We live in Egypt, and we have read stories from Greece, Judea and Babylon, but not one Egyptian story. Tonight, the most famous of all. Every Egyptian child in Alexandria knows it.
Myths of Egypt · Relative clauses
Isis and Osiris
Who, which, that, whose, where and when: the grammar of saying which one you mean, for the most famous story in Egypt: a murdered king, a coffin that floated to Byblos, and a queen who searched the whole world for her husband.
🪲 Play the story too: in the gamebook, you are Isis.Play the gamebook →
SOPHIA
MARCOS
My nurse used to tell it. It’s the one with the coffin.
The story
After Diodorus of Sicily and Herodotus
Osiris was the king who taught the Egyptians to farm and to make laws. His wife was Isis, who was wiser than all the gods. But his brother Set was jealous. Set made a beautiful chest which fitted Osiris exactly, and at a feast he promised to give it to the guest whose body it fitted. When Osiris lay down in it, Set slammed the lid, sealed it with lead, and threw it into the Nile.
The river carried the chest out to sea, all the way to Byblos, a city on the coast of Phoenicia, where it came to rest in a tamarisk tree. The tree grew around the chest and hid it inside its trunk. The king of Byblos, who admired the tree, cut it down and made it into a pillar for his palace.
Isis, whose grief was so great that she cut off her hair, searched everywhere. At last she came to Byblos, where she became the nurse of the queen’s baby. She revealed who she was, took the pillar, and carried the chest home to Egypt.
But Set found the body while he was hunting by moonlight, cut it into fourteen pieces, and scattered them along the Nile. Isis searched again, with her sister Nephthys, and found them all. With the help of Thoth and Anubis she made Osiris whole, the first mummy, and he became king of the dead. And their son Horus grew up in the marshes of the Delta, hidden from Set, to avenge his father.
Told by Diodorus of Sicily in Greek, about fifty years ago; Herodotus knew it too, but thought it too holy to tell in full.
What we know today
The story was known in Egypt for at least two thousand years before Diodorus. The fullest ancient account is by the Greek writer Plutarch, who lived about a century after our gang, in his essay On Isis and Osiris.
The worship of Isis spread all over the Roman Empire, as far as Britain, and her temples in Italy were packed with worshippers. The famous temple of Isis at Philae, near Elephantine, was one of the last temples of the old gods to close, in the 6th century CE.
Who, which, that
SOPHIA
A relative clause tells us which one we mean. who for people: the king who taught the Egyptians to farm. which for things: a chest which fitted him exactly. that for either, in informal English.
MARCOS
So “the tree that grew around the chest.”
Whose
DEMETRIA
“Isis, whose grief was so great…”. Her grief. So whose means her?
SOPHIA
Whose shows possession: his, her, its, their. The guest whose body it fitted = the guest; his body fitted it. It works for things too: a tree whose trunk hid a coffin.
Where and when
PHILO
“Byblos, where the chest came to rest.” And “the night when Set went hunting”.
SOPHIA
where for places, when for times: the marshes where Horus grew up; the moment when Osiris lay down.
Commas or not?
THE CLERK
Sometimes you use commas and sometimes you don’t. Which is it?
SOPHIA
No commas when the clause tells us which one: the chest which Set made. Commas when it just adds extra information about something we already know: Isis, who was wiser than all the gods, searched everywhere. With commas, you can’t use that.
Leaving out who, which, that
PHILO
“The chest Set made.” No which at all.
SOPHIA
Yes: when the relative word is the object of the clause, we can leave it out: the chest (which) Set made; the husband (who) she was looking for. But not when it’s the subject: the king who taught, never the king taught.
Sophia’s summary
| Form | Use | From the story |
|---|---|---|
| who / that | people | the king who taught the Egyptians to farm |
| which / that | things | a chest which fitted him exactly |
| whose | possession (his, her, its, their) | Isis, whose grief was so great… |
| where / when | places / times | Byblos, where the chest came to rest |
| commas | extra information (no that) | Isis, who was wiser than all the gods, … |
| (no relative word) | only when it is the object | the chest Set made |
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. Osiris was the king ___ taught the Egyptians to farm.
2. Set made a chest ___ fitted Osiris exactly.
3. Byblos is the city ___ the chest came to rest.
4. Isis, ___ grief was great, searched everywhere.
5. Isis, ___ was wiser than all the gods, found the chest.
6. That was the night ___ Set went hunting.
B · Complete the sentence
Write the missing relative word.
7. The king of Byblos, admired the tree, cut it down.
8. He promised it to the guest body it fitted.
9. Horus grew up in the marshes Set could not find him.
10. The tree grew around the chest hid it completely.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
11. “The chest Set made was beautiful.”
12. “Isis, that was very wise, searched everywhere.”
13. “Osiris was the king taught the Egyptians to farm.”
Now search for Osiris yourself, as Isis, as far as Byblos and back.Play the gamebook →