However, it actually makes a lot of sense when you consider the death and rebirth inherent in the agricultural cycle of planting and harvesting grain. This may seem rather strange as he was dead, and technically infertile. A decent burial combined with these spells pretty much guaranteed you would be welcomed into a blissful existence which bore a striking similarity to the ancient Egyptian’s everyday life (shorn of any problems). The spells needed to pass through Duat (the underworld) were described in great detail in the pyramid and coffin texts, “the book of coming forth by day” (also known as “the book of the dead”) and the “ book of gates“. Furthermore, the only barriers to entrance were those relating to the journey to the hall of judgment and the preservation of the body (in which the Ba resided) and your name. On his head was the atef-crown, composed of the white crown of Upper Egypt and two ostrich feathers.As Osiris had been a good and beneficent ruler during his lifetime, his presence in the underworld no doubt gave the people great comfort. The oldest known depiction of Osiris dates to about 2300 BCE, but representations of him are rare before the New Kingdom (1539–1075 BCE), when he was shown in an archaizing form as a mummy with his arms crossed on his breast, one hand holding a crook, the other a flail. Osiris was also identified with Soker, an ancient Memphite god of the dead. Greco-Roman authors connected Osiris with the god Dionysus. Later, the sprouting grain symbolized the vital strength of Osiris.Īt Memphis the holy bull, Apis, was linked with Osiris, becoming Osiris-Apis, which eventually became the name of the Hellenistic god Serapis. The mold was moistened with the water of the Nile and sown with grain. A central feature of the festivals during the late period was the construction of the “Osiris garden,” a mold in the shape of Osiris, filled with soil. Osiris festivals symbolically reenacting the god’s fate were celebrated annually in various towns throughout Egypt. Because the festivals took place in the open, public participation was permitted, and by the early 2nd millennium BCE it had become fashionable to be buried along the processional road at Abydos or to erect a cenotaph there as a representative of the dead. This name, meaning “Foremost of the Westerners,” was adopted by Osiris as an epithet. 1630 BCE) the god’s festivals consisted of processions and nocturnal rites and were celebrated at the temple of Abydos, where Osiris had assimilated the very ancient god of the dead, Khenty-Imentiu. The idea that rebirth in the next life could be gained by following Osiris was maintained through certain cult forms. In this universalized form Osiris’s cult spread throughout Egypt, often joining with the cults of local fertility and underworld deities. Instead, it signified the renewal of life both in the next world and through one’s descendants on Earth. This identification with Osiris, however, did not imply resurrection, for even Osiris did not rise from the dead. ![]() From about 2000 BCE onward it was believed that every man, not just the deceased kings, became associated with Osiris at death. Osiris was not only ruler of the dead but also the power that granted all life from the underworld, from sprouting vegetation to the annual flood of the Nile River. His son Horus successfully fought against Seth, avenging Osiris and becoming the new king of Egypt. ![]() Eventually, Isis and her sister Nephthys found and buried all the pieces, except the phallus, thereby giving new life to Osiris, who thenceforth remained in the underworld as ruler and judge. The god Seth was considered the murderer of Osiris and adversary of Horus.Īccording to the form of the myth reported by the Greek author Plutarch, Osiris was slain or drowned by Seth, who tore the corpse into 14 pieces and flung them over Egypt. The goddess Isis was the mother of the king and was thus the mother of Horus and consort of Osiris. Osiris and Horus were thus father and son. This dual role was in turn combined with the Egyptian concept of divine kingship: the king at death became Osiris, god of the underworld and the dead king’s son, the living king, was identified with Horus, a god of the sky. By about 2400 BCE, however, Osiris clearly played a double role: he was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king. The origin of Osiris is obscure he was a local god of Busiris, in Lower Egypt, and may have been a personification of chthonic (underworld) fertility. Osiris, also called Usir, one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt.
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