|| An Egyptian legend ||
This story is a continuation to the two previous stories: ‘The Birth of Osiris’ and ‘The Myth of Osiris’. They talked about how Osiris was born, his reign and his betrayal by his brother and enemy Set.
When Osiris’s son, Horus, came of age, he vowed to kill and defeat Set. Many battles were fought on both accounts. There are many stories of how the battles were fought between Horus the brave and Set the evil magician. This story is a description of one such battle.
It was said that Set’s greed increased after he killed Osiris. He desired to become the emperor of the whole world, not just Egypt.
The mighty God Ra, father of Osiris and Set, was advanced in age. And Set, the Evil One, was growing more cunning and treacherous each day.
Horus, with no army of his own, sought help of his grandfather, Ra, to defeat Set. Ra gave Horus control of his chariots, horses and foot soldiers. Horus took the army and marched into the desert just south of the Great River.
There he was met with Set’s army which was much higher in numbers and reinforcements. Set himself was not on the field but his army greatly outnumbered his own. Horus understood that in order to beat an enemy who used magic powers, he would need more help.
Horus then sought the help of Thoth, the God of Truth. Thoth was also a wise god with magical powers of his own. Thoth wouldn’t directly fight in the war but he helped Horus transform into a giant disk with two great outstreched wings.
Horus then flew upto the sky and covered the sun in the middle of the day. His flapping wings also made a very unearthly sound. Set’s army were confused by the sudden nightfall and the omnious sound.
They could not see anything, nor each other in the dark. As someone shouted, “Enemies!”, the cry was repeated by all of Set’s soldiers. Every soldier thought that his neighbour was an enemy.
The battle proceeded within Set’s army while Horus’s men watched from a distance. Even Horus’s men could only hear cries come from a distance but could not see what was happening in the dark shadow over the desert.
After few hours, Set’s army was greatly reduced in number. The remaining men standing were too exhausted to fight anymore and were captured as prisoners by Horus’s men.
Horus took Ra and his wife, Goddess Astarte, and showed them the battlefield strewn with corpses. Ra embraced Horus. As he was getting old, Set and his supporters were nearing a rebellion and were planning to overthrow Ra. So it was a relief to see some of the conspirators punished.
But the battle between Set and Horus was far from over. Set still had many followers and his magical powers. Some of Set’s men and commanders crossed the Great River and escaped to the North country.
Set came to know the losses sustained in the battle and was enraged. He started plotting his next move. As powerful and cunning he was, he avoided taking Horus head on, just as any evil fears good in this world.
How Set used magic to make a countermove in his next battle – the ‘Battle of the Great River’ will be shared as another upcoming story!
Like (0)