Set and Nephthys also married before their birth, and Nephthys brought
forth a son named Anpu (Anubis), though he is not mentioned in the
legend. Of these gods Osiris is singled out for special mention in the
legend, in which Khepera, speaking as Neb-er-tcher, says that his name
is Ausares, who is the essence of the primeval matter of which he
himself is formed. Thus Osiris was of the same substance as the Great
God who created the world according to the Egyptians, and was a
reincarnation of his great-grandfather. This portion of the legend
helps to explain the views held about Osiris as the great ancestral
spirit, who when on earth was a benefactor of mankind, and who when in
heaven was the saviour of souls.

The legend speaks of the sun as the Eye of Khepera, or Neb-er-tcher,
and refers to some calamity which befell it and extinguished its light.
This calamity may have been simply the coming of night, or eclipses, or
storms; but in any case the god made a second Eye, i.e., the Moon, to
which he gave some of the splendour of the other Eye, i.e., the Sun,
and he gave it a place in his Face, and henceforth it ruled throughout
the earth, and had special powers in respect of the production of
trees, plants, vegetables, herbs, etc. Thus from the earliest times
the moon was associated with the fertility of the earth, especially in
connection with the production of abundant crops and successful
harvests.

According to the legend, men and women sprang not from the earth, but
directly from the body of the god Khepera, or Neb-er-tcher, who placed
his members together and then wept tears upon them, and men and women,
came into being from the tears which had fallen from his eyes. No
special mention is made of the creation of beasts in the legend, but
the god says that he created creeping things of all kinds, and among