intercalary days, Nut gave birth to Osiris, the god who would eventually become the lord of the...

Isis Constructing a Golden Phallus to Complete Osiris's Body

🏺 Egyptian MythologyAbydos, EgyptIsis • Osiris • Set

Following the brutal murder and dismemberment of King Osiris by his brother Set, the goddess Isis undertook a divine quest to recover his scattered remains. After finding all but one piece of his body, she utilized her supreme magic and the aid of Thoth and Anubis to craft a golden replacement and reassemble the god. This act of restoration and the subsequent mummification allowed Osiris to...

Set Challenging Horus to a Boat Race Using Ships Made of Stone

🏺 Egyptian MythologyNile River, EgyptHorus • Set • Isis

As part of a long legal and physical struggle for the throne of Egypt, the god Set challenged his nephew Horus to a race using boats carved from stone. While Set attempted to craft a massive vessel out of a literal mountain, the clever Horus constructed a wooden boat and disguised it with plaster to appear like stone. When the race began on the Nile, Set's heavy ship immediately sank, while...

The Oxyrhynchus Fish Swallowing the Phallus of Osiris

🏺 Egyptian MythologyOxyrhynchus (El Bahnasa), EgyptOsiris • Isis • Set

After the god Osiris was murdered and dismembered by his brother Set, his wife Isis searched the Nile for his remains. She recovered every piece except for his phallus, which had been swallowed by an Oxyrhynchus fish in the river. This event led to the fish becoming sacred and taboo in the region, and Isis was forced to use her magic to fashion a replacement to resurrect her husband.