and that therefore Set was a liar. The gods accepted Thoth's proof
of the innocence of Osiris and the guilt of Set, and ordered that
Osiris was to be considered a Great God and to have rule over the
Kingdom of the Under World, and that Set was to be punished. Thoth
convinced them that Osiris was "MAA KHERU," "true of word," i.e.,
that he had spoken the truth when he gave his evidence, and in texts
of all periods Thoth is frequently described as S-MAA KHERU ASAR,
i.e., he who proved Osiris to be "true of word." As for Set the Liar,
he was seized by the ministers of the Great Gods, who threw him down
on his hands and face and made Osiris mount upon his back as a mark of
his victory and superiority. After this Set was bound with cords like a
beast for sacrifice, and in the presence of Thoth was hacked in pieces.


CHAPTER VI

Osiris as Judge of the Dead and King of the Under World.

When Set was destroyed Osiris departed from this world to the kingdom
which the gods had given him and began to reign over the dead. He was
absolute king of this realm, just as Ra the Sun-god was absolute king
of the sky. This region of the dead, or Dead-land, is called "Tat,"
or "Tuat," but where the Egyptians thought it was situated is not
quite clear. The original home of the cult of Osiris was in the Delta,
in a city which in historic times was called Tetu by the Egyptians and
Busiris by the Greeks, and it is reasonable to assume that the Tuat,
over which Osiris ruled, was situated near this place. Wherever it
was it was not underground, and it was not originally in the sky
or even on its confines; but it was located on the borders of the
visible world, in the Outer Darkness. The Tuat was not a place of