Epic Stories

Welcome to egyptian stories!

Osiris, Isis and Set

The story of Osiris, Isis and Set is one of ancient Egypt’s most important myths. Osiris is a just king, Isis is his clever and devoted wife, and Set is the powerful brother who kills him. Their struggle explains why Osiris rules the dead and why Isis protects kingship and family. It also leads to the birth of Horus, who fights Set for Egypt’s throne. There is no single ancient scroll containing every familiar scene, so modern retellings combine evidence from different periods. I find the heart of the story easy to recognise: love and persistence answer a terrible act of betrayal.

Fun fact: Isis searches across Egypt to recover the pieces of Osiris.

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Ra and the Secret Name

Ra and the Secret Name is an Egyptian story about the goddess Isis gaining knowledge from the Sun god himself. Ra is ancient, mighty and creator of many things, but age has begun to affect his human form. Isis is already skilled in magic, yet she wants the greatest magical knowledge of all: Ra’s hidden true name. In Egyptian belief, a name was part of someone’s identity and power. Knowing a divine name could make a spell more effective. I like this story because Isis wins through patience and intelligence rather than a battle.

Fun fact: Isis tricks Ra into revealing the secret name behind his power.

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The Tale of Two Brothers

The Tale of Two Brothers is one of the most complete stories to survive from ancient Egypt. It follows Anpu and his younger brother Bata through farm work, false accusation, exile, magic, death, transformations and kingship. The plot is so packed that it feels like an ancient adventure series squeezed into one papyrus. It was copied during the reign of Seti II, near the end of the nineteenth dynasty, by a scribe named Ennana. The manuscript is called Papyrus D’Orbiney and is kept in the British Museum.

Fun fact: The Tale of Two Brothers survives on an ancient Egyptian papyrus.

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The Eye of Ra

The Eye of Ra is not simply one eyeball in one fixed story. In Egyptian religion it is a powerful goddess and an extension of the Sun god’s force. Different texts identify the Eye with Hathor, Sekhmet, Tefnut, Bastet, Wadjet and other goddesses. She can protect Ra, burn his enemies and shine as the Sun’s blazing disc. She can also become angry, leave Egypt and need to be persuaded home. I think the Eye is fascinating because the same power can be protective or dangerously fierce depending on how it is used.

Fun fact: The Eye of Ra could act as a fierce independent goddess.

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The Myth of the Bennu

The Bennu was ancient Egypt’s sacred bird of beginnings and renewal. It was especially connected with Heliopolis, the Sun gods Ra and Atum, and the resurrected god Osiris. Modern retellings sometimes offer a neat adventure called the Myth of the Bennu, but Egyptian sources do not preserve one continuous story with a beginning, villain and ending. Instead, short religious passages and images reveal several linked ideas. I imagine the Bennu arriving in the stillness of the first morning, when the world has only just risen from the water.

Fun fact: The Bennu bird was connected with creation, renewal and the rising sun.

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The Seven Wise Women of Egypt

The title The Seven Wise Women of Egypt is not the usual ancient name for a known group. The figures that best match it are the Seven Hathors, seven goddesses who appear in Egyptian stories and announce a newborn child’s fate. They are forms or companions of Hathor, a major goddess of love, music, joy, motherhood and the sky. Calling them wise women makes their role easy to picture, but I would label them the Seven Hathors on a history page so readers learn the attested name.

Fun fact: Seven Hathors could appear at birth and announce a child’s fate.

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