Week 4 Storytelling: Sabu's Job Interview

Sabu's job interview

Job posting: Advisor to the next king needed. You must demonstrate a strong desire to serve. Experience in malicious plans and conquering governments a plus. 


Sabu the Usurper: I see you are here for the job opening.

Khamet: Yes, my name is Khamet. I am interested in the position. I worked for Set for over 20 years.

Sabu the Usurper: I know of Set, he ruled Egypt for many years. The tales of his thirst for power is well known throughout. How is it you came to be unemployed?

Khamet: Set was challenged for the throne by his nephew Horus. After many battles, Set was run out of Egypt. He was grievously injured and was no longer able to fight back. After losing the throne he was ruined. He had no farther use for me.

Sabu the Usurper: I see. I wondered what had become of him. You say you worked for him for over 20 years, what skills did you offer him?

Khamet: I was his advisor, I helped him develop and put forth many of his diabolical plans.

Sabu the Usurper: Of the plans you helped devise, which do you feel was the most evil?

Khamet: The most evil thing I feel I have ever been a part of; I helped Set kill his brother Osiris and take over the throne.

Sabu the Usurper: That is pretty evil indeed. Go on, elaborate. Tell me how this came about and your part in it.

Khamet: I was young; I was doing what I could to survive. This mostly meant stealing whatever I could get my hands on and selling it. I attempted to steal a horse from a wealthy couple and Set caught me. He told me that he could see that I had great potential and if I gave him the horse then he would give me the opportunity to work for him and that I could make much more working for him than I ever could by stealing horses.

Sabu the Usurper: But how did you come to kill his brother?

Khamet: Well, Set told me and a few others that worked for him that he planned to take the throne from Osiris. What he needed from us, was a foolproof plan and the opportunity to execute the plan. We brainstormed several ideas and I came up with one that Set decided would be perfect. I purposed that we should build a box, with the exact specifications of Osiris’ size. We should decorate it elaborately, and present it as a gift fit for a king. All we needed was the perfect opportunity to give it to him. Now I know it doesn’t sound like that would be a great plan, but it would be completely unexpected. No one suspected that Set would betray his brother. The opportunity to present the box soon arose. Osiris had just returned from a mission and a royal feast was held in his honor. We took the box with us to the feast and it was admired by all. Seeing the shape of the box, everyone wanted to try to fit themselves inside of it. Set told everyone that he would only give it to the person who fits the specifications of the box exactly. Many people tried, but none fit exactly. Curiosity got the best of Osiris, as I told Set it would, and he lay down inside the box. At that moment I, and several of Set’s other followers, quickly closed the lid. We nailed it shut and sealed the lid. The box was then tossed into the Nile under the cover of darkness. Osiris was gone and Set took over the throne. Set then made me his closest adviser. I worked closely with him ever since.

Sabu the Usurper: The plan was yours? I am quite impressed. You do have quite a malicious streak.

Khamet: Thank you. I do take pride in my work. I cannot stand to see some righteous humanitarian waste all that power.

Sabu the Usurper: I think you would be the perfect addition to my army. You have the job. Welcome! You start immediately; I have a kingdom to overthrow.

Set

Author's note: I used both the stories Death of Osiris and King of the Dead as the basis for my story. King of the Dead is a continuation of Death of Osiris. The Journey of Isis actually takes place between the two stories, but I did not pull any part of my story from it.

I decided that it would be interesting for one of Set's closest advisors to be looking for employment after Set was defeated. I figured that after Set was defeated, his followers and advisors would be out of a job. There is always someone who needs help carrying out his evil deeds, and in this story it is Sabu the Usurper. I set it up as an interview where Khamet told the story of how he helped Set kill Osiris and take the throne, to explain to Sabu the Usurper in the interview just what he was capable of doing. I explained Osiris' death pretty much how the story explained it, I just added in the part where Khamet helped setup the plans. I completely made up the names Khamet and Sabu, I was just looking for Egyptian sounding names. There is no basis for the names from the myths.

Bibliography: Egypt: The Death of Osiris and King of the Dead by Donald Mackenzie (1907)

Week 4: Reading Diary - Ancient Egyptian Myths continued

Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories - Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).

I didn't like this part of the reading as much as the first part.

The Two Brothers - This story was kind of hard to follow. I felt like it was multiple stories forced together. Although the entire thing was about these two brothers, It was very choppy and I feel like each part never really had an end, nor did it flow well into the next part.

The Book of Thoth - This story was better, but I really didn't care for it too much. I don't even know why. I guess I don't understand why he had to go after the book. Because he liked to read, doesn't really make since to me.

The Tale of King Rhampsinitus - Ha, his name sounds like a disease. This story was the best of the reading. Although the beginning about the statues he had erected, had no influence to the rest of the story. Why point that out? I did like the ending where the king liked how cunning and daring the boy was and ended up offering him his daughter in marrage. I didn't expect that.

 

 (temple complex at Karnak)

Week 4: Reading Diary - Ancient Egyptian Myths

Ancient Egyptian Myths and Stories - Egyptian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (1907).


The Secret Name of Ra - I really enjoyed this story. Isis, desperate to know the secret name of Ra that gave him his divine power, created a poisonous snake. That snake bit her father, Ra. Isis insisted that he tell her that name so that she may have the power to heal him. He gave her the name and she did indeed keep her word and healed him. I thought it was interesting because she could have destroyed him once she had that power, but did not.

The Goddess Isis

Osiris - This story reminded me greatly of Jesus. Osiris grew up to become a great and peaceful ruler. He taught man to grow barley and wheat and corn, and how to make it so that it would keep their pantries full. He taught man to worship the gods and live holy lives. He taught by way of song and music and persuasive speech. He sounds like the perfect ruler.

The Death of Osiris - Osiris was betrayed by his jealous brother Set. Set killed Osiris by tricking him to get into a box and then sealing Osiris inside of it. There are so many stories in history of brothers killing brothers out of jealousy. Set took over the throne, and led the country into despair. Now that I think about it, this story and the King of the Dead together parallel The Lion King. Jealous brother kills the good brother that is ruling, evil brother takes over throne, son grows up to challenge uncle and takes his rightful place as ruler.