Set (also spelled Seth) was and the ancient Egyptian god of desert, storms, and darkness. Jealous of his brother Osiris, he hosted a gathering and brought a beautiful coffin. He challenged all to try the coffin for size. The one who fit it perfectly could have it. Osiris was wary and was the last to tryonce inside, Set closed and locked the coffin and set it adrift on the Nile River. Isis, the wife and brother of Osiris, searched for the coffin, found it embedded in a massive tree trunk (or in a column in Lebanon - a cedar of Lebanon, according to some tales). She cut out the coffin, but Set found Osiris and choped him into pieces, which Isis collected and made whole - hence Osiris is the god of death and rebirth. In this 1915 illustration, Osiris (left) is shown just about to step into the coffin made by Set.