rich Wrote:
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> > My Notes: My understanding is that Isis was
> married to Osiris. He died. She moved in with
> the brother of Osiris named Horus.

Er, no. Isis is always associated with Horus as her son, who is called in such a siuation "Harsiese", or "Horus son of Isis."

The concept of the "Elder Horus", called "Haroeris", (who is brother to Sutekh/Seth, but unrelated to Osiris at all), shows this god is a representation of the northern lands of Egypt (with Sutekh reflecting the southern lands), and is unrelated to the Isis-Osiris-Horus triad (Hart 1986: 91).

In the Sutekh-Haroeris myth, which precedes the Osiris Horus, these two gods are brothers, both born of Nut and Geb, who battle for kingly dominance over Egypt. So, when the Osiride Horus was later conflated with Haroeris, he emerged as a facet called "Har-mau," or, "Horus the uniter" (of the Two Lands). It is from this form that kings tend to derive their titles as "the Living Horus," as the king unites the land as Har-Mau did (Hart 1986: 89).

When the conflation of the brotherly struggle/land-dominating myth of Haroeris and Sutekh gave way to the eventual dominance of the Osiride/Iside Horus battling his uncle Sutekh, this role was later ritualised into a form for the Osiris Horus called in the Greek Period as "Harendotes," /Hr-nD-Hr-it.f/, or "Horus avenger of his father" (Hart 1986: 90).

Eventually, the Haroeris Horus becomes so tied into the Osiride Horus that it becomes extremely difficult to separate these facets after awhile. But at one time, they were considered separate deities, Haroeris and the Osiride Horus (Hart 1986: 91).

> Then she gave
> birth to the 4 sons of Horus.

Again, no. The (4) Sons of Horus are known from the Old Kingdom as reflections of Horus' own souls (called /bA's/), and are sometimes called Horus' "companions" (Hart 1986: 204). Isis does not "give birth" to these entities, as they exist because they are part of Horus' own essence, a reflection of his soul(s). There is a later conflation of these sons as children of Isis, but only during the Late Period, in the Onuris legends).

> I believe 1 of
> these sons may be called Horus, son of Osiris.

No, none even come close to bearing a "Horus" like name. These entities are basically genii (spirits) from Horus' own soul, and reflect the protection Horus extends to the deceased in the afterlife, by keeping the body "whole."

The names of the Sons of Horus are, with their tutelary (protective) goddesses (which are determined by their cardinal position in the tomb, BTW), and the name of the organs which they protect:

Qebehsenuef Selket, South, Intestines, (form: Hawk)
Duamutef Neith, North, Stomach, (form:Jackal)
Hapy Nephthys, East, Lungs, (form: Baboon)
Imsety Isis, West, Liver, (form: Human)

The cardinal positions of the Sons of Horus and their tutelary goddesss are defined by funerary texts, from the Pyramid Texts, which defines Isis as part of the west, and his sister Nephthys as part of the east (PT §1255), as well references to Neith's connection with the north and Selket with the south (PT §1375).

The interaction of these goddesses and their directions with the Sons of Horus is reflected in the New Kingdom afterlife Book of Coming Forth by Day.

> I
> have proposed a connection of this Osiris son with
> Amset... since he has the human face, whereas the
> other sons of Horus are depicted with Animal
> faces.

I'm not sure what you mean here, as no "son of Horus" has either a) the name of "Horus," or b) is related directly to Osiris. They serve the will of Horus, and are his companions, but technically, they are aspects of his own /bA/. But in later periods, they are called "sons of Osiris", due to their funereal function.

> "Whenever Isis left Horus in the evening while
> they were in hiding in the papyrus swamps near
> Buto, she was accompanied by seven scorpians.
> Three of the scorpians preceded her, Petet,
> Tjetet, and Matet and made sure that the path
> ahead was safe. At her side were the scorpians,
> Mesetet and Mesetetef. Bringing up the rear were
> Tefen and Befen."
>
> "The region where all these things took place was
> situated in Delt, and the Island in the Papyrus
> Swamps, where Isis brought forth the child and hid
> him, was near the famous double city of Pe-Tep,
> which was commonly called Buto by the Greeks."

The so-called "Papyrus Island" in which Isis kept her infant Horus, where he was watched over by seven scorpions in her absence (until one accidentally stung him) has been identified with any number of islands in the Delta region, and so, this above story reflects only one of the myths. This same island is identified with Chemnis, for example, but in the myth, the island in which Isis hid Horus from her brother Sutkeh is not given a geographical name.

Reference:

Bonnet, H. 1952. Reallexikon der Aegyptischen Religiongeschichte. Berlin: Walter deGruyter. (See "Haroeris", pp. 270-272; and "Horuskinder" (Sons of Horus), pp. 315-316).

Hart, G. 1986. A Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses. London: Routledge/Kegan Paul.

HTH.

Katherine Griffis-Greenberg

Doctoral Candidate
Oriental Institute
Doctoral Programme in Oriental Studies [Egyptology]
Oxford University
Oxford, United Kingdom