Riordan Wiki
Advertisement
Riordan Wiki
Nuvola apps important Moses is still unfinished

This article is still being updated with information. As such, information may be missing or incomplete. Please consult the talk page to see what you can help contribute to the page.



Moses, known as Moshe by his own people (the Israelites, who speak Hebrew) and Musa in Arabic, was a follower of the Abrahamic God. He challenged the House of Life in ancient times and was the only foreign magician to ever defeat the House of Life.

History

Moses was born to Israelite slaves in Egypt. He was sent down the Nile by his mother and found and taken in by the Pharaoh's daughter. He grew up in the Pharaoh's court with the Pharaoh's heir until he learned of his true heritage, accidentally killed an Egyptian, and ran away. He later returned to challenge the House of Life and the Egyptian gods with the power of the God of Israel.

The Ten Plagues

Moses appeared before the Pharaoh and told him that his God commanded that he liberate the Israelites from their slavery in Egypt. He showed them the power of God and turned his staff into a snake. The Pharaoh's magicians turned their own staffs into snakes, and while Moses was victorious, Pharaoh still refused his commands. After the Pharaoh refused to let the Israelite slaves go, Moses unleashed the infamous Plagues of Egypt, wielding God's power and taunting the Egyptian Gods.

The Plagues are as follows:

  • Water into Blood: Moses had his brother Aaron dip his staff into the Nile, turning it to blood and killing the fish, leaving a stench all through Egypt. The Pharaoh's magicians demonstrated that they could also turn the water to blood, so the Pharaoh did not heed Moses's demands. This plague was probably meant to mock the gods of the Nile, Sobek and Hapi.
  • Frogs: Aaron rose his staff over the water and summoned hordes of frogs from the Nile to overrun Egypt. This is specifically mocking Heket, the frog goddess.
  • Lice: Aaron strikes the dust with his staff and it became lice all throughout Egypt, covering the animals and people. Sources and interpretation differ whether it was lice, gnats, or fleas that were brought forth.
  • Flies: flies were sent against the people and animals of Egypt, but not the Israelites that lived there. This plague is a "swarm" of "wild animals." mostly said to be flies.
  • Diseased Livestock: an epidemic wiped out the Egyptians' livestock, but left the Israelites' livestock unharmed. This plague mocks the Apis bull, who died with no one to replace him.
  • Boils: Moses and Aaron toss handfuls of soot into the air in the Pharaoh's presence and it became a fine dust that gave both the Egyptians and their livestock festering boils. The Egyptian magicians could not heal themselves or anyone else of this skin disease. This plague mocks Sekhmet and her control over diseases and pestilence, as well as Thoth, god of knowledge including medicine.
  • Thunderstorm of Hail and Fire: Moses stretched his staff skyward and called down the worst storm in the history of Egypt. This is sent to mock the god of the storm, Set, who was a powerful and important figure to the Pharaohs (see category Mythology of Set) of that dynasty. Possibly, this is also a stab at Egypt's lack of a god of ice (see Felix).
  • Locusts: Moses stretched his staff over Egypt and a wind picked up from the east, the next day bringing with it a swarm of locusts larger than any Egypt had ever seen. Once considered good luck, locusts overran and ate all the vegetation that was left after the storm.
  • Darkness: Moses stretched his hands over Egypt and spread a darkness over Egypt for three days that was so heavy that it could be felt. This plague was directly aimed at Ra, the sun god, as well as Horus, the sky god, the most important gods to the Pharaoh.
  • Death of Firstborn: all of the people's and animals' firstborn children died overnight, and a great wailing could be heard throughout all of Egypt, such as never been heard nor ever will again. After this, Pharaoh at last let the Israelites go.

Journey to the Promised Land

Moses then led the Israelites from Egypt to the land that God had promised them, a land flowing with milk and honey. When they came to the Red Sea, Moses commanding the power of God parted the Sea and let the Israelites escape from Egypt. For forty years the Israelites wandered lost in the desert as God guided them, following a column of cloud by day and of fire by night. Often they survived by the grace of God, finding water and food miraculously.

The Kane Chronicles

The Red Pyramid

When walking through the Hall of Ages, Zia points out the memory of Moses. Zia says he is the only foreign magician to have ever beat the House of Life. Carter suggests she is kidding, but Zia says she would never kid about such matters.

The Throne of Fire

While exploring the Nile looking for Zia, Bes tells Carter to part the river, a simple command. Carter tells him he doesn't know how, which causes Bes to put in perspective the feat of parting a river. He recalls the magician Djadjaemankh [1] (though not by name) parting the river just to retrieve a girl's fallen necklace. Bes also mentions "that Israelite fellow," Moses, incorrectly calling him "Mickey", acknowledging his feat of parting the Red Sea.

Trivia

  • It could be said that Moses followed the Path of the Gods, since Moses wielded the power of God. It can also be deduced that his God is more powerful than the Egyptian Gods.
  • Aaron, Moses's brother, also inflicted some of the plagues so he could be considered a magician as well, but this is unconfirmed.
  • While the old sources claim that Moses wielded the power of the God of Israel, it is unconfirmed whether He is in fact the One who gave Moses his power.
  • Many of Moses's incredible feats can be reflected in Egyptian Magic. The Egyptian magicians can replicate the changing of the staff into a snake, the water to blood, and the summoning of frogs. However, they soon realized Moses wielded more power than they as they could not perform all the feats. The parting of a body of water, such as the Red Sea or the Nile, is also commonplace in Egyptian magic. The fire spell of the Pillar of Fire is also comparable to the column of fire that led the Israelites to the Promised Land.
Advertisement