The Son of Wesir
This is one of the stories in the Delta Cycle, a group of tales from the mythical period ofAnceinet Egypt called the 'First Time', when the gods wandered upon the earth and ruled it. They are stories about the childhood of Heru as he grew up, hidden and protected by his mother Aset in Chemmis, an area of marshes in the Lower Egypt northeast delta, said to be near the ancient city of Buto.
Already in the 5th Dynasty there are different versions of these stories. Spells for snake bites are found in the Pyramid Texts from this time, and two large fragments have been preserved during the Late Period, written on various supports for statues of Heru as curative spells against poisonous bites. Obviously they stem from earlier sources, and they are also to be found on medical papyrii.
The ancient Egyptian name for Horus the Child was Hor pa khered, which the Greeks translated into Harpokrates and Plutarch believed that Horus was a second child of Isis, born prematurely and with deforemd legs.
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When Aset had given life back to Wesir (Gr: Osiris), she conceived a child and in the marshlands of Chemmis she gave birth to Heru, (Gr: Horus) the son of Wesir. His childhood was filled with dangers and Aset (Gr: Isis) had to hide his existence so that Set should not discover him and suspect that a son of Wesir had been born that would take revenge on Set when he grew to manhood. No matter how Aset tried to watch constantly over him, Set found them and lured them into a spinning-mill, pretending to Aset it was for her own safety. She had no chance to flee with the young child, but eventually Djehuty, (Gr: Thoth)the god of Wisdom saw her need and came to her aid.
Scorpions and Mothers
In the dark of the night Djehuty helped Aset out of her prison. He sent seven magical scorpions, led by Tefen to help and to guard her on her way. And so, for the third time, Aset set out wandering, now carrying her baby son in her arms. After many days of travelling she reached a town, where she stopped by a big, wealthy-looking house and asked for food and a resting-place. But the rich woman was scared by the sight of the seven scorpions that accompanied them, and closed the door on Aset. When she wearily prepared to walk on, a poor fisher woman approached them and offered them to share her meager meal. While Aset rested, Tefen and the rest of the scorpions decided to take their revenge on the rich woman who had denied them help, and during the night Tefen crept into her house and stung her child. When the child cried out of pain and woke the mother, she ran in search of help, carrying the esmall child in her arms, but noone knew what to do.
Her cries woke up Aset, who soon found out what had been done, and, looking down at her own child, who slept calmly, she felt pity for the mother and called for her to come so that she could help her. And Aset ordered the poision of Tefen to leave the body of the boy and at once the fever left him and his breath became easy again. When the mother understood whom she had refused, she became very agitated, and collected all her possessions and carried them over to the poor woman´s house, trying to make amends for her pride. Aset rejoiced on behalf of the poor woman, and the next day she resumed her journey.
In Chemmis
When they reached the marshes of Chemmis, where Djehuty had told her to go, she hid Heru in the papyri and lotus thickets. There she had to leave him to go begging for food. But for the third time Set found out about them, and as he could not pass unseen through the brushes, he transformed himself into a snake. That way he could reach the child, sting it and then get quickly away.
One day, when Aset returned to the hidingplace, she found her child lieing lifeless on his back and she could hardly hear his heartbeat. She did not know what kind of illness had struck her son, and when she began working with her magic, her power had deserted her. She was alone, her husband was dead, none of the gods were there to help her and she despaired. She took Heru in her arms and ran to the village nearby and the fishermen who lived there took pity on her and tried everything they could to heal the child, but nothing helped. Then someone brought a wize woman who examined Heru closely, consoled Aset and said that it must be Set who had disguised himself as a snake or a scorpion and poisoned the child. Aset understood that the woman was right and that this must somehow be the doings of Set and her anger rose within her.
Shaking Heaven and Earth
She let out such a wail that the earth shook and the sunboat stopped its course, for Aset knew the secret name of Ra, the King of the Gods. When he heard Aset cry and noticed that his sunboat had stopped so that there was no more light on the lands, he sent Djehuty to find out what had happened. Aset told Djehutyh that Heru had been poisoned by Set and that she whished she had died together with Wesir. She had lived on only to see Heru grow up and take revenge on Set for Wesir´s death, but now there was no reason for her to live any longer.
Djehuty consoled her and began to utter his powerful words and after a while the poison was driven out from Heru´s body and he was brought back to life again. But Aset and the child had to stay in the marshlands until Heru was grown enough to revenge his father and take the throne back from Set. To make sure they were safe, Djehuty ordered the people of the marshes and all birds and animals who lived there to keep watch over them. And while Aset rejoiced, Djehuty returned to the heavens and to the sunboat.
Sources:
Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt - R.T. Rundle Clark
Handbook of Egyptian Mythology - Geraldine Pinch
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