Egypt Legends

The Greatest Magician in Egypt

It is often said that the good things come in small packages and it proved to be so when the young grandson of Ramesses the Great proved himself to be the greatest magician in Egypt.

Se-Osiris was the son of Setna, a great scribe. Setna's father was Ramesses the Great, and he served the Pharaoh.

On a hot and dusty day when the wind was blowing off the desert a tall stranger was brought into the cool throne room of Ramesses.

The man was proud but poor and dressed in dusty brown robes. He bowed to Pharaoh and said "O, King of Egypt, I come to you from the South where the magicians are strong with power. I have been sent by my King to challenge your magicians to prove that they are weak and cannot compare with those of the South."

And he held out his hand, and in it was a sealed papyrus scroll. He said, "I challenge all of Egypt to read what is on this scroll without breaking the seal. If no one can meet my challenge, I will return to my King and tell him that the magic of Egypt is weak."

Rameses scowled at the magician from the South and told his guards to escort him to the guest house while he took counsel from his nobles and advisers.

When the man had been escorted out of the hall, Setna spoke saying, "Pharaoh, when you next hold court, I will bring a magician who can match the challenge from the man from the South and show that the magicians of Egypt are the most powerful." But Setna was troubled for he must now search the land for such a powerful magician.

As Setna sat in the cool shade of his garden planning his task, his son Se-Osiris came to his side. Setna told Se-Osiris his troubles and was astonished when his son laughed at his story.

"Se-Osiris, why is it that you laugh when I am so troubled?"

Se-Osiris answered, "Do not be troubled, for I will read the sealed papyrus and humble this man and his proud King of the South."

Setna was doubtful of his son's boast, but he proposed that Se-Osiris prove his powers, and his son agreed. Setna sealed one of the papyrus from his daily dispatches and to his delight Se-Osiris read the words as if they were spread before him.

The next day when Pharaoh summoned his court Setna brought Se-Osiris to sit beside him. When the man from the South was brought into the hall Pharaoh called Setna to answer the man's challenge.

Setna rose and said, "This man's challenge is but mere child's play to the Magicians of Egypt. I have not troubled the master magiciansto come, but bring instead my son, Se-Osiris, to read the papyrus.

Se-Osiris stepped forward and gazed into the eyes of the Man from the South. After a few moments he turned to Pharaoh and began to tell him the tale that was written on the papyrus.

"Pharaoh, it is a tale of pride and insult to a Pharaoh in the past."

"Once a prideful magician in the South boasted that he could humiliate the Pharaoh of Egypt, and his King overheard him and asked that he make good his boast.

That night, the magician summoned all his power and he sent four ghostly litter bearers north, down the Nile, to the chambers of the sleeping Pharaoh and they stole him away and brought him back up the Nile to the magician. The magician and his King bound the Pharaoh and paraded him in front of the palace proclaiming that here was proof that the Pharaoh of the North was weak. And they dared to beat him across the back with canes so that welts rose in his flesh, but they didn't kill him, they just wanted to humiliate him. Just before dawn, the magician sent the litter bearers back down the Nile to return Pharaoh to his bed.

When Pharaoh awoke the next morning he realized that his nightmare was real and that the welts on his back were proof.

He sent for his chief magician and told him of his nightmare and commanded that the King of the South and his magician be repaid in kind and the Pharaoh should be made safe from further humiliations."

As Se-Osiris spoke the Man from the South gasped, stating, "It is true that is the story of the papyrus," and he backed toward the door.

"Stop him!" said Se-Osiris, "There is more."

Se-Osiris continued.

"The Egyptian Magician consulted with the priest of the god Ptah and slept that night at his alter to gain Ptah's wisdom, and the next day returned to the hall of Pharaoh.

When he found that Pharaoh had not been troubled in his sleep, he was pleased and he set about to see that it did not happen again. That night he set spells of great power around the Pharaoh sleeping couch and when the ghostly litter bearers appeared, the magician saw them waver and shake before the spells that protected the room. Soon, they faded away, and Pharaoh slept safely through the night.

The next night the Egyptian Magician created his own troup of ghostly litter bearers and they brought the King of the South to the hall of Pharaoh, where Pharaoh had him bound and beaten. Each night for four nights the King of the South was brought at the command of Pharaoh. Each night he suffered humiliation in the court of Pharaoh, and each day he called upon his own court magician to prevent the Pharaoh from taking him, but the magician of the South failed. In his fury, the King of the South cursed his magician to wander the earth until he could prove that there is a magic greater than that of Egypt."

The Man from the South struggled with the guards, crying for them to free him as he had done no harm.

"Yes, that is what is in the papyrus," the Man from the South admitted, "Now, may I go in peace, mighty Pharaoh?"

But Se-Osiris bowed to Pharaoh and said, "Do not let him go. He will not go in peace, for he is the Magician in the story and he has wandered for many years seeking to prove the weakness of Egyptian magic so that he can attack Pharaoh in revenge. Let us settle it today so that he will wander and skulk no more."

The Man from the South drew himself up when he heard this challenge from the boy. "Who are you to challenge the greatest magician in the South?" and he threw down the papyrus. The papyrus unrolled itself and changed into a large cobra that hissed and spit at Se-Osiris.

But Se-Osiris only laughed and waved his hand and the cobra became a small worm that slithered off.

The Man of the South howled in rage and called in a cloud of darkness that descended on the hall.

Se-Osiris began to whirl about and his robes seemed to soak up the darkness until Se- Osiris stopped and shook a black dust onto the floor. When he was finished he stood in the clear air and calmly gazed at the Man from the South.

Once again the Man from the South gathered his spells and a pillar of flame arose before him and moved across the floor toward Pharaoh.

Se-Osiris stepped in front of the flame and pushed it back with his arms. The flame stopped and then retreated toward the Man from the South.

Se-Osiris clapped his hands and cried "Enough, end it now."

The flame surrounded the Man from the South and he instantly dwindled into a pile of ashes.

Se-Osiris, turned to his father and Pharaoh and said, "He will not trouble Egypt again, for I have proven that the magic of Egypt is still stronger than that of the South."

The Great Pharaoh Ramesses replied, "And you, Se-Osiris are the greatest Magician in Egypt."