18
As they relate, Isis proceeded to her son Horus, who was being reared in Buto, Cf. 366 a, infra. and bestowed the chest in a place well out of the way; but Typhon, who was hunting by night in the light of the moon, happened upon it. Recognizing the body he divided it into fourteen parts Cf. 368 a, infra. Diodorus, i. 21, says sixteen parts. and scattered them, each in a different place. Isis learned of this and sought for them again, sailing through the swamps in a boat of papyrus. Cf. Eusebius, Praepar. Evang. v. p. 198 b. This is the reason why people sailing in such boats are not harmed by the crocodiles, since these creatures in their own way show either their fear or their reverence for the goddess.
18
The traditional result of Osiris’s dismemberment is that there are many so-called tombs of Osiris in Egypt Cf. 359 a, 365 a, infra, and Diodorus, i. 21.; for Isis held a funeral for each part when she had found it. Others deny this and assert that she caused effigies of him to be made and these she distributed among the several cities, pretending that she was giving them his body, in order that he might receive divine honours in a greater number of cities, and also that, if Typhon should succeed in overpowering Horus, he might despair of ever finding the true tomb when so many were pointed out to him, all of them called the tomb of Osiris. Cf. Diodorus, i. 21.