God of fertility and king of the underworld. Son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, father of Horus (Horus), husband and brother of Isis. As an adult, Osiris inherited the throne of the god Geb and the title of supreme ruler of the earth. He taught people to cultivate the land, grow crops, observe the laws of the community, and worship the gods. He also gave people writing, knowledge of the basics of crafts and arts. After that, a golden age of abundance and happiness was established on earth.
However, the foster brother of Osiris, Seth, planned to kill him and become the earthly ruler. He prepared a box according to the height of Osiris and invited him to a feast as a guest. The jeweled box was to go to whoever could fit comfortably in it. When Osiris, following the example of other guests, lay down in it. Seth and his accomplices suddenly closed the lid of the box, tied it with ropes and threw it into the river. The box was carried out to the open sea and brought by waves to the Phoenician coast. It was there that Isis found him. Returning to Egypt, Isis hid the body of Osiris in the Nile Delta. Here it was accidentally discovered by Set hunting. He cut the body into fourteen pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. However, Isis collected almost all parts of the body of Osiris, connected them and made the first mummy out of her dead husband. Possessing knowledge of the secrets of witchcraft, Isis was able to give birth to a son of Horus from a dead husband. Growing up, Horus fought Set and let the dead Osiris swallow his eye. Because of this, Osiris was resurrected. He blessed Horus to fight Set, and he himself descended into the underworld and became its master. Before Osiris, the heart of a deceased person was weighed on the scales to determine the measure of the sinfulness of the latter. Every year in Egypt they celebrated the resurrection of Osiris, which marked the awakening to life of all plant nature.
(USIR) - the god of the vital forces of nature and fertility, rebirth, the king of posthumous existence. 
According to references in ancient Egyptian texts, Usir was the eldest son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, the brother and husband of Isis, the brother of Nephthys and Set, the father of Horus. He was the fourth of the gods who reigned on earth in primordial times, having inherited the power of his great-grandfather Atum-Ra, grandfather Shu and father Geb. Osiris ruled on Earth and the center of his blessed land was Egypt. Osiris taught people good manners and customs, weaning them from cannibalism. From him, people learned how to grow cereals and grapes, bake bread, make beer and wine, build cities, heal, honor the gods, and mine and process copper and gold ores. Perhaps this indicates that the first myths about Osiris as a real cultural hero of history originated in the Stone-Copper Age - the Neolithic. Egyptologists today can approximately describe this time as an interval between the VI-V millennia BC. A coherent story about Osiris, Isis, Set and Horus can be stated as follows. The first-born was born to Geb and Nut, to the joy of them and the ruler of the Universe Ra, who announced the appearance of a mighty god, the ruler of the earth, doing good. The next child was Seth, strong and enduring, followed by two sisters: Isis and Nephthys.
Having become king, Osiris brought people out of savagery, teaching agriculture and crafts. His wife was Isis, who owned spiritual art and magic. People glorified their wise and kind king. However, he had an evil envious person - Seth, who dreamed of seizing the throne.
While Osiris set out on a campaign to Asia, Seth ordered a splendidly decorated box to be made. When, having won, Osiris returned home and arranged a feast, Set appeared there with his supporters, bringing this intricately decorated box. Seth announced that the gift would go to whoever needed it. The sarcophagus was specially built according to the measurements of Osiris.
When the unsuspecting Osiris lay down in the box, Set and his henchmen quickly slammed the lid shut, nailing it down. The box was thrown into the waters of the Nile. However, the current did not carry him into the sea: the heather bush was held up near the shore, clasping it with branches. Thanks to clairvoyance, Isis managed to find the sarcophagus with the body of her husband, extracted through spiritual practices the life force from the body of Osiris and thus conceived from him. Isis, in the form of a falcon, landed on the corpse of Osiris and then gave birth to a son, Horus. Horus is conceived and born in order to act as the sole legitimate heir of the latter and avenger for the death of his father.
Isis hid the body of Osiris in a secret place in the Nile Delta. However, there he was discovered by the hunting Seth. He cut his brother's body into 14 pieces and scattered them in different parts of Egypt. (It is assumed that in this way the priests explained the existence of the tombs with the body of Osiris in the 14 nomes of the country.) Isis was able to put all the pieces together and bury Osiris in Abydos. In some myths, the funeral ceremony was performed by the god Anubis.
After Horus took the Eye from Set in a duel and returned it to Osiris, the latter was resurrected. He became the ruler of the underworld, the guardian god of the dead and their judge, weighing on the scales the amount of good and evil committed by a person during his lifetime. As a result, it was decided whether the soul would get to the fertile fields of paradise. After the battle, or according to other options for a long trial before the Great Nine, Horus is recognized by the gods as the rightful heir of Osiris and receives the kingdom of Egypt.
The features of the cult of the god of the productive forces of nature appear very clearly in the myth of Osiris. The crown worn by Osiris is made of papyrus stems, his sacred boat is also made of this plant, and his fetish "Jed" consists of several bundles of reeds inserted one into the other. Further, Osiris is always depicted with one or another plant: from the pond in front of his throne grows either a lotus or a row of trees and a vine; sometimes the whole canopy, under which Osiris sits, is twined with bunches of grapes; sometimes vines twine around him. In the same way, the tomb of Osiris is not depicted without greenery: either a tree grows next to it, on which the soul of Osiris sits in the form of a phoenix; that tree sprouted through the tomb, wrapping its branches and roots around it; then four trees grow from the tomb itself.
In connection with the death and resurrection of Osiris, solemn ceremonies took place in Egypt.
There was a funeral rite, during which the symbol of the rebirth of the deceased in the kingdom of the dead was grains planted in moist earth, filling a clay mold. The appearance of shoots was identified with the rebirth under the auspices of Osiris. The celebration of the resurrection of Osiris took place in the last month of the Nile flood season, when the waters began to recede.
Osiris (Greek) - Usir (Egyptian)
Function. The god of the productive forces of nature and the supreme deity in the afterlife cult, the judge of the dead, a symbol of rebirth and eternal life. In the Early Dynastic period, the local deity of Busiris, associated with fertility. In the Macedonian period, the cult of Osiris merges with the cult of the sacred bull Apis (Osiris-Apis), and on its basis the cult of Serapis arises. In the Late Period, Ba Osiris personified Benu.
Location. One of the Heliopolitan ennead of gods. The fourth of the gods who reigned on earth in primordial times. Inherited the power of Ra, Shu and Geb. While reigning, he weaned people from a wild lifestyle, cannibalism, taught them to sow cereals, bake bread, plant vineyards and make beer and wine, mine and process copper and gold. He taught medicine, construction, established the cult of the gods.
Genealogy. Eldest son of Geb and Nut, brother of Set, Isis and Nephthys, husband of Isis, father of Horus and Anubis.
Iconography. It was depicted as a man with a green (vegetation symbol) or red (earth symbol) body wrapped, like a mummy, in white material. The Atef crown was depicted on the head, consisting of the white crown of Upper Egypt and red feathers, reminiscent of the center of the cult of Busiris. In the hands - symbols of supreme power (flail and hook). He was often depicted sitting among trees or with a vine wrapped around his figure. Ra-Osiris was depicted with a solar disk on his head.
Fetish. Pillar Jed. For ritual purposes, wooden cases in the form of the mummy of Osiris were used: inside they were hollow, earth was poured there and grain was thrown, and holes were drilled in the lid of the case through which green shoots grew - "Growing Osiris". In the mysteries, the harvest, the cutting of ears, symbolized the murder of Osiris; sowing grain - the burial of Osiris, seedlings - his resurrection.
cult centers. The main cult centers are Busiris and Abydos (the burial place of the pharaohs), later - the islands of Philae and Bige.
Identification. Aah, Khentiamenti, Sokar, Ptah, Hapi, Nun, by the end of the New Kingdom - Ra. In ancient Greece - Hades, Helios, Dionysus, Poseidon, Serapis, Eros.
The myth of Osiris and Isis
According to myths, the head of the pantheon of Egyptian gods was the sun god Amon-Ra. The myths also tell of a divine couple - the earth god Gebe and the goddess of the starry sky Nut - who had four children: the gods Osiris and Set and the goddesses Isis and Nephthys. The Egyptians claimed that Osiris and his wife, the beautiful Isis, were their first rulers.
The divine couple conveyed to people the knowledge of the land capable of sprouts, initiated them into the mysteries of arts and crafts, taught writing and the canons of building temples. People got the opportunity to live according to the laws of Heaven in unity with Nature. Osiris and Isis revealed to them the mysteries of life and death and the meaning of their own existence. They awakened in the souls the love for Wisdom and the craving for knowledge. For people it was the most beautiful and happy time.
As the myths tell, on the 17th day of the month of Atyr, when the sun crossed the constellation Scorpio, a great disaster occurred on earth. The brother of Osiris, the god Set, seeking to seize power over the world, killed Osiris and threw his body into the Nile.
For a long time, not knowing fatigue, Isis searched for her divine husband all over the earth. Finding the body of Osiris, she hid it on the banks of the Nile in a thicket of reeds. But Seth, hunting at night, found him and cut him into fourteen pieces, which he scattered throughout the Egyptian land. Isis set off again in search. Where the goddess found parts of the body of Osiris, she erected sanctuaries in memory of her divine spouse. The fourteen sanctuaries erected by the goddess Isis will in historical times become the sacred centers of the whole country.
Around them, in the places that the gods themselves determined, Egypt will be built and developed. So at all times Egypt was the body of the divine Osiris, dismembered by his brother Seth into 14 parts. As the myth narrates further, soon a son is miraculously born to Isis and Osiris - the falcon god Horus, who was supposed to restore justice. The son of Isis enters the battle with the forces of darkness. In one of the battles with Seth, Horus loses an eye. In return, the gods give him Ujat - the eye of the inner. Vision Horus defeats Seth, and with the help of Ujat, he revives his father Osiris.
The eye of Horus becomes one of the main symbols of Egypt - a symbol of fair actions, compassion and mercy. The son of Isis Horus was the last of the gods who ruled on Earth. With his departure to heaven, the age of the reign of the gods ends. Thousands of years will pass before the first historical pharaoh appears and the earthly power passes to the earthly king.
Osiris is one of the supreme gods in the Egyptian pantheon, he was perceived by the population of the Ancient World as the king of the underworld. The correct pronunciation of this god's name is Usir.
He is depicted, as a rule, in the form of a man whose lower body is bandaged like a mummified body. In his hands he must have signs of royal power - a hook and a flail.
On the head of this deity, a specific headdress is depicted - the atef crown. It looks like a tall conical cap, on the sides of which two feathers hang down. Sometimes, instead of a headdress, Osiris depicts huge ram's horns. In some drawings that have survived to this day, this god is depicted with green skin, which, as it were, emphasizes his involvement in the abundance and fertility of the people.
Today's Egyptologists cannot come to a consensus on the etymology (origin) of the name of this deity. But the most widespread point of view is that the god received his name Usir from the consonant Egyptian word “voser”, which literally translates as “ruling one”.
A large number of beliefs, religious cults and myths are associated with this god among the ancient Egyptians.
Rebirth of Osiris
One of the most important myths of Ancient Egypt, on which the entire religious and funeral cult of this , is a legend about the murder and subsequent resurrection of the god Osiris.
This myth was most accurately and reliably described by the ancient Greek philosopher and chronicler Plutarch. According to his story, Osiris was originally a mortal man - the king of Egypt. He ruled the people together with his wife Isis, who was also his sister. Under him, the population of Egypt learned to grow crops, live in peace and honor their gods. He won his influence among ordinary people with his kindness and justice, and not with threats and weapons like other pharaohs. As a result, he was loved and revered, which caused terrible envy in his brother Seth. Set decided to lime his brother, for this he made a sarcophagus and promised to give it to the one to whom it would suit, he himself took the exact measurements of Osiris from the very beginning.
Osiris decided to support his brother’s idea and lay down in the sarcophagus, which naturally turned out to be exactly the right time for him, at which time Set and seventy-two other conspirators ran up and closed the lid, and even soldered it with lead on top for greater reliability. Then they threw the sarcophagus with Osiris into the Nile.
But the sarcophagus did not sink, but floated further downstream. Near Byblos, he was washed ashore, and a beautiful tree immediately grew in this place. Isis, who loved her husband very much, makes a successful attempt to find her husband, finds the sarcophagus and returns it to the Delta, where she is going to perform the funeral ceremony in accordance with all the rules. But Seth turned out to be very insidious, he steals the body of his brother, cuts it into many pieces and scatters them all over Egypt.
But Isis did not give up, she again began to look for her husband's body, finding pieces of it in different parts, she performed a funeral ceremony and took them with her. After everything was collected, Osiris was mummified. As a result, the soul of Osiris gained dominion and began to rule the afterlife. In the periods of the middle and late kingdoms, this god, according to the cult of the Egyptians and their religion, presided over the judgment on the souls of the dead.
Supreme Court of Osiris
Thanks to the famous "book of the dead" that has come down to us through the millennia, you can find out how, according to the Egyptians, the Supreme Court was held over the souls of the dead.
So according to her, after a person died, his soul fell into the afterlife, which seemed to be something like a place where further distribution took place - to hell or paradise. Everything in this world was decided by the supreme court of forty-two gods, headed by Osiris, it was he who made the final conclusion, since apparently the court was decided according to a collegial verdict.
After the soul got into the afterlife, it must take the so-called oath of denial - it was necessary to swear that during life the person was God-fearing and did not commit evil deeds, all the words of the oath began with the particle "not" - did not violate, did not steal, did not lie , did not kill, etc. After the oath, the gods weighed the heart of the deceased on the scales of truth. It was placed on one scale, and on the other the goddess of truth Maat put her feather. And if the heart outweighed, it means that during life it was burdened with various unseemly misdeeds.
The further fate of the soul depended on the decision of the court of Osiris - it could be sent to paradise, to the light, or the heart was eaten by the merciless monster Ammut. Moreover, in the first case, the soul after a while could resurrect again in another person, and in the second it died completely. It was because of the fear of the supreme court of the Lord of the underworld that Osiris was so revered in Ancient Egypt, and his cult consisted of the largest number of temples and priests.
With all this, the Egyptians considered this god strict, but fair, who is always ready to make some concessions, but will not let truly wicked sinners into paradise. It was precisely with the aim of appeasing the supreme god of the court and the panel of assessors that the “book of the dead” was placed in the tombs, which contained a large number of various tricks and formulas with which one could achieve indulgence for oneself.
Cult of Osiris
Osiris has been revered by the Egyptians since the time of the most ancient reign of the pharaohs, and initially he was considered the god of abundance and fertility, it was customary to believe that all the floods of the Nile and the subsequent rich harvest depended on his mercy. Somewhat later, he began to be perceived as the god of resurrection and the lord of the Underworld.
At the beginning of Egyptian history, the ruling pharaohs were identified with the god himself, and their sons with Horus were identified with the sons of Osiris.
One of the main territorial centers of the cult of this deity was Abydos, the capital of the eighth nome in Ancient Egypt. The place of pilgrimage in these territories was the tomb of one of the kings of the very first dynasty of the ruler Djoser, in subsequent centuries, it was revered as the resting place of Osiris himself. Every year for several thousand years, a festival dedicated to this deity was held in Abydos. It was also customary to believe that it was in this city that the head of the god was buried, after he was cut into pieces by his own brother.
It is also noteworthy that the cult of Osiris was so strong, and the god himself was so revered, that in the era of the new kingdom, he went beyond the boundaries of Ancient Egypt and spread throughout the countries of Nubia, Libya, Greece, Mesopotamia, etc.
Osiris and the myth of his miraculous resurrection in the form of a god combined the most diverse periods of Egyptian history. The cult of the king-pharaoh, the worship of a god who dies and rises, just like the Nile with its ebb and flow, the moon, the underworld, the supreme court, all this is absorbed like a sponge by religious ideas that receive their consistent development during the formation of Egyptian society.
The myth of Osiris has its roots deep in the era of the birth of a tribal society, from rituals, beliefs and ideas, which subsequently develop the features characteristic of the cult of this god, such as the inseparable connection between the cult of the king-ruler-pharaoh and the cult of a god who has the ability to influence the forces of nature and their results. At the same time, the cult of the king of the underworld is closely intertwined with those times when Osiris was revered as the god of fertility, which is why in religion and priestly rites, as well as in the myth itself, the forces of nature that favor God come through especially clearly.
It is also worth dealing with the indispensable paraphernalia, without which you will not find images of Osiris. The crown of Atef, the headdress of Osiris is made of papyrus, the sacred boat of God is also made of the stems of this reed, and in his symbol of royal power it is inserted into another bundle of reeds.
It is also worth noting that in all the images Osiris is depicted with some kind of plant - either a lotus or trees with a vine grow in front of his throne from a pond, a vine can also wrap around a canopy and a throne on which God sits, and sometimes himself.
The tomb of Osiris is also always depicted with greenery - either a tree grows not far from it, on the branches of which the soul of Osiris sits, then a tree grows directly from the tomb, or four trees grow from it at once.
Osiris is the main ruler of the realm of the dead in the mythology of ancient Egypt. He was respected and feared, tried to propitiate and waited for a meeting with them. It was the god of Egypt, Osiris, who decided whose soul after death would receive eternal life, and whose soul would be in oblivion. All the most interesting facts about this great and mighty are collected in this article.
How to recognize the god Osiris: a description of the appearance
Images of this god have survived to this day on the frescoes. The Egyptians were afraid of the afterlife and their fate after death, so they prepared for it in advance. Therefore, Osiris was especially revered as the ruler of the kingdom of the dead.
Characteristic features of the image of the god Osiris:
- White atef papyrus crown with red ostrich feathers.
- The hands and face are green or dark in color, which symbolizes the fertility of the soil of the Nile.
- The legs are wrapped in a special cloth - a mummy.
- The highest among all other gods.
Osiris is considered the patron of farmers and winegrowers, all those who work on the land.
According to legend, the god Osiris was the son of Geb, the god of the earth, and the goddess of the sky, Nut. He became the husband of Isis, the famous goddess of fertility. At a time when the gods ruled Egypt, he was a great king. It was believed that it was he who brought the knowledge of horticulture, agriculture and winemaking, medical practice, and construction to the Egyptians.
But the younger brother of Osiris, Seth, tricked him into a chest, closed the lid so that he could never get out, and threw him into the waters of the Nile. The goddess Isis, having learned about this, hid the body of her dead husband in the river delta. Set, when he discovered this, tore the corpse of his brother into 14 parts, but with the help of the gods, the faithful wife collected the remains and created a mummy. Then Isis miraculously gave birth to her son Horus, who was destined to resurrect his father. But Osiris did not want to return to earth, remaining king in the world of the dead.
Judge of the Dead
In the view of the ancient Egyptians, there is no death, there is only a deep sleep. Therefore, people were buried with everything necessary for a full life in the afterlife. The first thing that awaited the deceased was a meeting with the god Osiris. It was he, along with his subordinates (42 divine judges), who performed posthumous justice, which took place in several stages:
- Confession. It was built on the denial of their sins: "I did not steal, did not kill, etc."
- Soul weighing. The soul was placed on one scale, and the feather of the goddess of truth, which was very light, was placed on the other. It was believed that the more bad deeds a person committed during his lifetime, the more the soul weighed down by these deeds would weigh.
- Osiris decided the fate of the sufferer, and in case of justification, he received eternal life in the paradise of the goddess Jaru. Those who were cursed by the gods for their sinful life were subject to complete oblivion and non-existence. Hell, the fiery cauldron did not exist in the view of the ancient Egyptians.
Osiris, or as he is called in the homeland of Usuri, was one of the most revered gods of Egypt. Therefore, it is not surprising that his image in full and in the smallest detail has been preserved to this day.
In ancient Egypt, there were many centers where worshipers to the god Osiris performed rituals and sacrifices. There were about 14 shrines in total.
Such great popularity went beyond the borders of the country, in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece they not only knew about Osiris, but also mentioned it in their works. Among them were Tibull, Diodorus, the thinker Plutarch and Herodotus. The latter connected the ancient god of agriculture and winemaking Dionysus with Osiris, finding much in common in them.
It was from the legend of Osiris in Egypt that a trend began to mummify and embalm the body after death.
In the culture of the Egyptians and all the peoples of the planet of Egypt, Osiris remained as a "benefactor", wise, mysterious and talented, who is not only strict and fair, but also merciful to people. Until now, the cult of this god has been preserved, because he personifies the power, rebirth and the secret of eternal life, which will forever remain an attractive mystery for many generations of people.
Osiris
Osiris(Osiris) - the god of rebirth, the king of the underworld in ancient Egyptian mythology.
According to references in ancient Egyptian texts and the story of Plutarch (c. 45 - c. 127 - ancient Greek philosopher, biographer, moralist), Osiris was the eldest son of the god of the earth and the goddess of heaven, brother and husband, brother, father and. He was the fourth of the gods who reigned on earth in primordial times, having inherited the power of his great-grandfather, grandfather and father Geb. The tomb of Osiris was in Abydos.
Reigning over Egypt, Osiris taught people agriculture, gardening and winemaking, but was killed by his brother, the god Set, who wanted to rule in his place. The wife of Osiris, his sister Isis, found his corpse and began to mourn him along with her sister Nephthys. Ra, taking pity, sends the jackal-headed god Anubis, who collected the scattered (or, in another version, chopped by Set) parts of Osiris, embalmed the body and swaddled it. Isis fashioned a phallus out of clay (the only part of Osiris's body that Isis could not find was the phallus: it was eaten by fish), consecrated it, and grafted it onto the collected body of Osiris. Turning into a female kite - the bird Hut, Isis spread her wings over the mummy of Osiris, uttered magic words and became pregnant. Horus is both conceived and born in order to act as a natural avenger for the death of his father. At the same time, he considers himself the only legitimate heir of the latter.
After a long litigation, Horus is recognized as the rightful heir of Osiris and receives the kingdom. He resurrects Osiris by letting him swallow his eye. However, Osiris does not return to earth and remains the king of the dead, leaving Horus to rule the kingdom of the living.
Combining at different times, for various reasons, the cults of the king, the dying and resurrecting god of the productive forces of nature, the Nile, the bull, the moon, the afterlife judge at the terrible court, the myth of Osiris absorbed the reflection of the religious ideas of a number of successive stages in the development of Egyptian society .
The crown worn by Osiris is made from papyrus stalks, his sacred boat is also made from this plant, and his djed symbol (an ancient Egyptian cult object symbolizing the spine of Osiris) consists of several bundles of reeds inserted one into the other. Further, Osiris is always depicted with one or another plant: from the pond in front of his throne grows either a lotus or a row of trees and a vine; sometimes the whole canopy, under which Osiris sits, is twined with bunches of grapes; sometimes vines twine around him.
In the same way, the tomb of Osiris is not depicted without greenery: either a tree grows next to it, on which the soul of Osiris sits in the form of a phoenix; that tree sprouted through the tomb, wrapping its branches and roots around it; then four trees grow from the tomb itself.
Osiris and Anubis
In the Cycle of Osiris, he was the son of Osiris and. The wife of Nephthys fell in love with Osiris and, taking the form of Isis, seduced him. As a result of intercourse, the god Anubis was born. Frightened by the retribution of Set for treason, Nephthys threw the baby in the reed thickets, where the goddess Isis later found him. After the god Anubis began to help Isis in search of parts of Osiris and took part in the embalming of the recreated body of Osiris.
Before the advent of the cult of Osiris, Anubis was the main deity of the West. With the flourishing of the cult of Osiris, the epithet of the ruler of the Duat and some of the functions of Anubis pass directly to the god Osiris (in the Old Kingdom, he personified the deceased pharaoh). Anubis himself becomes the guide of the dead along Amenti (ancient Egyptian "West") - the region of the Duat, through which the soul entered the Judgment of Osiris.
Anubis was the god of the Duat, its ruler and judge of the souls of the dead until the end of the Old Kingdom. Later, the functions of the ruler and the main god of the Duat are transferred to Osiris. Anubis becomes the god of necropolises and funerary mysteries. At the Judgment of Osiris, described in the Book of the Dead, Anubis helps judge the souls of the dead.
God Osiris (Usir) is one of the central characters of Egyptian mythology.
This is not just the god of the underworld and the judge of the souls of the dead: Osiris was revered primarily as the god of rebirth and resurrection, the awakening and renewal of nature and man.
The originality of this deity is emphasized by the image:
- Osiris was depicted as a swaddled mummy with a green face and freely positioned hands;
- in his hands, the god holds a heket (scepter) and a nehehu (flail) - symbols of royal power.
Family
Osiris is the son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. In other words, this god had both earthly and heavenly essence. Subsequently, Osiris was honored to be the lord of the underworld, since then this god has become truly comprehensive.
Biography
It is curious that such an ancient deity as Osiris has an eventful biography comparable to the biographies of real-life celebrities (kings, generals, heroes). The basic myth of Osiris is one of the most interesting in the entire religious system of Ancient Egypt.
There was a time when Ra ruled Egypt. He was succeeded on the throne by his son Shu, and the latter by his son Geb. After him, Osiris, the son of Geb, sat on the throne. And his reign was very fruitful for the country and its people. Osiris taught the Egyptians gardening, agriculture and winemaking. However, Osiris had an envious person - the cruel Set, who wanted to rule in his place.
Set was the god of war, death, chaos and destruction, and he did not stand on ceremony with his noble brother-ruler: he killed him, after which he was able to quite legally take the throne. He threw the body of Osiris into the Nile in advance. The deceased left a faithful wife, Isis, who was also his sister. She found what was left of her husband, and mourned him for a long time, until the great Ra took pity on her.
He sent Anubis, the jackal-headed god, who collected the parts of Osiris's body cut by Set, put them together and swaddled them to get a mummy. The body was assembled, but one part was missing - the phallus. Isis made it from clay and applied it to her husband's mummy. Then she turned into a female kite (in another version - a falcon), joined with her dead husband and became pregnant from him.
Thus was born Horus, who was destined for the mission of the avenger. Horus wrestled with Seth and defeated him, defending his right to take the throne. In this battle, Seth knocked out his eye, which turned into a sacred Wadjet - a magical symbol. Horus gave it to Osiris to swallow, and he was resurrected. However, he decided not to stay on earth, leaving her to his son, and went to the realm of the dead, where he replaced Anubis on the throne.
Anubis remained in the realm of the dead as a guide and gatekeeper. By the way, during the battle with Set, Horus repaid him, as it were, with the same thing that he did with Osiris: he castrated him, depriving him of the main divine essence.
What was Osiris responsible for?
Osiris was the patron of a number of areas, and depending on the period, his functions changed somewhat.
- Osiris is a dying and resurrecting deity.
- The patron of the productive forces of nature;
- patron of kings;
- The ruler of the realm of the dead, the judge who accepts the souls of the dead.
Agricultural deity
In the drawings, Osiris was always or almost always depicted surrounded by greenery. Even his crown is woven from papyrus stalks, and his djed scepter consists of bundles of reeds inserted into each other. In front of his throne, a lotus grows, trees rise, or a vine climbs. Grapes especially often accompany images of Osiris, who in some cases are completely entwined with them.
The agricultural function of Osiris suggests that this deity is very ancient - probably one of the most ancient Egyptian gods. The death and resurrection of Osiris is also a reflection of the observations of primitive farmers over the change of climatic seasons, to which the original calendar was tied. The ritual burial of the deity symbolized the sowing of seeds, his resurrection - the emergence of seedlings, and his murder - cutting ears.
Osiris was perhaps the first known dying and resurrecting god.
- The resurrection of Osiris was preceded by the mourning of the dead body by a woman (Isis), in a similar late antique myth about Hercules, the vestals mourn his corpse);
- After the resurrection, the deity did not want to stay on earth, but was transferred to the kingdom of the dead (among the Egyptians, it was underground);
- From the cult of Osiris, later religions (Zoroastrianism, Christianity, etc.) borrowed the image of scales on which God in the kingdom of the dead weighs the good and evil deeds of the dead;
- Osiris was a god, first of all, of the lower classes, who hoped for his fair trial and a place in paradise.