Difference between revisions of "Osiris" - New World Encyclopedia

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[[Image:Osiris MKL1888.png|rig ht|thumb|200px|Typical depiction of Osiris]]
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[[Image:Osiris MKL1888.png|rig ht|thumb|200px|A typical depiction of Osiris.]]
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{{Hiero|Osiris|<hiero>Q1:D4-A4</hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}}
 
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'''Osiris''' (whose name is a Greek transliteration of the Egyptian ''Asar'', ''Aser'', ''Ausar'', ''Wesir'', or ''Ausare'') is the [[Egyptian mythology|Egyptian god]] of life, death, and fertility. His extreme antiquity is attested to by his inclusion in pyramid texts dated to 2400 B.C.E., when his cult was already well established. In addition to the god's primary mythic and religious affiliation with the land of the dead, Osiris was also seen as the [[Duat|underworld]] agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the Nile River.<ref>Pinch, 178-179.</ref> The modern understanding of these myths is derived from representations, rites and paeans recorded in the [[pyramid texts]], and, much later, in the mythic narrative of [[Plutarch]]'s ''De Iside et Osiride'' ("About Isis and Osiris").<ref>''Isis and Osiris'', [[Plutarch]], translated by Frank Cole Babbitt, 1936, Vol 5 Loeb Classical  Library.
 
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[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/home.html University of Chicago - LacusCurtis server]. Also available in Budge's ''Legends of the Gods'' (1912), available at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/leg/index.htm sacred-texts.com].</ref>
 
  
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The cult of Osiris was characterized by various parallels between the worldly authority of the [[pharaoh]]s and the celestial authority of the god: just as the human monarch ruled the fertile lands of the Nile delta, so too did Osiris reign over the land of the dead. As such, he became a protector and patron of the departed, promising them resurrection and eternal life. Though such patronage had originally been the exclusive province of the ruling class, by the [[New Kingdom]] period (1570–1070 CE) all men were believed to be associated with Osiris at death, providing that they had participated in the appropriate cultic observances.<ref>Dunand, 238-239; S.G.F Brandon, "Osiris," ''Man, Myth and Magic'' (Vol. 5), (BPC Publishing, 1971). 2087-2088.</ref> These worship practices, which were prevalent throughout ancient Egypt, became popularized throughout the Greco-Roman world and only ceased with the forceable [[Persecution of Ancient Roman religion|suppression of "paganism"]] in the Christian era.<ref>"Theodosius I", The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912.[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14577d.htm]</ref><ref>S.G.F Brandon, "Osiris," ''Man, Myth and Magic'' (Vol. 5), (BPC Publishing, 1971). 2086.</ref>  
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'''Osiris''' (whose name is a Greek transliteration of the Egyptian ''Asar'') is the Egyptian god of life, death, fertility, and the underworld. His extreme antiquity is attested to by his inclusion in pyramid texts dated to 2400 B.C.E., when his cult was already well established. In addition to the god's primary mythic and religious affiliation with the land of the dead, Osiris was also seen as the underworld agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the [[Nile River]].<ref>Geraldine Pinch. ''Handbook of Egyptian mythology.'' (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002), 178-179.</ref> The modern understanding of these myths is derived from representations, rites and paeans recorded in the pyramid texts, and, much later, in the mythic narrative of [[Plutarch]]'s ''De Iside et Osiride'' ("About Isis and Osiris").<ref>Plutarch. ''Isis and Osiris,'' translated by Frank Cole Babbitt, (1936, Vol 5. Loeb Classical Library).
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[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/home.html University of Chicago - LacusCurtis server]. Also available in Budge's ''Legends of the Gods.'' (1912), available at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/leg/index.htm sacred-texts.com].Retrieved May 19, 2008. </ref>
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The cult of Osiris was characterized by various parallels between the worldly authority of the [[pharaoh]]s and the celestial authority of the god: just as the human monarch ruled the fertile lands of the [[Nile]] delta, so too did Osiris reign over the land of the dead. As such, he became a protector and patron of the departed, promising them resurrection and eternal life. Though such patronage had originally been the exclusive province of the ruling class, by the [[Egypt|New Kingdom]] period (1570–1070 C.E.) all men were believed to be associated with Osiris at death, providing that they had participated in the appropriate cultic observances.<ref>Françoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche. ''Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 B.C.E. to 395 C.E.,'' Translated from the French by David Lorton. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004), 238-239</ref><ref> S.G.F Brandon, "Osiris," ''Man, Myth and Magic.'' by Richard Cavendish. Encyclopedia Set, Vol. 5, (BPC Publishing, 1971), 2087-2088.</ref> These worship practices, which were prevalent throughout ancient Egypt, became popularized throughout the Greco-Roman world and only ceased with the forceable suppression of "[[paganism]]" in the Christian era.<ref>"Theodosius I," ''The Catholic Encyclopedia,'' 1912. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14577d.htm]</ref><ref>S.G.F Brandon, "Osiris," ''Man, Myth and Magic'' (Vol. 5), (BPC Publishing, 1971), 2086.</ref>  
  
 
==Osiris in an Egyptian Context==
 
==Osiris in an Egyptian Context==
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{{main|Egyptian Religion}}
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{{Hiero|Osiris|<hiero>Q1:D4-A4</hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}}
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{{seealso|Egyptian Mythology}}
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As an Egyptian deity, Osiris belonged to a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system developed in the [[Nile]] river basin from earliest prehistory to 525 B.C.E.<ref>This particular "cut-off" date has been chosen because it corresponds to the Persian conquest of the kingdom, which marks the end of its existence as a discrete and (relatively) circumscribed cultural sphere. Indeed, as this period also saw an influx of immigrants from Greece, it was also at this point that the Hellenization of Egyptian religion began. While some scholars suggest that even when "these beliefs became remodeled by contact with Greece, in essentials they remained what they had always been." Adolf Erman. ''A handbook of Egyptian religion,'' Translated by A. S. Griffith. (London: Archibald Constable, 1907), 203, it still seems reasonable to address these traditions, as far as is possible, within their own cultural milieu.</ref> Indeed, it was during this relatively late period in Egyptian cultural development, a time when they first felt their beliefs threatened by foreigners, that many of their myths, legends and religious beliefs were first recorded.<ref>The numerous inscriptions, stelae and papyri that resulted from this sudden stress on historical posterity provide much of the evidence used by modern archeologists and Egyptologists to approach the ancient Egyptian tradition (Pinch, 31-32).</ref> The cults within this framework, whose beliefs comprise the myths we have before us, were generally fairly localized phenomena, with different deities having the place of honor in different communities.<ref>These local groupings often contained a particular number of deities and were often constructed around the incontestably primary character of a creator god, according to Dimitri Meeks and Christine Meeks-Favard. ''Daily life of the Egyptian gods,'' Translated from the French by G.M. Goshgarian. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996, 34-37).</ref> Despite this apparently unlimited diversity, however, the gods (unlike those in many other pantheons) were relatively ill-defined. As Henri Frankfort notes, “the Egyptian gods are imperfect as individuals. If we compare two of them … we find, not two personages, but two sets of functions and emblems. … The hymns and prayers addressed to these gods differ only in the epithets and attributes used. There is no hint that the hymns were addressed to individuals differing in character.”<ref>Henri Frankfort. ''Ancient Egyptian Religion.'' (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1961), 25-26.</ref> One reason for this was the undeniable fact that the Egyptian gods were seen as utterly [[immanent|immanental]]&mdash;they represented (and were continuous with) particular, discrete elements of the natural world.<ref>Christiane Zivie-Coche, and Françoise Dunand. ''Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 B.C.E. to 395 C.E.,'' Translated from the French by David Lorton. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004), 40-41; Frankfort, 23, 28-29.</ref> Thus, those who did develop characters and mythologies were generally quite portable, as they could retain their discrete forms without interfering with the various cults already in practice elsewhere. Also, this flexibility was what permitted the development of multipartite cults (i.e., the cult of [[Amun-Re]], which unified the domains of [[Amun]] and [[Re]]), as the spheres of influence of these various deities were often complimentary.<ref>Frankfort, 20-21.</ref>
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As an Egyptian deity, Osiris belonged to a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system developed in the [[Nile]] river basin from earliest prehistory to 525 BCE.<ref>This particular "cut-off" date has been chosen because it corresponds to the Persian conquest of the kingdom, which marks the end of its existence as a discrete and (relatively) circumscribed cultural sphere. Indeed, as this period also saw an influx of immigrants from Greece, it was also at this point that the Hellenization of Egyptian religion began. While some scholars suggest that even when "these beliefs became remodeled by contact with Greece, in essentials they remained what they had always been" (Erman, 203), it still seems reasonable to address these traditions, as far as is possible, within their own cultural milieu.</ref> Indeed, it was during this relatively late period in Egyptian cultural development, a time when they first felt their beliefs threatened by foreigners, that many of their myths, legends and religious beliefs were first recorded.<ref>The numerous inscriptions, stelae and papyri that resulted from this sudden stress on historical posterity provide much of the evidence used by modern archeologists and Egyptologists to approach the ancient Egyptian tradition (Pinch, 31-32).</ref> The cults within this framework, whose beliefs comprise the myths we have before us, were generally fairly localized phenomena, with different deities having the place of honor in different communities.<ref>These local groupings often contained a particular number of deities and were often constructed around the incontestably primary character of a creator god (Meeks and Meeks-Favard, 34-37).</ref> Despite this apparently unlimited diversity, however, the gods (unlike those in many other pantheons) were relatively ill-defined. As Frankfort notes, “the Egyptian gods are imperfect as individuals. If we compare two of them … we find, not two personages, but two sets of functions and emblems. … The hymns and prayers addressed to these gods differ only in the epithets and attributes used. There is no hint that the hymns were addressed to individuals differing in character.”<ref>Frankfort, 25-26.</ref> One reason for this was the undeniable fact that the Egyptian gods were seen as utterly [[immanent|immanental]]&mdash;they represented (and were continuous with) particular, discrete elements of the natural world.<ref>Zivie-Coche, 40-41; Frankfort, 23, 28-29.</ref> Thus, those who did develop characters and mythologies were generally quite portable, as they could retain their discrete forms without interfering with the various cults already in practice elsewhere. Also, this flexibility was what permitted the development of multipartite cults (i.e. the cult of [[Amun-Re]], which unified the domains of [[Amun]] and [[Re]]), as the spheres of influence of these various deities were often complimentary.<ref>Frankfort, 20-21.</ref>
 
  
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The worldview engendered by ancient Egyptian religion was uniquely appropriate to (and defined by) the geographical and calendrical realities of its believer’s lives. Unlike the beliefs of the [[Hebrews]], [[Mesopotamians]] and others within their cultural sphere, the Egyptians viewed both history and cosmology as being well ordered, cyclical and dependable. As a result, all changes were interpreted as either inconsequential deviations from the cosmic plan or cyclical transformations required by it.<ref>Assmann, 73-80; Zivie-Coche, 65-67; Breasted argues that one source of this cyclical timeline was the dependable yearly fluctuations of the Nile (8, 22-24).</ref> The major result of this perspective, in terms of the religious imagination, was to reduce the relevance of the present, as the entirety of history (when conceived of cyclically) was ultimately defined during the creation of the cosmos. The only other aporia in such an understanding is death, which seems to present a radical break with continuity. To maintain the integrity of this worldview, an intricate system of practices and beliefs (including the extensive mythic geographies of the afterlife, texts providing moral guidance (for this life and the next) and rituals designed to facilitate the transportation into the afterlife) was developed, whose primary purpose was to emphasize the unending continuation of existence.<ref>Frankfort, 117-124; Zivie-Coche, 154-166.</ref> Given these two cultural foci, it is understandable that the tales recorded within this mythological corpus tend to be either creation accounts or depictions of the world of the dead and of the gods place within it.
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The worldview engendered by ancient Egyptian religion was uniquely appropriate to (and defined by) the geographical and calendrical realities of its believers' lives. Unlike the beliefs of the [[Hebrews]], [[Mesopotamians]] and others within their cultural sphere, the Egyptians viewed both history and cosmology as being well-ordered, cyclical and dependable. As a result, all changes were interpreted as either inconsequential deviations from the cosmic plan or cyclical transformations required by it.<ref>Jan Assmann. ''In search for God in ancient Egypt,'' Translated by David Lorton. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001), 73-80; Zivie-Coche, 65-67</ref> Breasted argues that one source of this cyclical timeline was the dependable yearly fluctuations of the Nile. <ref>James Henry Breasted. ''Development of religion and thought in ancient Egypt.'' (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986), 8, 22-24.</ref> The major result of this perspective, in terms of the religious imagination, was to reduce the relevance of the present, as the entirety of history (when conceived of cyclically) was ultimately defined during the creation of the cosmos. The only other aporia in such an understanding is death, which seems to present a radical break with continuity. To maintain the integrity of this worldview, an intricate system of practices and beliefs (including the extensive mythic geographies of the afterlife, texts providing moral guidance (for this life and the next) and rituals designed to facilitate the transportation into the afterlife) was developed, whose primary purpose was to emphasize the unending continuation of existence.<ref>Frankfort, 117-124; Zivie-Coche, 154-166.</ref> Given these two cultural foci, it is understandable that the tales recorded within this mythological corpus tended to be either creation accounts or depictions of the world of the dead, with a particular focus on the relationship between the gods and their human constituents.
  
 
As Osiris was associated with both agricultural productivity and the human afterlife, he became one of the most popular deities of the Egyptian pantheon in terms of iconography, mythic accounts and cultic devotion. Such veneration is not at all surprising, given that his two areas of patronage were the cornerstones of Egyptian secular and religious life.
 
As Osiris was associated with both agricultural productivity and the human afterlife, he became one of the most popular deities of the Egyptian pantheon in terms of iconography, mythic accounts and cultic devotion. Such veneration is not at all surprising, given that his two areas of patronage were the cornerstones of Egyptian secular and religious life.
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Within the classical Egyptian pantheon, Osiris was the oldest son of the Earth god, [[Geb]], and the sky goddess, [[Nut (goddess)|Nut]], as well as the brother and husband of [[Isis]], the goddess of fertility. In terms of progeny, the god is credited with siring with [[Anubis]] and [[Horus]], though the later was conceived after the god's untimely death. The myths concerning each of these acts of procreation will be elucidated below.
 
Within the classical Egyptian pantheon, Osiris was the oldest son of the Earth god, [[Geb]], and the sky goddess, [[Nut (goddess)|Nut]], as well as the brother and husband of [[Isis]], the goddess of fertility. In terms of progeny, the god is credited with siring with [[Anubis]] and [[Horus]], though the later was conceived after the god's untimely death. The myths concerning each of these acts of procreation will be elucidated below.
  
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''Ptah-Seker'', a composite deity uniting the creative elements of [[Ptah]] and the chthonic elements of [[Sokar|Seker]], gradually became identified with Osiris (the prototypical rebirth god). As such, the three deities came to be reified as '''Ptah-Seker-Osiris''', an important god in both the temple worship tradition and the Egyptian funerary cult.<ref>Budge (1969), Vol. I, 503.</ref>
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''Ptah-Seker,'' a composite deity uniting the creative elements of [[Ptah]] and the chthonic elements of [[Sokar|Seker]], gradually became identified with Osiris (the prototypical rebirth god). As such, the three deities came to be reified as ''Ptah-Seker-Osiris,'' an important god in both the temple worship tradition and the Egyptian funerary cult.<ref>Budge (1969), Vol. I, 503.</ref>
  
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He is usually portrayed as a green-skinned [[pharaoh]] wearing the ''Atef'' crown.<ref>A form of white crown specific to upper [[Egypt]], distinguished by a plume of feathers on either side.</ref> Typically, he is also represented holding the crook and flail, symbols of divine rulership that originated in iconographic depictions of the deity but that came to be signify religio-political authority in a more general context.<ref>[http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefscrook.htm altreligion.com]. Retrieved July 09, 2007.</ref> Also, his feet and lower body are depicted enshrouded in gauze, as though already partly mummified&mdash;an entirely fitting image, given the god's relationship to death and rebirth.<ref>Wilkinson, 120-122. It should be noted that the god's flesh, which is sometimes coloured green (symbolizing vegetation and fertility), was also occasionally white or black (likely signifying death (via the color of the shroud) or the fertile soil of the Nile delta) (120).</ref>
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He is usually portrayed as a green-skinned [[pharaoh]] wearing the ''Atef'' crown.<ref>A form of white crown specific to upper [[Egypt]], distinguished by a plume of feathers on either side.</ref> Typically, he is also represented holding the crook and flail, symbols of divine rulership that originated in iconographic depictions of the deity but that came to be signify religio-political authority in a more general context.<ref>[http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefscrook.htm altreligion.com]. Retrieved July 09, 2007.</ref> Also, his feet and lower body are depicted enshrouded in gauze, as though already partly mummified&mdash;an entirely fitting image, given the god's relationship to death and rebirth.<ref>Richard H. Wilkinson.  ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt.'' (London: Thames and Hudson, 2003), 120-122. It should be noted that the god's flesh, which is sometimes coloured green (symbolizing vegetation and fertility), was also occasionally white or black (likely signifying death (via the color of the shroud) or the fertile soil of the Nile delta) (120).</ref>
  
 
====Father of [[Anubis]]====
 
====Father of [[Anubis]]====
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Later, when elements of the cult of [[Hathor]] (a deity from the Ogdoadic pantheon) were assimilated into that of Isis, [[Horus]], who had previously been seen as Hathor's son, became associated with the Enneadic goddess. Attempts to explain how Osiris, the husband of Isis and a god of the dead, could have fathered a deity so definitively alive as Horus, led to the development of the [[Legend of Osiris and Isis]], which became the single greatest tale in Egyptian mythology ([[#Osiris, Isis and Resurrection|described below]]).  
 
Later, when elements of the cult of [[Hathor]] (a deity from the Ogdoadic pantheon) were assimilated into that of Isis, [[Horus]], who had previously been seen as Hathor's son, became associated with the Enneadic goddess. Attempts to explain how Osiris, the husband of Isis and a god of the dead, could have fathered a deity so definitively alive as Horus, led to the development of the [[Legend of Osiris and Isis]], which became the single greatest tale in Egyptian mythology ([[#Osiris, Isis and Resurrection|described below]]).  
  
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In brief, this myth described Osiris's death at the hands of his brother [[Set]], who jealously desired his elder sibling's throne. Discovering her lover's body, Isis briefly brought him back to life through the use of a magical incantation. This spell gave her time to become pregnant by the god before his final demise. Isis later gave birth to Horus. As such, since Horus was born after Osiris' resurrection, the second generation deity became thought of as representing new beginnings. This combination, ''Osiris-Horus'', was therefore interpreted as a life-death-rebirth deity, and was thus associated with the new harvest each year.
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In brief, this myth described Osiris's death at the hands of his brother [[Set]], who jealously desired his elder sibling's throne. Discovering her lover's body, Isis briefly brought him back to life through the use of a magical incantation. This spell gave her time to become pregnant by the god before his final demise. Isis later gave birth to Horus. As such, since Horus was born after Osiris' resurrection, the second generation deity became thought of as representing new beginnings. This combination, ''Osiris-Horus,'' was therefore interpreted as a life-death-rebirth deity, and was thus associated with the new harvest each year.
  
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===Osiris, Isis and Resurrection===
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===The Isis / Osiris Cycle===
 
As intimated above, the tale of Osiris's death and resurrection provided one of the most culturally and symbolically resonant myths in the Egyptian corpus. Further, this tale was a central element of the mystery cult built around the otherworldly ruler, whose prominence throughout the dynastic period allowed it to survive the incursions of Hellenistic society through the creation of [[Serapis]] (a self-consciously syncretic deity). While the specifics of the cult will be elucidated below, it is first necessary to outline the myth itself.
 
As intimated above, the tale of Osiris's death and resurrection provided one of the most culturally and symbolically resonant myths in the Egyptian corpus. Further, this tale was a central element of the mystery cult built around the otherworldly ruler, whose prominence throughout the dynastic period allowed it to survive the incursions of Hellenistic society through the creation of [[Serapis]] (a self-consciously syncretic deity). While the specifics of the cult will be elucidated below, it is first necessary to outline the myth itself.
  
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The myth is first evidenced, albeit in a fragmentary fashion, in the ''Pyramid Texts''&mdash;a collection of pyramid inscriptions laboriously transcribed by nineteenth- and twentieth-century Egyptologists. In them, the core events of the tale are already present, including the murder of Osiris by [[Set]] (his jealous sibling); the heart-broken response of his wife, [[Isis]]; the vengeance exacted by [[Horus]], his son; and, the god's resurrection and return to prominence in the afterlife.
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The myth is first evidenced in a fragmentary fashion in the ''Pyramid Texts''&mdash;a collection of pyramid inscriptions whose primary purpose was to correlate the myths of the gods with the cult of the pharaohs (who had commissioned the construction of these monumental necropoli). In them, the core events of the tale are already present, including the murder of Osiris by [[Set]] (his jealous sibling);For instance, one text suggests that the deceased king had best avoid the depredations of Set, lest he face the same fate as Osiris: "Set would have cut thee to pieces, and thou wouldst not rise (again)." <ref>''The Pyramid Texts'' (678c), 133. Accessed online at: [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/pyt/pyt41.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved July 9, 2007. </ref>See also the terse comment: "Set is guilty; Osiris is justified" (1556a). the heart-broken response of his wife, [[Isis]];<ref>The text records the ministrations of goddess Isis (and her sister Nephthys) when the two discover the corpse of the god: "Isis comes, Nephthys comes, one of them on the right, one of them on the left, // one of them as a ḥȝ.t-bird, one of them (Nephthys) as a kite. // They found Osiris, // after his brother Set had felled him to the earth in [?????], … // They prevent thee from rotting, in accordance with this thy name of "Anubis"; // they prevent thy putrefaction from flowing to the ground." ''The Pyramid Texts'' (1255c-1257b), 207. Accessed online at: [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/pyt/pyt41.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved July 9, 2007. In a later passage, the posthumous conception of Horus is also indirectly described: "Isis comes to thee rejoicing for love of thee; // thy semen goes into her, while it is pointed like Sothis" (1635b-1636a).</ref> the vengeance exacted by [[Horus]], his son;<ref>For example: "Thou who hast smitten (my) father; he who has killed (one) greater than he; // thou hast smitten (my) father, thou hast killed one greater than thou. // Father Osiris N. I have smitten for thee him who smote thee as an ox; // I have killed for thee him who killed thee as a wild-bull. … Eat, eat the red ox [a representation of Horus's victim], for the voyage by sea, // which Horus did for his father, Osiris." ''The Pyramid Texts'' (1543a-1544b, 1550a-1550b), 241-242. Accessed online at: [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/pyt/pyt41.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved July 9, 2007. Likewise, consider the following instruction for a deceased ruler: "Wake up for Horus; stand up against Set" (793a).</ref> and, the god's resurrection and return to prominence in the afterlife.<ref>The most specific reference to Osiris as lord of the dead occurs in a passage describing the kingly nature of the deceased pharaoh using analogies to the gods (and their various domains): "Thou appearest to them like a jackal, like Horus chief of the living, // like Geb chief of the Ennead, like Osiris chief of spirits." ''The Pyramid Texts'' (2103c-2103d), 308. Accessed online at: [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/pyt/pyt41.htm sacred-texts.com]. ''sacredtexts''. Retrieved July 9, 2007. </ref>
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:Thou who hast smitten (my) father; he who has killed (one) greater than he;
 
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:thou hast smitten (my) father, thou hast killed one greater than thou.
 
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:Father Osiris N. I have smitten for thee him who smote thee as an ox;
 
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:I have killed for thee him who killed thee as a wild-bull.
 
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:I have overpowered for thee him who overpowered thee as an ox;
 
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:thou art upon his back as he who is upon the back of an ox.
 
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:He who stretched thee out as the stretched out ox; he who slaughtered thee as the slaughtered ox;
 
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:he who stunned thee as the stunned ox—
 
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:I have cut off his head; I have cut off his tail;
 
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:I have cut off his two hands; I have cut off his two feet.
 
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:...
 
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:Eat, eat the red ox, for the voyage by sea,
 
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:which Horus did for his father, Osiris.<ref>''The Pyramid Texts'' (1543a-1545d, 1550a-1550b), 241-242. Accessed online at: [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/pyt/pyt41.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved July 9, 2007.</ref>
 
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Plutarch recounts one version of the myth surrounding the cult in which [[Set (mythology)|Set]] (Osiris's evil brother) fooled Osiris into getting into a coffin, which he then shut, had sealed with lead and threw into the Nile. Osiris's wife, [[Isis]], searched for his remains until she finally found him embedded in a tree trunk, which was holding up the roof of a palace in Byblos on the Phoenician coast. She managed to remove the coffin and open it, but Osiris was already dead. She used a spell she had learned from her father and brought him back to life so he could impregnate her. After they finished, he died again, so she hid his body in the desert. Months later, she gave birth to [[Horus]]. While she was off raising him, Set had been out hunting one night and he came across the body of Osiris. Enraged, he tore the body into fourteen pieces and scattered them throughout the land. Isis gathered up all the parts of the body, less the phallus which was eaten by a fish thereafter considered tabu by the Egyptians, and bandaged them together for a proper burial. The gods were impressed by the devotion of Isis and thus restored Osiris to life in the form of a different kind of existence as the god of the underworld. Because of his death and resurrection, Osiris is associated with the flooding and retreating of the Nile and thus with the crops along the Nile valley.
 
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Diodorus Siculus gives another version of the myth in which Osiris is described as an ancient king who taught the Egyptians the arts of civilization, including agriculture. Osiris is murdered by his evil brother Seth, whom Diodorus associates with the evil Typhon of Greek mythology. Typhon divides the body into twenty six pieces which he distributes amongst his fellow conspirators in order to implicate them in the murder. Isis and Horus avenge the death of Osiris and slay Typhon. Isis recovers all the parts of Osiris body, less the phallus, and secretly buries them. She made replicas of them and distributed them to several locations which then became centres of Osiris worship.<ref>"Osiris", [[Man, Myth and Magic]], S.G.F Brandon, Vol5 P2088, BPC Publishing.</ref><ref>"The Historical Library of Diodorus Siculus", translated by George Booth 1814. retrieved  03 June 2007.[http://books.google.com/books?id=agd-eLVNRMMC&printsec=titlepage#PPA27,M1]</ref>
 
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===Ram god===
 
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{{Hiero|Banebdjed (''b3-nb-ḏd'')|<hiero>E10-nb-Dd-niwt-Dd</hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}}
 
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Since Osiris was a chthonic, underworld deity, the god's soul, or rather his ''[[Egyptian soul|Ba]]'', was occasionally worshipped in its own right, almost as if it were a distinct god, especially so in the [[Nile Delta|Delta]] city of [[Mendes]]. This aspect of Osiris was referred to as '''Banebdjed''' (also spelt '''Banebded''' or '''Banebdjedet''', which is technically [[feminine]]) which literally means ''The ba of the lord of the [[djed]]'', which roughly means ''The soul of the lord of the pillar of stability''. The djed, a type of pillar, was usually understood as the [[backbone]] of Osiris, and, at the same time, as the Nile, the backbone of Egypt. The Nile, supplying water, and Osiris (strongly connected to the vegetation) who died only to be resurrected represented continuity and therefore [[social stability|stability]]. As Banebdjed, Osiris was given [[epithet]]s such as ''Lord of the Sky'' and ''Life of the ([[solar deity|sun god]]) [[Ra]]'', since Ra, when he had become identified with [[Atum]], was considered Osiris' ancestor, from whom his [[reign|regal]] authority was [[inheritance|inherited]].
 
  
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''Ba'' does not, however, quite mean ''soul'' in the western sense, and also has to do with power, reputation, force of character, especially in the case of a god. Since the ba was associated with power, and also happened to be a word for [[Ram (sheep)|ram]] in [[Egyptian language|Egyptian]], Banebdjed was depicted as a ram, or as Ram-headed. A living, sacred ram, was even kept at Mendes and worshipped as the incarnation of the god, and upon death, the rams were mummified and buried in a ram-specific [[necropolis]].  
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While the discrete episodes discernible in the ''Pyramid Texts'' imply the existence of a coherent, central narrative, the earliest textual accounts of this myth can only be traced to the Hellenistic period. The most complete of these can be found in the prolific literary output of [[Plutarch]], who records it in his ''Moralia.''
  
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As regards the association of Osiris with the ram, the god's traditional [[crook and flail]] are of course the instruments of the shepherd, which has suggested to some scholars also an Osiris' origin in herding tribes of the upper Nile. The crook and flail were originally symbols of the minor agricultural deity [[Anedijti]], and passed to Osiris later. From Osiris they eventually passed to Egyptian kings in general as symbols of divine authority. [http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefscrook.htm]
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Within his telling, [[Set (mythology)|Set]],<ref>It should be noted that Plutarch's account syncretically uses some Grecian equivalents for the Egyptian deities. Thus, [[Geb]] is affiliated with [[Cronus]], [[Nut (goddess)|Nut]] with [[Rhea]], and [[Set]] with [[Typhoeus]]. See: Barry B. Powell. ''Classical Myth.'' (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998), 216.</ref> desiring his brother's throne, convinced Osiris to lay down inside a coffin, which he then nailed shut, sealed with lead and threw into the Nile. Osiris's wife, [[Isis]], searched for his remains until she finally found him embedded in a tree trunk, which was holding up the roof of a palace in Byblos on the Phoenician coast. She managed to remove the coffin and open it, but Osiris was already dead. She used a spell she had learned from her father and brought him back to life so he could impregnate her. At the conclusion of their semi-necrophilial intercourse, he died again. Afraid that Set would do violence to her beloved's remains, she hid his body in the desert.  
  
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In Mendes, they had considered [[Hatmehit]], a local fish-goddess, as the [[henotheism|most important god/goddess]], and so when the cult of Osiris became more significant, Banebdjed was identified in Mendes as deriving his authority from being married to Hatmehit. Later, when [[Horus]] became identified as the child of Osiris (in this form Horus is known as ''Harpocrates'' in [[greek language|Greek]] and ''Har-pa-khered'' in Egyptian), Banebdjed was consequently said to be Horus' father, as Banebdjed is an aspect of Osiris.
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Months later, the fertility goddess gave birth to [[Horus]]. While she was off raising her falcon-headed son, disaster struck again. One night, while Set had been out hunting, he inadvertently came across the body of Osiris. Enraged, he tore the corpse into fourteen pieces and scattered them throughout the land. Hearing of the new degradation visited upon her deceased paramour, Isis set out on a reed boat to gather up all the parts of the body. While she was able to retrieve thirteen of them, his phallus was permanently lost, having been devoured by a fish (the consumption of which thereafter became a religious [[taboo]]).<ref>Powell, 218.</ref> After fashioning a new member for the god from wood, she (along with [[Anubis]], the god of embalming) reconnected the pieces and bandaged them together for a proper burial. Thereafter, Osiris was restored to life (of sorts) as the god of the underworld. From his chthonic throne, he trained and instructed Horus in the arts of diplomacy and combat, allowing the son to eventually exact vengeance from Set.<ref>Plutarch, [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/A.html Isis and Osiris]. Retrieved online July 09, 2007.</ref>
  
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In [[occult]] writings, Banebdjed is often called ''the goat of Mendes'', and identified with [[Baphomet]]; the fact that Banebdjed was a ram (sheep), not a goat, is apparently overlooked.
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Diodorus Siculus gives another version of the myth, where Osiris is described as an ancient king who taught the Egyptians the arts of civilization, including agriculture. Like the account summarized above, Osiris is murdered by his evil brother Set, who Diodorus associates with the evil Typhon of Greek mythology. After the god's death, Typhon divides the body into twenty six pieces, which he distributes amongst his fellow conspirators in order to implicate them in the murder. Isis and Horus avenge the death of Osiris and slay Typhon. Isis recovers all the parts of Osiris body, less the phallus, and secretly buries them. Likewise, she also makes replicas of them and distributes them to several locations, which thereafter became centers of Osirian worship.<ref>"Osiris," [[Man, Myth and Magic]], S.G.F Brandon, Vol5 P2088, BPC Publishing.</ref><ref>"The Historical Library of Diodorus Siculus," translated by George Booth 1814. retrieved  03 June 2007.[http://books.google.com/books?id=agd-eLVNRMMC&printsec=titlepage#PPA27,M1]</ref>
  
 
==The Cult of Osiris==
 
==The Cult of Osiris==
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[[Image:OsirisPriest.jpg|thumb|200px|A priest of Osiris. He is shaven, and hold preciously a canope vase of Osiris with the hems of his robe. [[Ptolemaic Egypt]]. 1st century CE.]]
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[[Image:OsirisPriest.jpg|thumb|200px|A priest of Osiris. He holds a canope vase of Osiris with the hems of his robe. (Ptolemaic Egypt. First century C.E.)]]
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<!-- This section evidently describes the sacrifice of a bull to various gods, as an early evidence of the cult of Osiris... Grab the citation information from above
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Plutarch and others have noted that the sacrifices to Osiris were "gloomy, solemn, and mournful" and that the great mystery festival, celebrated in two phases, began at Abydos on the seventeenth of Athyr (ca. Nov. 13) commemorating the death of the god, which (not coincidentally) was also the same day that [[grain]] was planted in the ground.<ref>Plutarch. ''Isis and Osiris''
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[http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/A.html#T356c] accessdate =2007-01-21. Section 13, 356C-D</ref> "The death of the grain and the death of the god were one and the same: the cereal was identified with the god who came from heaven; he was the bread by which man lives. The resurrection of the God symbolized the rebirth of the grain."<ref>Martin A. Larson. ''The Story of Christian Origins.'' (J.J. Binns, 1977), 17.</ref> This overt relationship between the fertility of the soil and the god's death and rebirth was most potently demonstrated in artifacts known as "Osiris Beds": stone or wood constructs in the form of Osiris, which were filled with soil, sown with seed, and (in many cases) wrapped as [[mummification|mummies]].<ref>Wilkinson, 122.</ref> The germinating seed symbolized Osiris rising from the dead. An almost pristine example of this type of cult device was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter.<ref>Angela M. J. Tooley, "Osiris Bricks," ''The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology'' 82 (1996): 167-179. 174.</ref>
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1545c. I have cut off his head; I have cut off his tail;
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The first phase of the festival featured an elaborate procession, whereby an image of the god was paraded through town, allowing for public adulation of the typically concealed religious images.<ref>Zivie-Coche, 116.</ref> Next, the assembled devotees and pilgrims viewed a public drama reenacting the murder and dismemberment of Osiris, the search for his body by Isis, his triumphal return as resurrected god, and the battle where Horus ultimately defeated Set. This ritual theater was presented by skilled actors, serving as both an oral history and a cultic theology, and was the primary means of proselytizing to potential converts.<ref>See, for example, Dunand, 238-239.</ref> The participants in these mysteries are described (in an unflattering light) by Julius Firmicus Maternus, in his "Error of Pagan Religions." Therein, he describes who this play was re-enacted each year by worshipers who "beat their breasts and gashed their shoulders. … When they pretend that the mutilated remains of the god have been found and rejoined… they turn from mourning to rejoicing.<ref>''De Errore Profanarum Religionum,'' translated by Clarence A. Forbes as ''The Error of the Pagan Religions,'' Newman Press, 1970. ISBN 0809100398.</ref>
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1545d. I have cut off his two hands; I have cut off his two feet.
 
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1546a. His upper fore-legs including (lit. "being to") his lower forelegs belong t[o Atum], father of the gods;
 
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1546b. his two thighs belong to Shu and Tefnut;
 
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1546c. his two sides belong to Geb and Nut;
 
  
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1547a. his two shoulder blades belong to Isis and Nephthys;
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Perhaps more important than any of these particular ceremonials, however, is the fact that deceased mortals came to be directly identified with the deity, to the extend that their names were appended onto the god's name during funerary rites. While this venerable practice was originally extended only to the bodies of pharaohs,<ref>As in the ''Pyramid Texts'' quoted above.</ref> it came to be an accepted portion of the funeral liturgy. As such, Osiris was seen as an immanent part of the death (and assume resurrection) of human believers.<ref>Wilkinson, 122.</ref>
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1547b. his two shoulders belong to Mḫnti-’irti and Hrti,—
 
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1547c. his spinal column belongs to Neit and Śerḳet; his heart belongs to Sekhmet, the great;
 
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1548a. that which is in the back part of his body belongs to those four gods, the sons of Horus, his beloved,
 
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1548b. Ḥȝpi, ’Imś.ti, Dwȝ-mw.t.f, Ḳbḥ-śn.w.f.
 
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1549a. His head, his tail, his two hands, his two feet
 
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1549b. belong to Anubis, who is upon his mountain; to Osiris who is chief of his department (or, thigh-offering).
 
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1549c. That which the gods leave belongs to the Souls of Nekhen and the Souls of Buto.
 
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1550a. Eat, eat the red ox, for the voyage by sea,
 
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1550b. which Horus did for his father, Osiris N.
 
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—>
 
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===The passion and resurrection===
 
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Plutarch and others have noted that the sacrifices to Osiris were “gloomy, solemn, and mournful…” (Isis and Osiris, 69) and that the great mystery festival, celebrated in two phases, began at [[Abydos, Egypt|Abydos]] on the 17th of Athyr<ref>{{cite book
 
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|last = Plutarch
 
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|authorlink = Plutarch
 
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|title = Isis and Osiris
 
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|url = http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/A.html#T356c
 
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|accessdate = 2007-01-21
 
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|chapter = Section 13
 
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|pages = 356C-D
 
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}}</ref> (Nov. 13th) commemorating the death of the god, which is also the same day that grain was planted in the ground. “The death of the grain and the death of the god were one and the same: the cereal was identified with the god who came from heaven; he was the bread by which man lives. The resurrection of the God symbolized the rebirth of the grain.” (Larson 17) The annual festival involved the construction of  “Osiris Beds” formed in shape of Osiris, filled with soil and sown with seed.<ref>Britannica Ultimate Edition 2003 DVD</ref> The germinating seed symbolized Osiris rising from the dead. An almost pristine example was found in the tomb of [[Tutankhamun]] by Howard Carter.<ref>Osiris Bed, Burton photograph p2024, The Griffith Institute.[http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Osiris&action=edit&section=9]</ref>
 
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The first phase of the festival was a public drama depicting the murder and dismemberment of Osiris, the search for his body by Isis, his triumphal return as the resurrected god, and the battle in which Horus defeated Set. This was all presented by skilled actors as a literary history, and was the main method of recruiting cult membership. According to Julius Firmicus Maternus of the fourth century, this play was re-enacted each year by worshippers who
 
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“beat their breasts and gashed their shoulders…. When they pretend that the mutilated remains of the god have been found and rejoined…they turn from mourning to rejoicing.” (''De Errore Profanorum'').
 
  
 
===The I-Kher-Nefert stele===
 
===The I-Kher-Nefert stele===
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Much of the extant information about the Passion of Osiris can be found on a [[stele]] at Abydos erected in the 12th Dynasty by I-Kher-Nefert (also Ikhernefert), possibly a priest of Osiris or other official during the reign of Senwosret III (Pharaoh Sesostris, about 1875 B.C.E.).
  
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Much of the extant information about the Passion of Osiris can be found on a [[stele]] at Abydos erected in the 12th Dynasty by I-Kher-Nefert (also Ikhernefert), possibly a priest of Osiris or other official during the reign of Senwosret III (Pharaoh Sesostris, about 1875 B.C.E.).
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The Passion Plays were held in the last month of the inundation (the annual Nile flood), coinciding with Spring and taking place at Abydos/Abedjou, which was the traditional place that the body of Osiris drifted ashore after having been drowned in the Nile.<ref name="passion play"> Mirjam Nebet. "Passion Plays of Osiris." [http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/743017 ancientworlds.net - the passion plays of osiris].''ancientworlds.net''. Retrieved May 19, 2008.</ref> Some elements of the ceremony were held in the temple, while others involved public participation in a form of theatrical observances (as mentioned above). The Stela of I-Kher-Nefert recounts the programme of public events that comprised the Festival:
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*''The First Day&mdash;The Procession of Wepwawet'': A mock battle is enacted during which the enemies of Osiris are defeated. A procession is led by the god Wepwawet ("opener of the way").
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The Passion Plays were held in the last month of the inundation (the annual Nile flood), coinciding with Spring, and held at Abydos/Abedjou which was the traditional place where the body of Osiris/Wesir drifted ashore after having been drowned in the Nile.<ref name="passion play">''[http://www.ancientworlds.net/aw/Article/743017 ancientworlds.net - the passion plays of osiris] </ref> The part of the myth recounting the chopping up of the body into 14 pieces by Set is not recorded until later by [[Plutarch]].  Some elements of the ceremony were held in the temple, while others involved public participation in a form of theatre. The Stela of I-Kher-Nefert recounts the programme of events of the public elements over the five days of the Festival:
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*''The Second Day&mdash;The Great Procession of Osiris'': The body of Osiris is taken from his temple to his tomb.  
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*''The First Day, The Procession of [[Wepwawet]]'': A mock battle is enacted during which the enemies of Osiris are defeated. A procession is led by the god Wepwawet ("opener of the way").
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*''The Third Day&mdash;Osiris is Mourned and the Enemies of the Land are Destroyed''.
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*''The Second Day, The Great Procession of Osiris'': The body of Osiris is taken from his temple to his tomb.  
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*''The Fourth Day&mdash;Night Vigil'': Prayers and recitations are made and funeral rites performed.
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*''The Third Day, Osiris is Mourned and the Enemies of the Land are Destroyed''.
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*''The Fifth Day&mdash;Osiris is Reborn'': Osiris is reborn at dawn and crowned with the crown of [[Ma'at]]. A statue of Osiris is brought to the temple.<ref name="passion play"/>
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*''The Fourth Day, Night Vigil'': Prayers and recitations are made and funeral rites performed.
 
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*The Fifth Day, Osiris is Reborn: Osiris is reborn at dawn and crowned with the crown of [[Ma'at]]. A statue of Osiris is brought to the temple.<ref name="passion play"/>
 
  
 
===Wheat and clay rituals===
 
===Wheat and clay rituals===
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Contrasting with the public "theatrical" ceremonies sourced from the I-Kher-Nefert stele, more esoteric ceremonies were performed inside the temples by priests witnessed only by initiates. Plutarch mentions that two days after the beginning of the festival “the priests bring forth sacred chest containing a small golden coffer, into which they pour some potable water…and a great shout arises from the company for joy that Osiris is found (or resurrected). Then they knead some fertile soil with the water…and fashion therefrom a crescent-shaped figure, which they cloth and adorn, this indicating that they regard these gods as the substance of Earth and Water.” (''Isis and Osiris,'' 39). Yet even he was obscure, for he also wrote, “I pass over the cutting of the wood” opting to not describe it since he considered it most sacred (''Ibid.'' 21).  
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Contrasting with the public "theatrical" ceremonies sourced from the I-Kher-Nefert stele, more esoteric ceremonies, which were open only to initiates, were performed inside the temples by priests. One such practice was the creation and seeding of "Osiris beds" (mentioned above). Describing this rite, Plutarch states:
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<blockquote>the keepers of the robes and the priests bring forth the sacred chest containing a small golden coffer, into which they pour some potable water which they have taken up, and a great shout arises from the company for joy that Osiris is found. Then they knead some fertile soil with the water and mix in spices and incense of a very costly sort, and fashion therefrom a crescent-shaped figure, which they clothe and adorn, thus indicating that they regard these gods as the substance of Earth and Water.<ref> Plutarch, [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/B.html] ''Isis and Osiris,'' 39. Retrieved July 10, 2007.</ref> Yet even he was respectfully vague concerning their more arcane practices, as when he wrote, "I pass over the cutting of wood, the rending of linen, and the libations that are offered, for the reason that many of their secret rites are involved therein."<ref>Plutarch, [http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Plutarch/Moralia/Isis_and_Osiris*/B.html] ''Isis and Osiris,'' 21.</ref></blockquote>
  
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In the Osirian temple at [[Denderah]], an inscription (translated by Budge, Chapter XV, Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection) describes in detail the making of wheat paste models of each dismembered piece of Osiris to be sent out to the town where each piece was discovered by Isis. At the temple of Mendes, figures of Osiris are made from wheat and paste placed in a trough on the day of the murder, then water added for several days, when finally the mixture was kneaded into a mold of Osiris and taken to the temple and buried (the sacred grain for these cakes only grown in the temple fields). Molds are made from wood of a red tree in the forms of the sixteen dismembered parts of Osiris, cakes of divine bread made from each mold, placed in a silver chest and set near the head of the god, ''the inward parts of Osiris'' as described in the Book of the Dead (XVII). On the first day of the Festival of Ploughing, where the goddess Isis appears in her shrine where she is stripped naked, Paste made from the grain is placed in her bed and moistened with water, representing the fecund earth. All of these sacred rituals were ''climaxed by the eating of sacramental god, the eucharist by which the celebrants were transformed, in their persuasion, into replicas of their god-man'' (Larson 20).
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In the Osirian temple at [[Denderah]], an inscription describes in detail the making of wheat paste models of each dismembered segment of Osiris, which were to be sent out to the various towns where each piece was said to have been discovered by Isis. At the temple of Mendes, figures of Osiris were made from wheat, paste was placed in a trough on the day of the murder's commemoration, then water added for several days. Finally, the mixture was kneaded into a mold of Osiris and taken to the temple and buried. Given the sacramental nature of these cakes, the sacred grain composing them could only be grown in temple fields. All of these sacred rituals were "climaxed by the eating of sacramental god, the eucharist by which the celebrants were transformed, in their persuasion, into replicas of their god-man."<ref>Martin A. Larson. ''The Story of Christian Origins.'' (Sparrow Hawk Press, 1977), 20.</ref><ref>Wallis Budge, ''Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection.'' (New York: Dover, 1973. ISBN 0486227804). See, particularly, chapter XV, where the inscription described above is translated.</ref>
  
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===The Osirian Sacrament===
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===Ram god===
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Although there were ethical and ceremonial considerations none of these could compare to the power of the divine [[eucharist]], since it was literally believed to be the body (bread) and blood (ale) of the god. Since the ancient [[Nilotic]]s believed that humans were whatever they eat, this sacrament was, by extension, able to make them celestial and immortal. The doctrine of the eucharist ultimately has its roots in prehistoric cannibalism, whose practitioners believed that the virtues and powers of the eaten would thus be absorbed by the eater. This phenomenon has been described throughout the world.  
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{{Hiero|Banebdjed ''(b3-nb-ḏd)''|<hiero>E10-nb-Dd-niwt-Dd</hiero>|align=right|era=egypt}}
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Since Osiris was a chthonic, underworld deity and was thus associated with the realm of spirits, the god's soul (or rather his ''[[Egyptian soul|Ba]]'') was occasionally worshiped in its own right. Given the fluidity inherent in Egyptian notions of divinity, such a multipartite cult was certainly not unusual.<ref>However, as Pinch notes, this being is not always associated with Osiris, and is sometimes seen as a discrete deity (115).</ref> This aspect of Osiris was referred to as ''Banebdjed'' (also spelt ''Banebded'' or ''Banebdjedet,'' which literally means ''The ba of the lord of Djedet'' (the city of Mendes). Given that Mendes was associated with the Isis/Osiris cycle as the place that the soul of the god "took refuge … when his body was killed by Seth," the localization of these cultic practices is certainly comprehensible.  
  
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One of the oldest of the [[Pyramid Texts]] is the [[Unas]]<ref>"The Complete Pyramid Text of UNAS", Wim van den Dungen.[http://www.sofiatopia.org/maat/wenis_text.htm]</ref> from the 6th Dynasty (circa 2500 B.C.E.). It shows that the original ideology of Egypt commingled with Osirian concepts. Although ultimately given a high place in heaven by order of Osiris, Unas is at first an enemy of the gods and his ancestors, who he hunts, lassoes, kills, cooks, and eats so that their powers may become his own. This was written at a time when the eating of parents and gods was a laudable ceremony, and this emphasizes how hard it must have been to stamp out the older order of cannibalism. “He eats men, he feeds on the gods…he cooks them in his fiery cauldrons. He eats their words of power, he swallows their spirits…. He eats the wisdom of every god, his period of life is eternity…. Their soul is in his body, their spirits are within him.” A parallel passage is found in the Pyramid Text of [[Pepi II]], who is said to have “seizeth those who are a follower of Set…he breaketh their heads, he cutteth off their haunches, he teareth out their intestines, he diggeth out their hearts, he drinketh copiously of their blood!” (line 531, ff). Although crude, this was a core concept, the conviction that one could receive immortality by eating the flesh and blood of a god who had died became a dominating obsession in the ancient world. Although the cult of Osiris forbade cannibalism, it did not outlaw dismemberment and eating of enemies, and practiced the ritual rending and eating of the [[sacred bull]], symbolizing Osiris.
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Since ''ba'' was associated with power, and was a homophone of the Egyptian word for "ram," Banebdjed was depicted as a ram or as a ram-headed humanoid. Due to this association, a living, sacred ram, was kept at Mendes and worshiped as the incarnation of the god, and upon death, the rams were mummified and buried in a ram-specific necropolis. As regards the association of Osiris with the ram, the god's traditional crook and flail are of course the instruments of the shepherd, which has suggested to some scholars also an Osiris' origin in herding tribes of the upper Nile. From Osiris, they eventually passed to Egyptian kings in general as symbols of divine authority. <ref>[http://altreligion.about.com/library/glossary/symbols/bldefscrook.htm]''altreligion.about.com''. Retrieved May 19, 2008. </ref>
  
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Although this sacramental concept only originated once in history, it spread throughout the Mediterranean area and became the dynamic force in every mystery cult. It was only by this sacerdotal means that the corruptible deceased could be clothed in incorruption and this idea appears again and again in infinite variety. The scribe Nebseni implores: “And there in the celestial mansions of heaven which my divine father Tem hath established, let my hands lay hold upon the wheat and the barley which shall be given unto me therein in abundant measure” (Ibid. LXXII). Nu corroborates that this is the eucharist by saying: “I am established, and the divine Sekhet-hetep is before me, I have eaten therein, I have become a spirit therein, I have abundance therein.” (Ibid. LXXVII) Again Nu states: “I am the divine soul of Ra…which is god…I am the divine food which is not corrupted” (Ibid. LXXXV). The ancientness of the concept is again reaffirmed in the Pyramid Text of Teta (2600 B.C.E.) where the Osiris Teta “receivest thy bread which decayeth not, and thy beer which perisheth not” In the Text of [[Pepi I]] we read: “All the gods give thee their flesh and their blood…. Thou shalt not die.” In the Text of Pepi II the aspirant prays for “thy bread of eternity, and thy beer of everlastingness” (Line 390).
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In Mendes, they had considered Hatmehit, a local fish-goddess, as the [[henotheism|most important divinity]], and so when the cult of Osiris became more significant, Banebdjed was identified in Mendes as deriving his authority from being married to Hatmehit.<ref>See Wilkinson for a comprehensive overview of Banebdjed (192-193).</ref>
  
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===Osiris-Dionysus===
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===Hellenic syncretism===
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By the Hellenic era, Greek awareness of Osiris had grown, and attempts had been made to merge Greek philosophy, such as [[Platonism]], and the cult of Osiris (especially the myth of his resurrection), resulting in a new [[mystery religion]]. Gradually, this became more popular, and was exported to other parts of the Greek [[sphere of influence]]. However, these mystery religions valued the change in wisdom, personality, and knowledge of fundamental truth, rather than the exact details of the acknowledged myths on which their teachings were superimposed. Thus in each region that it was exported to, the myth was changed to be about a similar local god, resulting in a series of gods, who had originally been quite distinct, but who were now syncretisms with Osiris. These gods became known as [[Osiris-Dionysus]].
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====Osiris-Dionysus====
 +
By the Hellenic era, Greek awareness of Osiris had grown, and attempts had been made to unify Greek mystical philosophy, such as [[Platonism]] (and, more explicitly, [[Neo-Platonism]]) with the cult of Osiris, whose mythical resurrection was highly appealing to Greek auditors. This process resulted in  the development of a new [[mystery religion]]. Gradually, as this belief system became more popular, it came to be exported to other parts of the Greek sphere of influence. However, these mystery religions were primarily structured around the experiential truths of the revelations (concerning the fate of the human [[soul]] in the afterlife), rather than the specifics of the mythic traditions being appropriated. Thus, various mythic characters (from [[Orpheus]] and [[Dionysus]], to [[Attis]] and [[Mithras]], and innumerable local rebirth deities) all came to play a similar role in the mystery cults. Given the primacy of Osiris in the development of these religious institutions, scholars of religion often use the term "[[Osiris-Dionysus]]" as a general catch-all to describe the syncretic gods that they were centered around.
  
−
===Serapis===
+
====Serapis====
−
Eventually, in Egypt, the Hellenic [[pharaohs]] decided to produce a deity that would be acceptable to both the local Egyptian population, and the influx of Hellenic visitors, to bring the two groups together, rather than allow a source of rebellion to grow. Thus Osiris was identified explicitly with [[Apis (Egyptian mythology)|Apis]], really an aspect of [[Ptah]], who had already been identified as Osiris by this point, and a [[syncretism]] of the two was created, known as ''Serapis'', and depicted as a standard Greek god.
+
{{main|Serapis}}
 +
Eventually, the Hellenic [[pharaoh]]s decided to promote a deity that would be acceptable to both the local Egyptian population and to the influx of Hellenic visitors and immigrants. To this end, a cult that had originally been dedicated to the deceased [[Apis]] Bull (thus, to the Osiris of Apis), came to be re-imagined in a more Hellenic mode. Modeled on [[Hades]] (the Greek god of the underworld), [[Serapis]], whose name was a transliteration of Osor-Hapi), came to fulfill this role.
 +
<blockquote>The characteristic and constant elements of these depictions is their anthropomorphic character. Though he was related to the bull of Memphis, Sarapis was never represented in bovine or hybrid form. … While the basic image of Sarapis could seem familiar to the Greeks, we might well wonder how the Egyptians received it. A partial answer is furnished by recent discoveries at Dush in el-Kharga Oasis. In the temple there, which was constructed between the reign of Domitian and that of Hadrian and dedicated to Osiris-Sarapis and Isis, the recently excavated treasure included classical, anthropomorphic images of Sarapis, but even more images of the sacred bull Apis. We must acknowledge that the same divine entity could be depicted in very different ways.<ref>Dunand, 216-217. See 214-221 for a good overview of the "creation" of Serapis by the Egyptians.</ref></blockquote>
  
 
===Destruction===
 
===Destruction===
−
Osiris-worship continued up until the 6th century AD on the island of Philae in Upper Nile. The [[Theodosian decree]] (in about 380 AD) to destroy all pagan temples and force worshippers to accept Christianity was ignored there. However, Justinian dispatched a General Narses to Philae, who destroyed the Osirian temples and sanctuaries, threw the priests into prison, and carted the sacred images off to Constantinople. However, by that time, the [[soteriology]] of Osiris had assumed various forms which had long spread far and wide in the ancient world.
+
Osiris-worship continued up until the sixth century C.E. on the island of [[Philae]] in Upper Nile. The [[Theodosius|Theodosian]] decree (in about 380 C.E.) to destroy all [[pagan]] temples and force worshippers to accept [[Christianity]] was ignored there. However, [[Justinian]] dispatched a General Narses to Philae, who destroyed the Osirian temples and sanctuaries, threw the priests into prison, and carted the sacred images off to [[Constantinople]]. However, by that time, the [[soteriology]] of Osiris had assumed various forms which had long previous spread far and wide in the ancient world.
  
 
==Notes==
 
==Notes==
Line 159: Line 96:
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
* Assmann, Jan. ''In search for God in ancient Egypt''. Translated by David Lorton. Ithica: Cornell University Press, 2001. ISBN 0801487293.
+
* Assmann, Jan. ''In search for God in ancient Egypt,'' Translated by David Lorton. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001. ISBN 0801487293.
−
* Breasted, James Henry. ''Development of religion and thought in ancient Egypt''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986. ISBN 0812210454.
+
* Breasted, James Henry. ''Development of religion and thought in ancient Egypt.'' Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986. ISBN 0812210454.
−
* Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). ''The Egyptian Book of the Dead''. 1895. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/index.htm  sacred-texts.com].
+
* Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). ''The Egyptian Book of the Dead.'' 1895. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ebod/index.htm  sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
−
* Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). ''The Egyptian Heaven and Hell''. 1905. Accessed at [www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ehh.htm sacred-texts.com].
+
* Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). ''The Egyptian Heaven and Hell.'' 1905. Accessed at [www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ehh.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
−
* Budge, E. A. Wallis. ''The gods of the Egyptians; or, Studies in Egyptian mythology''. A Study in Two Volumes. New York: Dover Publications, 1969.
+
* Budge, E. A. Wallis. ''The gods of the Egyptians; or, Studies in Egyptian mythology.'' A Study in Two Volumes. [1904] reprint ed. New York: Adamant Media Corporation, 2001, Vol. 1
−
* Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). ''Legends of the Gods: The Egyptian texts''. 1912. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/leg/index.htm sacred-texts.com].
+
ISBN 0543951715 ; Vol. 2 ISBN 0543943526
−
* Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). ''The Rosetta Stone''. 1893, 1905. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/trs/index.htm sacred-texts.com].
+
* Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). ''Legends of the Gods: The Egyptian texts.'' 1912. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/leg/index.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
−
* Dennis, James Teackle (translator). ''The Burden of Isis''. 1910. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/boi/index.htm sacred-texts.com].
+
* Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). ''The Rosetta Stone.'' 1893, 1905. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/trs/index.htm sacred-texts.com].  
−
* Dunand, Françoise and Zivie-Coche, Christiane. ''Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 BCE to 395 CE''. Translated from the French by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 080144165X.
+
* Dennis, James Teackle (translator). ''The Burden of Isis''. 1910. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/boi/index.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
−
* Erman, Adolf. ''A handbook of Egyptian religion''. Translated by A. S. Griffith. London: Archibald Constable, 1907.
+
* Dunand, Françoise and Zivie-Coche, Christiane. ''Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 B.C.E. to 395 C.E.'' Translated from the French by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 080144165X.
−
* Frankfort, Henri. ''Ancient Egyptian Religion''. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1961. ISBN 0061300772.
+
* Erman, Adolf. ''A handbook of Egyptian religion,'' Translated by A. S. Griffith. London: Archibald Constable, 1907.
−
* Griffith, F. Ll. and Thompson, Herbert (translators). ''The Leyden Papyrus''. 1904. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/dmp/index.htm sacred-texts.com].
+
* Forbes, Clarence A., translator, ''The Error of the Pagan Religions.'' (''De Errore Profanarum Religionum'') Newman Press, 1970. ISBN 0809100398
−
* Larson, Martin A. ''The Story of Christian Origins''. 1977. ISBN 0883310902.
+
* Frankfort, Henri. ''Ancient Egyptian Religion.'' New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1961. ISBN 0061300772.
−
* Meeks, Dimitri and Meeks-Favard, Christine. ''Daily life of the Egyptian gods''. Translated from the French by G.M. Goshgarian. Ithaca, NY : Cornell University Press, 1996. ISBN 0801431158.
+
* Griffith, F. L. and Herbert Thompson, (translators). ''The Leyden Papyrus.'' 1904. Accessed at [http://www.sacred-texts.com/egy/dmp/index.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
−
* Mercer, Samuel A. B. (translator). ''The Pyramid Texts''. 1952. Accessed online at [www.sacred-texts.com/egy/pyt/index.htm sacred-texts.com].
+
* Larson, Martin A. ''The Story of Christian Origins.'' J.J. Binns, 1977. ISBN 0883310902.
−
* Pinch, Geraldine. ''Handbook of Egyptian mythology''. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. ISBN 1576072428.
+
* Meeks, Dimitri and Christine Meeks-Favard. ''Daily life of the Egyptian gods,'' Translated from the French by G.M. Goshgarian. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996. ISBN 0801431158.
−
* Shafer, Byron E. (editor). ''Temples of ancient Egypt''. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997. ISBN 0801433991.
+
* Mercer, Samuel A. B. (translator). ''The Pyramid Texts.'' 1952. Accessed online at [www.sacred-texts.com/egy/pyt/index.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
−
* Wilkinson, Richard H. ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt''. London: Thames and Hudson, 2003. ISBN 0500051208.
+
* Pinch, Geraldine. ''Handbook of Egyptian mythology.'' Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002. ISBN 1576072428.
−
 
+
* Powell, Barry B. ''Classical Myth.'' Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. ISBN 0137167148
−
==External links==
+
* Shafer, Byron E. (editor). ''Temples of ancient Egypt.'' Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997. ISBN 0801433991.
−
*[http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/papers/vol1/500215-The_Influence_of_the_Mystery_Religions_on_Christianity.htm The Influence of the Mystery Religions on Christianity]  Retrieved June 25, 2007.
+
* Tooley, Angela M. J. "Osiris Bricks." ''The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology'' 82 (1996): 167-179. 174.  
 +
* Wilkinson, Richard H. ''The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt.'' London: Thames and Hudson, 2003. ISBN 0500051208.
 +
* Zivie-Coche, Christiane and Françoise Dunand. ''Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 B.C.E.. to 395 C.E.,'' Translated from the French by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 080144165X
  
 
[[Category:Philosophy and religion]]
 
[[Category:Philosophy and religion]]

Latest revision as of 23:15, 4 March 2015


A typical depiction of Osiris.

Osiris (whose name is a Greek transliteration of the Egyptian Asar) is the Egyptian god of life, death, fertility, and the underworld. His extreme antiquity is attested to by his inclusion in pyramid texts dated to 2400 B.C.E., when his cult was already well established. In addition to the god's primary mythic and religious affiliation with the land of the dead, Osiris was also seen as the underworld agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the fertile flooding of the Nile River.[1] The modern understanding of these myths is derived from representations, rites and paeans recorded in the pyramid texts, and, much later, in the mythic narrative of Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride ("About Isis and Osiris").[2]

The cult of Osiris was characterized by various parallels between the worldly authority of the pharaohs and the celestial authority of the god: just as the human monarch ruled the fertile lands of the Nile delta, so too did Osiris reign over the land of the dead. As such, he became a protector and patron of the departed, promising them resurrection and eternal life. Though such patronage had originally been the exclusive province of the ruling class, by the New Kingdom period (1570–1070 C.E.) all men were believed to be associated with Osiris at death, providing that they had participated in the appropriate cultic observances.[3][4] These worship practices, which were prevalent throughout ancient Egypt, became popularized throughout the Greco-Roman world and only ceased with the forceable suppression of "paganism" in the Christian era.[5][6]

Osiris in an Egyptian Context

Osiris
in hieroglyphs
Q1
D4		 A4

As an Egyptian deity, Osiris belonged to a complex religious, mythological and cosmological belief system developed in the Nile river basin from earliest prehistory to 525 B.C.E.[7] Indeed, it was during this relatively late period in Egyptian cultural development, a time when they first felt their beliefs threatened by foreigners, that many of their myths, legends and religious beliefs were first recorded.[8] The cults within this framework, whose beliefs comprise the myths we have before us, were generally fairly localized phenomena, with different deities having the place of honor in different communities.[9] Despite this apparently unlimited diversity, however, the gods (unlike those in many other pantheons) were relatively ill-defined. As Henri Frankfort notes, “the Egyptian gods are imperfect as individuals. If we compare two of them … we find, not two personages, but two sets of functions and emblems. … The hymns and prayers addressed to these gods differ only in the epithets and attributes used. There is no hint that the hymns were addressed to individuals differing in character.”[10] One reason for this was the undeniable fact that the Egyptian gods were seen as utterly immanental—they represented (and were continuous with) particular, discrete elements of the natural world.[11] Thus, those who did develop characters and mythologies were generally quite portable, as they could retain their discrete forms without interfering with the various cults already in practice elsewhere. Also, this flexibility was what permitted the development of multipartite cults (i.e., the cult of Amun-Re, which unified the domains of Amun and Re), as the spheres of influence of these various deities were often complimentary.[12]

The worldview engendered by ancient Egyptian religion was uniquely appropriate to (and defined by) the geographical and calendrical realities of its believers' lives. Unlike the beliefs of the Hebrews, Mesopotamians and others within their cultural sphere, the Egyptians viewed both history and cosmology as being well-ordered, cyclical and dependable. As a result, all changes were interpreted as either inconsequential deviations from the cosmic plan or cyclical transformations required by it.[13] Breasted argues that one source of this cyclical timeline was the dependable yearly fluctuations of the Nile. [14] The major result of this perspective, in terms of the religious imagination, was to reduce the relevance of the present, as the entirety of history (when conceived of cyclically) was ultimately defined during the creation of the cosmos. The only other aporia in such an understanding is death, which seems to present a radical break with continuity. To maintain the integrity of this worldview, an intricate system of practices and beliefs (including the extensive mythic geographies of the afterlife, texts providing moral guidance (for this life and the next) and rituals designed to facilitate the transportation into the afterlife) was developed, whose primary purpose was to emphasize the unending continuation of existence.[15] Given these two cultural foci, it is understandable that the tales recorded within this mythological corpus tended to be either creation accounts or depictions of the world of the dead, with a particular focus on the relationship between the gods and their human constituents.

As Osiris was associated with both agricultural productivity and the human afterlife, he became one of the most popular deities of the Egyptian pantheon in terms of iconography, mythic accounts and cultic devotion. Such veneration is not at all surprising, given that his two areas of patronage were the cornerstones of Egyptian secular and religious life.

Mythology

Characterization

Within the classical Egyptian pantheon, Osiris was the oldest son of the Earth god, Geb, and the sky goddess, Nut, as well as the brother and husband of Isis, the goddess of fertility. In terms of progeny, the god is credited with siring with Anubis and Horus, though the later was conceived after the god's untimely death. The myths concerning each of these acts of procreation will be elucidated below.

Ptah-Seker, a composite deity uniting the creative elements of Ptah and the chthonic elements of Seker, gradually became identified with Osiris (the prototypical rebirth god). As such, the three deities came to be reified as Ptah-Seker-Osiris, an important god in both the temple worship tradition and the Egyptian funerary cult.[16]

He is usually portrayed as a green-skinned pharaoh wearing the Atef crown.[17] Typically, he is also represented holding the crook and flail, symbols of divine rulership that originated in iconographic depictions of the deity but that came to be signify religio-political authority in a more general context.[18] Also, his feet and lower body are depicted enshrouded in gauze, as though already partly mummified—an entirely fitting image, given the god's relationship to death and rebirth.[19]

Father of Anubis

When the Ennead and Ogdoad pantheons (and their attendant mythologies) became merged, most notably with the identification of Ra and Atum (Atum-Ra), Anubis (the god of the underworld in the Ogdoad system) came to be replaced by Osiris, whose cult had become more prominent throughout the country. In order to explain this, Anubis was subordinated to the more notorious god, the range of his realms of patronage was decreased, and he came to be identified as Osiris' son. Abydos, which had been a strong centre of the cult of Anubis, became a centre of the cult of Osiris.[20]

However, as Isis (Osiris' wife) represented life in the Ennead, it likely seemed inappropriate to mythographers for her to be the mother of Anubis, a god so intimately tied to death. Thus, it was usually said that Nephthys, the other female child of Geb and Nut, was his mother. To explain the apparent infidelity of Osiris, it was said that a sexually frustrated Nephthys had disguised herself as Isis to get more attention from her husband, Set. While this ruse did not beguile its intended target, it did earn her the attentions of Osiris, who mistook the goddess for his wife. This copulation resulted in the birth of the jackal-headed god of death.[21]

Father of Horus

Later, when elements of the cult of Hathor (a deity from the Ogdoadic pantheon) were assimilated into that of Isis, Horus, who had previously been seen as Hathor's son, became associated with the Enneadic goddess. Attempts to explain how Osiris, the husband of Isis and a god of the dead, could have fathered a deity so definitively alive as Horus, led to the development of the Legend of Osiris and Isis, which became the single greatest tale in Egyptian mythology (described below).

In brief, this myth described Osiris's death at the hands of his brother Set, who jealously desired his elder sibling's throne. Discovering her lover's body, Isis briefly brought him back to life through the use of a magical incantation. This spell gave her time to become pregnant by the god before his final demise. Isis later gave birth to Horus. As such, since Horus was born after Osiris' resurrection, the second generation deity became thought of as representing new beginnings. This combination, Osiris-Horus, was therefore interpreted as a life-death-rebirth deity, and was thus associated with the new harvest each year.

The Isis / Osiris Cycle

As intimated above, the tale of Osiris's death and resurrection provided one of the most culturally and symbolically resonant myths in the Egyptian corpus. Further, this tale was a central element of the mystery cult built around the otherworldly ruler, whose prominence throughout the dynastic period allowed it to survive the incursions of Hellenistic society through the creation of Serapis (a self-consciously syncretic deity). While the specifics of the cult will be elucidated below, it is first necessary to outline the myth itself.

The myth is first evidenced in a fragmentary fashion in the Pyramid Texts—a collection of pyramid inscriptions whose primary purpose was to correlate the myths of the gods with the cult of the pharaohs (who had commissioned the construction of these monumental necropoli). In them, the core events of the tale are already present, including the murder of Osiris by Set (his jealous sibling);For instance, one text suggests that the deceased king had best avoid the depredations of Set, lest he face the same fate as Osiris: "Set would have cut thee to pieces, and thou wouldst not rise (again)." [22]See also the terse comment: "Set is guilty; Osiris is justified" (1556a). the heart-broken response of his wife, Isis;[23] the vengeance exacted by Horus, his son;[24] and, the god's resurrection and return to prominence in the afterlife.[25]

While the discrete episodes discernible in the Pyramid Texts imply the existence of a coherent, central narrative, the earliest textual accounts of this myth can only be traced to the Hellenistic period. The most complete of these can be found in the prolific literary output of Plutarch, who records it in his Moralia.

Within his telling, Set,[26] desiring his brother's throne, convinced Osiris to lay down inside a coffin, which he then nailed shut, sealed with lead and threw into the Nile. Osiris's wife, Isis, searched for his remains until she finally found him embedded in a tree trunk, which was holding up the roof of a palace in Byblos on the Phoenician coast. She managed to remove the coffin and open it, but Osiris was already dead. She used a spell she had learned from her father and brought him back to life so he could impregnate her. At the conclusion of their semi-necrophilial intercourse, he died again. Afraid that Set would do violence to her beloved's remains, she hid his body in the desert.

Months later, the fertility goddess gave birth to Horus. While she was off raising her falcon-headed son, disaster struck again. One night, while Set had been out hunting, he inadvertently came across the body of Osiris. Enraged, he tore the corpse into fourteen pieces and scattered them throughout the land. Hearing of the new degradation visited upon her deceased paramour, Isis set out on a reed boat to gather up all the parts of the body. While she was able to retrieve thirteen of them, his phallus was permanently lost, having been devoured by a fish (the consumption of which thereafter became a religious taboo).[27] After fashioning a new member for the god from wood, she (along with Anubis, the god of embalming) reconnected the pieces and bandaged them together for a proper burial. Thereafter, Osiris was restored to life (of sorts) as the god of the underworld. From his chthonic throne, he trained and instructed Horus in the arts of diplomacy and combat, allowing the son to eventually exact vengeance from Set.[28]

Diodorus Siculus gives another version of the myth, where Osiris is described as an ancient king who taught the Egyptians the arts of civilization, including agriculture. Like the account summarized above, Osiris is murdered by his evil brother Set, who Diodorus associates with the evil Typhon of Greek mythology. After the god's death, Typhon divides the body into twenty six pieces, which he distributes amongst his fellow conspirators in order to implicate them in the murder. Isis and Horus avenge the death of Osiris and slay Typhon. Isis recovers all the parts of Osiris body, less the phallus, and secretly buries them. Likewise, she also makes replicas of them and distributes them to several locations, which thereafter became centers of Osirian worship.[29][30]

The Cult of Osiris

A priest of Osiris. He holds a canope vase of Osiris with the hems of his robe. (Ptolemaic Egypt. First century C.E.)

Plutarch and others have noted that the sacrifices to Osiris were "gloomy, solemn, and mournful" and that the great mystery festival, celebrated in two phases, began at Abydos on the seventeenth of Athyr (ca. Nov. 13) commemorating the death of the god, which (not coincidentally) was also the same day that grain was planted in the ground.[31] "The death of the grain and the death of the god were one and the same: the cereal was identified with the god who came from heaven; he was the bread by which man lives. The resurrection of the God symbolized the rebirth of the grain."[32] This overt relationship between the fertility of the soil and the god's death and rebirth was most potently demonstrated in artifacts known as "Osiris Beds": stone or wood constructs in the form of Osiris, which were filled with soil, sown with seed, and (in many cases) wrapped as mummies.[33] The germinating seed symbolized Osiris rising from the dead. An almost pristine example of this type of cult device was found in the tomb of Tutankhamun by Howard Carter.[34]

The first phase of the festival featured an elaborate procession, whereby an image of the god was paraded through town, allowing for public adulation of the typically concealed religious images.[35] Next, the assembled devotees and pilgrims viewed a public drama reenacting the murder and dismemberment of Osiris, the search for his body by Isis, his triumphal return as resurrected god, and the battle where Horus ultimately defeated Set. This ritual theater was presented by skilled actors, serving as both an oral history and a cultic theology, and was the primary means of proselytizing to potential converts.[36] The participants in these mysteries are described (in an unflattering light) by Julius Firmicus Maternus, in his "Error of Pagan Religions." Therein, he describes who this play was re-enacted each year by worshipers who "beat their breasts and gashed their shoulders. … When they pretend that the mutilated remains of the god have been found and rejoined… they turn from mourning to rejoicing.[37]

Perhaps more important than any of these particular ceremonials, however, is the fact that deceased mortals came to be directly identified with the deity, to the extend that their names were appended onto the god's name during funerary rites. While this venerable practice was originally extended only to the bodies of pharaohs,[38] it came to be an accepted portion of the funeral liturgy. As such, Osiris was seen as an immanent part of the death (and assume resurrection) of human believers.[39]

The I-Kher-Nefert stele

Much of the extant information about the Passion of Osiris can be found on a stele at Abydos erected in the 12th Dynasty by I-Kher-Nefert (also Ikhernefert), possibly a priest of Osiris or other official during the reign of Senwosret III (Pharaoh Sesostris, about 1875 B.C.E.).

The Passion Plays were held in the last month of the inundation (the annual Nile flood), coinciding with Spring and taking place at Abydos/Abedjou, which was the traditional place that the body of Osiris drifted ashore after having been drowned in the Nile.[40] Some elements of the ceremony were held in the temple, while others involved public participation in a form of theatrical observances (as mentioned above). The Stela of I-Kher-Nefert recounts the programme of public events that comprised the Festival:

  • The First Day—The Procession of Wepwawet: A mock battle is enacted during which the enemies of Osiris are defeated. A procession is led by the god Wepwawet ("opener of the way").
  • The Second Day—The Great Procession of Osiris: The body of Osiris is taken from his temple to his tomb.
  • The Third Day—Osiris is Mourned and the Enemies of the Land are Destroyed.
  • The Fourth Day—Night Vigil: Prayers and recitations are made and funeral rites performed.
  • The Fifth Day—Osiris is Reborn: Osiris is reborn at dawn and crowned with the crown of Ma'at. A statue of Osiris is brought to the temple.[40]

Wheat and clay rituals

Contrasting with the public "theatrical" ceremonies sourced from the I-Kher-Nefert stele, more esoteric ceremonies, which were open only to initiates, were performed inside the temples by priests. One such practice was the creation and seeding of "Osiris beds" (mentioned above). Describing this rite, Plutarch states:

the keepers of the robes and the priests bring forth the sacred chest containing a small golden coffer, into which they pour some potable water which they have taken up, and a great shout arises from the company for joy that Osiris is found. Then they knead some fertile soil with the water and mix in spices and incense of a very costly sort, and fashion therefrom a crescent-shaped figure, which they clothe and adorn, thus indicating that they regard these gods as the substance of Earth and Water.[41] Yet even he was respectfully vague concerning their more arcane practices, as when he wrote, "I pass over the cutting of wood, the rending of linen, and the libations that are offered, for the reason that many of their secret rites are involved therein."[42]

In the Osirian temple at Denderah, an inscription describes in detail the making of wheat paste models of each dismembered segment of Osiris, which were to be sent out to the various towns where each piece was said to have been discovered by Isis. At the temple of Mendes, figures of Osiris were made from wheat, paste was placed in a trough on the day of the murder's commemoration, then water added for several days. Finally, the mixture was kneaded into a mold of Osiris and taken to the temple and buried. Given the sacramental nature of these cakes, the sacred grain composing them could only be grown in temple fields. All of these sacred rituals were "climaxed by the eating of sacramental god, the eucharist by which the celebrants were transformed, in their persuasion, into replicas of their god-man."[43][44]

Ram god

Banebdjed (b3-nb-ḏd)
in hieroglyphs
E10nbDdniwtDd

Since Osiris was a chthonic, underworld deity and was thus associated with the realm of spirits, the god's soul (or rather his Ba) was occasionally worshiped in its own right. Given the fluidity inherent in Egyptian notions of divinity, such a multipartite cult was certainly not unusual.[45] This aspect of Osiris was referred to as Banebdjed (also spelt Banebded or Banebdjedet, which literally means The ba of the lord of Djedet (the city of Mendes). Given that Mendes was associated with the Isis/Osiris cycle as the place that the soul of the god "took refuge … when his body was killed by Seth," the localization of these cultic practices is certainly comprehensible.

Since ba was associated with power, and was a homophone of the Egyptian word for "ram," Banebdjed was depicted as a ram or as a ram-headed humanoid. Due to this association, a living, sacred ram, was kept at Mendes and worshiped as the incarnation of the god, and upon death, the rams were mummified and buried in a ram-specific necropolis. As regards the association of Osiris with the ram, the god's traditional crook and flail are of course the instruments of the shepherd, which has suggested to some scholars also an Osiris' origin in herding tribes of the upper Nile. From Osiris, they eventually passed to Egyptian kings in general as symbols of divine authority. [46]

In Mendes, they had considered Hatmehit, a local fish-goddess, as the most important divinity, and so when the cult of Osiris became more significant, Banebdjed was identified in Mendes as deriving his authority from being married to Hatmehit.[47]

Hellenic syncretism

Osiris-Dionysus

By the Hellenic era, Greek awareness of Osiris had grown, and attempts had been made to unify Greek mystical philosophy, such as Platonism (and, more explicitly, Neo-Platonism) with the cult of Osiris, whose mythical resurrection was highly appealing to Greek auditors. This process resulted in the development of a new mystery religion. Gradually, as this belief system became more popular, it came to be exported to other parts of the Greek sphere of influence. However, these mystery religions were primarily structured around the experiential truths of the revelations (concerning the fate of the human soul in the afterlife), rather than the specifics of the mythic traditions being appropriated. Thus, various mythic characters (from Orpheus and Dionysus, to Attis and Mithras, and innumerable local rebirth deities) all came to play a similar role in the mystery cults. Given the primacy of Osiris in the development of these religious institutions, scholars of religion often use the term "Osiris-Dionysus" as a general catch-all to describe the syncretic gods that they were centered around.

Serapis

Eventually, the Hellenic pharaohs decided to promote a deity that would be acceptable to both the local Egyptian population and to the influx of Hellenic visitors and immigrants. To this end, a cult that had originally been dedicated to the deceased Apis Bull (thus, to the Osiris of Apis), came to be re-imagined in a more Hellenic mode. Modeled on Hades (the Greek god of the underworld), Serapis, whose name was a transliteration of Osor-Hapi), came to fulfill this role.

The characteristic and constant elements of these depictions is their anthropomorphic character. Though he was related to the bull of Memphis, Sarapis was never represented in bovine or hybrid form. … While the basic image of Sarapis could seem familiar to the Greeks, we might well wonder how the Egyptians received it. A partial answer is furnished by recent discoveries at Dush in el-Kharga Oasis. In the temple there, which was constructed between the reign of Domitian and that of Hadrian and dedicated to Osiris-Sarapis and Isis, the recently excavated treasure included classical, anthropomorphic images of Sarapis, but even more images of the sacred bull Apis. We must acknowledge that the same divine entity could be depicted in very different ways.[48]

Destruction

Osiris-worship continued up until the sixth century C.E. on the island of Philae in Upper Nile. The Theodosian decree (in about 380 C.E.) to destroy all pagan temples and force worshippers to accept Christianity was ignored there. However, Justinian dispatched a General Narses to Philae, who destroyed the Osirian temples and sanctuaries, threw the priests into prison, and carted the sacred images off to Constantinople. However, by that time, the soteriology of Osiris had assumed various forms which had long previous spread far and wide in the ancient world.

Notes

  1. ↑ Geraldine Pinch. Handbook of Egyptian mythology. (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2002), 178-179.
  2. ↑ Plutarch. Isis and Osiris, translated by Frank Cole Babbitt, (1936, Vol 5. Loeb Classical Library). University of Chicago - LacusCurtis server. Also available in Budge's Legends of the Gods. (1912), available at sacred-texts.com.Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  3. ↑ Françoise Dunand and Christiane Zivie-Coche. Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 B.C.E. to 395 C.E., Translated from the French by David Lorton. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004), 238-239
  4. ↑ S.G.F Brandon, "Osiris," Man, Myth and Magic. by Richard Cavendish. Encyclopedia Set, Vol. 5, (BPC Publishing, 1971), 2087-2088.
  5. ↑ "Theodosius I," The Catholic Encyclopedia, 1912. [1]
  6. ↑ S.G.F Brandon, "Osiris," Man, Myth and Magic (Vol. 5), (BPC Publishing, 1971), 2086.
  7. ↑ This particular "cut-off" date has been chosen because it corresponds to the Persian conquest of the kingdom, which marks the end of its existence as a discrete and (relatively) circumscribed cultural sphere. Indeed, as this period also saw an influx of immigrants from Greece, it was also at this point that the Hellenization of Egyptian religion began. While some scholars suggest that even when "these beliefs became remodeled by contact with Greece, in essentials they remained what they had always been." Adolf Erman. A handbook of Egyptian religion, Translated by A. S. Griffith. (London: Archibald Constable, 1907), 203, it still seems reasonable to address these traditions, as far as is possible, within their own cultural milieu.
  8. ↑ The numerous inscriptions, stelae and papyri that resulted from this sudden stress on historical posterity provide much of the evidence used by modern archeologists and Egyptologists to approach the ancient Egyptian tradition (Pinch, 31-32).
  9. ↑ These local groupings often contained a particular number of deities and were often constructed around the incontestably primary character of a creator god, according to Dimitri Meeks and Christine Meeks-Favard. Daily life of the Egyptian gods, Translated from the French by G.M. Goshgarian. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996, 34-37).
  10. ↑ Henri Frankfort. Ancient Egyptian Religion. (New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1961), 25-26.
  11. ↑ Christiane Zivie-Coche, and Françoise Dunand. Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 B.C.E. to 395 C.E., Translated from the French by David Lorton. (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004), 40-41; Frankfort, 23, 28-29.
  12. ↑ Frankfort, 20-21.
  13. ↑ Jan Assmann. In search for God in ancient Egypt, Translated by David Lorton. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001), 73-80; Zivie-Coche, 65-67
  14. ↑ James Henry Breasted. Development of religion and thought in ancient Egypt. (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986), 8, 22-24.
  15. ↑ Frankfort, 117-124; Zivie-Coche, 154-166.
  16. ↑ Budge (1969), Vol. I, 503.
  17. ↑ A form of white crown specific to upper Egypt, distinguished by a plume of feathers on either side.
  18. ↑ altreligion.com. Retrieved July 09, 2007.
  19. ↑ Richard H. Wilkinson. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. (London: Thames and Hudson, 2003), 120-122. It should be noted that the god's flesh, which is sometimes coloured green (symbolizing vegetation and fertility), was also occasionally white or black (likely signifying death (via the color of the shroud) or the fertile soil of the Nile delta) (120).
  20. ↑ Budge (1969), Vol. II, 264; Pinch, 104.
  21. ↑ Described in Plutarch's Isis and Osiris. Retrieved online July 09, 2007. See also: Wilkinson, 187.
  22. ↑ The Pyramid Texts (678c), 133. Accessed online at: sacred-texts.com. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  23. ↑ The text records the ministrations of goddess Isis (and her sister Nephthys) when the two discover the corpse of the god: "Isis comes, Nephthys comes, one of them on the right, one of them on the left, // one of them as a ḥȝ.t-bird, one of them (Nephthys) as a kite. // They found Osiris, // after his brother Set had felled him to the earth in [?????], … // They prevent thee from rotting, in accordance with this thy name of "Anubis"; // they prevent thy putrefaction from flowing to the ground." The Pyramid Texts (1255c-1257b), 207. Accessed online at: sacred-texts.com. Retrieved July 9, 2007. In a later passage, the posthumous conception of Horus is also indirectly described: "Isis comes to thee rejoicing for love of thee; // thy semen goes into her, while it is pointed like Sothis" (1635b-1636a).
  24. ↑ For example: "Thou who hast smitten (my) father; he who has killed (one) greater than he; // thou hast smitten (my) father, thou hast killed one greater than thou. // Father Osiris N. I have smitten for thee him who smote thee as an ox; // I have killed for thee him who killed thee as a wild-bull. … Eat, eat the red ox [a representation of Horus's victim], for the voyage by sea, // which Horus did for his father, Osiris." The Pyramid Texts (1543a-1544b, 1550a-1550b), 241-242. Accessed online at: sacred-texts.com. Retrieved July 9, 2007. Likewise, consider the following instruction for a deceased ruler: "Wake up for Horus; stand up against Set" (793a).
  25. ↑ The most specific reference to Osiris as lord of the dead occurs in a passage describing the kingly nature of the deceased pharaoh using analogies to the gods (and their various domains): "Thou appearest to them like a jackal, like Horus chief of the living, // like Geb chief of the Ennead, like Osiris chief of spirits." The Pyramid Texts (2103c-2103d), 308. Accessed online at: sacred-texts.com. sacredtexts. Retrieved July 9, 2007.
  26. ↑ It should be noted that Plutarch's account syncretically uses some Grecian equivalents for the Egyptian deities. Thus, Geb is affiliated with Cronus, Nut with Rhea, and Set with Typhoeus. See: Barry B. Powell. Classical Myth. (Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998), 216.
  27. ↑ Powell, 218.
  28. ↑ Plutarch, Isis and Osiris. Retrieved online July 09, 2007.
  29. ↑ "Osiris," Man, Myth and Magic, S.G.F Brandon, Vol5 P2088, BPC Publishing.
  30. ↑ "The Historical Library of Diodorus Siculus," translated by George Booth 1814. retrieved 03 June 2007.[2]
  31. ↑ Plutarch. Isis and Osiris [3] accessdate =2007-01-21. Section 13, 356C-D
  32. ↑ Martin A. Larson. The Story of Christian Origins. (J.J. Binns, 1977), 17.
  33. ↑ Wilkinson, 122.
  34. ↑ Angela M. J. Tooley, "Osiris Bricks," The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 82 (1996): 167-179. 174.
  35. ↑ Zivie-Coche, 116.
  36. ↑ See, for example, Dunand, 238-239.
  37. ↑ De Errore Profanarum Religionum, translated by Clarence A. Forbes as The Error of the Pagan Religions, Newman Press, 1970. ISBN 0809100398.
  38. ↑ As in the Pyramid Texts quoted above.
  39. ↑ Wilkinson, 122.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Mirjam Nebet. "Passion Plays of Osiris." ancientworlds.net - the passion plays of osiris.ancientworlds.net. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  41. ↑ Plutarch, [4] Isis and Osiris, 39. Retrieved July 10, 2007.
  42. ↑ Plutarch, [5] Isis and Osiris, 21.
  43. ↑ Martin A. Larson. The Story of Christian Origins. (Sparrow Hawk Press, 1977), 20.
  44. ↑ Wallis Budge, Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection. (New York: Dover, 1973. ISBN 0486227804). See, particularly, chapter XV, where the inscription described above is translated.
  45. ↑ However, as Pinch notes, this being is not always associated with Osiris, and is sometimes seen as a discrete deity (115).
  46. ↑ [6]altreligion.about.com. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  47. ↑ See Wilkinson for a comprehensive overview of Banebdjed (192-193).
  48. ↑ Dunand, 216-217. See 214-221 for a good overview of the "creation" of Serapis by the Egyptians.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Assmann, Jan. In search for God in ancient Egypt, Translated by David Lorton. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001. ISBN 0801487293.
  • Breasted, James Henry. Development of religion and thought in ancient Egypt. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1986. ISBN 0812210454.
  • Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). The Egyptian Book of the Dead. 1895. Accessed at sacred-texts.com. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  • Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). The Egyptian Heaven and Hell. 1905. Accessed at [www.sacred-texts.com/egy/ehh.htm sacred-texts.com]. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  • Budge, E. A. Wallis. The gods of the Egyptians; or, Studies in Egyptian mythology. A Study in Two Volumes. [1904] reprint ed. New York: Adamant Media Corporation, 2001, Vol. 1

ISBN 0543951715 ; Vol. 2 ISBN 0543943526

  • Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). Legends of the Gods: The Egyptian texts. 1912. Accessed at sacred-texts.com. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  • Budge, E. A. Wallis (translator). The Rosetta Stone. 1893, 1905. Accessed at sacred-texts.com.
  • Dennis, James Teackle (translator). The Burden of Isis. 1910. Accessed at sacred-texts.com. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  • Dunand, Françoise and Zivie-Coche, Christiane. Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 B.C.E. to 395 C.E. Translated from the French by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 080144165X.
  • Erman, Adolf. A handbook of Egyptian religion, Translated by A. S. Griffith. London: Archibald Constable, 1907.
  • Forbes, Clarence A., translator, The Error of the Pagan Religions. (De Errore Profanarum Religionum) Newman Press, 1970. ISBN 0809100398
  • Frankfort, Henri. Ancient Egyptian Religion. New York: Harper Torchbooks, 1961. ISBN 0061300772.
  • Griffith, F. L. and Herbert Thompson, (translators). The Leyden Papyrus. 1904. Accessed at sacred-texts.com. Retrieved May 19, 2008.
  • Larson, Martin A. The Story of Christian Origins. J.J. Binns, 1977. ISBN 0883310902.
  • Meeks, Dimitri and Christine Meeks-Favard. Daily life of the Egyptian gods, Translated from the French by G.M. Goshgarian. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1996. ISBN 0801431158.
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  • Powell, Barry B. Classical Myth. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1998. ISBN 0137167148
  • Shafer, Byron E. (editor). Temples of ancient Egypt. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1997. ISBN 0801433991.
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  • Wilkinson, Richard H. The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. London: Thames and Hudson, 2003. ISBN 0500051208.
  • Zivie-Coche, Christiane and Françoise Dunand. Gods and men in Egypt: 3000 B.C.E. to 395 C.E., Translated from the French by David Lorton. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2004. ISBN 080144165X

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