Horus has grown up in the marshes. Now he wants his father’s throne, and his uncle Set is sitting on it. The gods hold a trial.
Myths of Egypt · Time clauses
Horus and Set
When, as soon as, before, after, until, while, once and by the time: the grammar of what happened first, for eighty years of contests between a young falcon god and his uncle, before a court of gods who could not make up their minds.
🦅 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are Horus.Play the gamebook →
SOPHIA
MARCOS
A trial? I thought they’d just fight.
The story
After the Egyptian tales of the contest of Horus and Set
When Horus had grown up, he came before the court of the gods and claimed his father’s throne. Set said the throne was his, because he was the strongest. The gods argued for eighty years. Ra, the sun god, who presided over the court, could not decide.
Set proposed contests. First, they would both turn into hippopotamuses and stay under the water for three months: whoever came up first would lose. Isis was so worried that she threw a harpoon into the water to help her son, but it struck Horus by mistake, and then Set, whom she pitied and released.
Then Set proposed a boat race, in boats made of stone. Horus built a boat of cedar wood and covered it with plaster so that it looked like stone. Set cut off the top of a mountain and made a boat of real stone, and as soon as he launched it, it sank. Set turned into a hippopotamus and smashed Horus’s boat, and the gods still could not agree.
In the end, the gods wrote to Osiris in the land of the dead. Osiris answered: “Why is my son being cheated? Who makes the barley and the wheat that feed you? I do.” And the court at last gave the throne to Horus. Set was given a place in the sky, in the sun god’s boat, where his thunder could frighten Ra’s enemies.
A version of the Contendings of Horus and Set, told in brief.
What we know today
The fullest version of this story is written on a papyrus from about 1150 BCE, found at Thebes and now in Dublin. It is a comedy as much as a myth: the gods quarrel, sulk, and change their minds, and Ra himself storms out of court at one point because a god insults him.
For the Egyptians, the living king was Horus, and when he died he became Osiris. The story explains why every pharaoh had the right to rule.
When, as soon as
DEMETRIA
“As soon as he launched it, it sank.” That’s very quick.
SOPHIA
as soon as = immediately when. when is more general. In the past, both take the past simple: when Horus had grown up, he came before the court.
Before, after, until
PHILO
“They argued until Osiris wrote.” And before the court decided, after the race.
SOPHIA
before and after can take a clause or -ing: after launching the boat. until = up to that time: they waited under the water until one of them came up.
While
MARCOS
“While they were under the water, Isis threw a harpoon.”
SOPHIA
while + past continuous for the longer background action, as we learned with Joseph.
Present tenses for the future
THE CLERK
“Whoever comes up first will lose.” Not “whoever will come up”?
SOPHIA
Exactly. After when, as soon as, until, before, after, once and by the time, English uses a present tense for the future: I’ll leave when the race ends. We’ll wait until Osiris answers. Never “when the race will end”.
Once and by the time
PHILO
Once the gods have read the letter, they will decide. By the time they decided, eighty years had passed.
SOPHIA
once = as soon as, after. by the time often goes with a perfect tense: something was already finished at that moment.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the story |
|---|---|---|
| when / as soon as + past simple | one thing after another (as soon as = immediately) | As soon as he launched it, it sank. |
| before / after + clause or -ing | order of events | After launching the boat, he… |
| until | up to that moment | They argued until Osiris wrote. |
| while + past continuous | background action | While they were under the water, … |
| when / until / once… + present for the future | no will after these words | Whoever comes up first will lose. |
| by the time + perfect | already completed | By the time they decided, eighty years had passed. |
Practice
Answer all the questions, then press “Check my answers”. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Choose the best form
Choose the form that fits best.
1. As soon as Set ___ his stone boat, it sank.
2. The gods argued ___ Osiris sent his letter.
3. Whoever ___ up first will lose.
4. ___ they were under the water, Isis threw a harpoon.
5. By the time the gods decided, eighty years ___.
6. We’ll decide once we ___ the letter.
B · Complete the sentence
Write the missing word or words.
7. Horus covered his boat with plaster the race began. (earlier)
8. launching his boat, Set watched it sink. (later)
9. I’ll tell you the court decides. (at that time, future)
10. They stayed under the water one of them came up.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
11. “The gods will decide when Osiris will answer.”
12. “As soon as the boat touched the water, it sank.”
13. “By the time Horus won, Set had lost every contest.”
Now take the throne yourself, as Horus, before the court of the gods.Play the gamebook →