High and low Niles: A natural phenomenon and its mythological interpretation according to Plutarch,De Iside et Osiride 38 and Coffin Texts Spell 168 *

Abstract

Plutarch' De Iside et Osiride 38 identifies the Nile with Osiris' bodily fluids, the riparian lands with Isis, the part of the floodplain closest to the desert with Nepthys, and the desert with Seth. Moreover, the Nile flood is interpreted as Osiris impregnating Isis with Horus and Nephthys with Anubis. This can be interpreted as a new source about Seth's impotence and Osiris' committing adultery with Seth's wife Nephthys. CT spell 168, a hitherto obscure text about ‘joining the river banks,’ may be rooted in the same atmosphere. The text seems to describe Isis and Nephthys as the two river banks, and may relate the low Nile to the impotence of Seth, whose testicles are said to be crushed by the hands of Shesmu.