Relationships Talk

Love of Isis and Osiris

(Click the link above for a copy of the story)

The African story of Isis (Auset) and Osiris (Ausar), is probably the  earliest stories known. In this story Isis and Osiris, one of two couples, the other being Seth and Nephthys, who are at once human and divine, working together to bring civilization to not only their own kingdom, but also to the world. However, Seth, who is jealous brother of Osiris, murders him. The story goes on to detail the deep love, passion, and commitment that Isis, the beloved wife of Osiris, shows in finding and resurrecting her husband to life, and then after his second death, the effort to which she goes to give him immortality, as shown in the numerous memorials she had constructed throughout Kemet (Egypt) to keep his memory alive.

The story has survived over 4,000 years to contemporary times and is important for several reasons. First, if one wants to understand relationships and their complexity, one must begin with Africa. The story of Isis and Osiris is probably the oldest story, it is an African story, and it laid the foundation for not only understanding challenges that relationships and families face, but how they can overcome these challenges. Many of the themes, e.g. resurrection, immaculate conception, etc. laid the foundation for Christianity. Second, it shows the love, devotion, and commitment between Isis and Osiris who are brother and sister, husband and wife, and human and divine, and what can be achieved when two people work together in harmony. Third, many of the themes in the Isis and Osiris story can be applied to contemporary relationships. Finally, it shows the possibilities of what can be achieved if couples work together to overcome challenges to their relationships. (Click the link above for a copy of the story)

Source:  African American Male/Female Relationships: A Reader
Patricia Dixon, Ph.D.