Egyptian joke

Compared with other polytheistic civilizations, the religion of ancient Egypt has a puzzling place, that is, it has no systematic myth. This is obviously different from India. Indian mythology is recorded in writing. Although there are many versions, they are generally completely recorded, and thousands of TV dramas can be filmed together. The myth of ancient Egypt is more passed down from generation to generation among the masses, and the most widely circulated is the legend of Osiris. I have outlined this story in other irrelevant essays, so I might as well tell it again here.

Osiris is a judge of hell, but in fact he lives in heaven. He sentenced guilty souls to hell, while innocent souls were with him. Once upon a time, Osiris descended to earth and became a Pharaoh, educating Egyptians in agriculture, law, religion and art, but a god named Seth hated Osiris's prestige and killed him. Osiris's sister and wife Isis were very sad and ordered her and Osiris's son Horus to catch Seth. After Seth was arrested and imprisoned, Isis relented after seeing Seth's face. Because Seth is her brother, he let Seth go silently. Horus was so angry that he cut off his mother's head in a rage.

Here is an embarrassing point: Isis is a god, and even if her head is cut off, she still can't die. She just has no brains. Maybe it's just a little inconvenient for her ... but in terms of human perception, isn't it shocking? Just after everyone was embarrassed for a while, a god named Thoth gave Isis a cow's head, and then Isis had another head. In this widely circulated folk myth, these gods are quite human. Except for Osiris, they have done some inappropriate things, just as humans often do some inappropriate things. If Isis's tenderness for his brother is understandable-maybe Seth is good-looking and she is a bit "brother-controlled"-then it is not appropriate for Horus to cut off his mother's head; Since Thoth has the ability to repair heads, why give them a cow head?

It can be said that myth is the expression of people's ideological tendency in that era, which is quite humanized and has the mystery of cold jokes, reflecting the less serious side of ancient Egyptians. Osiris, Isis, Horus and Thoth mentioned in the myth are all popular gods in ancient Egypt, and Seth is an evil god. But I don't think it's necessary to say "Seth is universally hated". Considering that ancient Egyptians generally believed in witchcraft, I'm afraid there are wizards who secretly worship Seth. This is the difference between religion in ancient Egypt and other civilizations. Mythical figures like Seth are often regarded as monsters and villains in other polytheists, but in the eyes of ancient Egyptians, Seth is also an irresistible god and deserves human awe.

Besides Seth, there are some evil spirits, such as Ulte, who looks like a combination of hippo and crocodile, Bess, a short evil spirit with a pinch of feathers on his bald head, and Apep, an evil spirit with gorgeous patterns and wrinkled serpents, who is Seth's ally. I know what the ancient Egyptians want to express, but the expression of this poisonous snake on the mural is so cute that it is not terrible at all. In addition, the religion of ancient Egypt is regional, and each province believes in different gods, which may be regarded as an evil god in this region and a positive god in another region. Even though Seth is recognized as the evil god in many areas, he was worshipped as the sun god instead of Dora in certain years, although this triggered a religious war.

The regional characteristics of religion also have its historical reasons. For example, the first Pharaoh in ancient Egypt designated Memphis as the capital, so Memphis people worshipped creation gods like Buta and Tam. The big city of Thebes, on the other hand, has a different cultural view, worshiping the gods of Luo and Kearns, which represent the sun and the moon. While those areas that are often affected by wars worship gods with the characteristics of "God of War", such as Tam and Horus. Of course, Hapi, the God of the Nile, will never be forgotten.