Image of Osiris. God of Egypt Osiris: origin, appearance and modern interpretations

The name of Osiris (Usira) came to us from ancient times, we have known him for almost five millennia, and possibly longer. Osiris was one of the most revered gods of the ancient Egyptian pantheon, and the Hellenes treated him with respect, associating with Dionysus. Alchemists in the Middle Ages used his name in their search for the philosopher's stone, and eighteenth-century aristocratic adventurers such as Saint Germain and Cagliostro, under his divine auspices, tried to achieve immortality. Why is he so respected? If you look more closely, then even in the extravagant company of the ancient deities, Osiris looks very peculiar. The story of his life, death, resurrection and afterlife remains one of the most curious myths of antiquity. Unfortunately, in this very antiquity, the myth of Osiris was reproduced in a relatively complete form only by Plutarch already at the beginning of our era. in the treatise On Isis and Osiris. In it, elements of ancient Egyptian myths were mixed with episodes of ancient Greek ones, the names of many Egyptian gods were replaced with the names of their corresponding Greek ones. Even ancient name Usir, which belongs to the protagonist, was changed to the Greek Osiris. As we know, it was it that took root in the future. So what does Plutarch write?

The first part of his work says that when Helios found out about the secret marriage of Rhea with Kron, he cursed her. The curse was that she would not give birth in any month or in any year. But Hermes, in love with Rhea, got along with her, and then, playing checkers with the moon, played the seventieth part of each of her cycles, added them together and got five days, and then added them to three hundred and sixty. The Egyptians still call them "inserted" and "birthdays of the gods".

To figure out who is who, you need to consider that by Helios Plutarch means the sun god Ra, the main ancient Egyptian god. Under the Greek Rhea, the Egyptian goddess of the sky Nut is hidden, and under the name of Kron, the god of the earth, one should mean Seba. The prototype of Hermes in Egyptian mythology is a god named Thoth. In the future, we will call them all according to the Egyptian canons.

But Greek myths, as you know, are more than just a myth. In this, for example, the cosmological background is clearly traced: the well-known astronomical fact- a certain discrepancy between the lunar and solar year. Those five days that Thoth wins against the Moon in checkers constitute this "astronomical gap". Such a departure from the laws emanating from the supreme deity Ra, such a blatant violation of his will - from the point of view of the ancient Egyptians - could only be caused by an event of extreme importance and, undoubtedly, belonging to the realm of the sacred.

Further, Plutarch says that on the first day Osiris was born, and at the moment of his birth a certain voice said: the Lord of All That Is is born. On the second day Arueris was born, whom the Greeks call Apollo, and some the elder Horus. On the third day, Typhon was born, but at the wrong time and wrong: he jumped out of his mother's side, breaking it with a blow. Typhon is Set, the ancient Egyptian god of the desert. On the fourth day, Isis was born in the moisture, on the fifth, Nephthys, who is called Aphrodite. The myth says that Osiris and Arueris descended from Ra, Isis from Thoth, and Set and Nephthys from Seb.

The fact that at birth Osiris is proclaimed the Lord of All That Is is very significant: his divine right to rule was predetermined from above. No wonder in his first incarnation he acts as the Supreme Ruler, a kind of King of Kings, because his father, according to the myth, was Ra himself. His brother Seth, who will play a very important role in the further narrative, embodies a destructive element from his very birth, which, in general, is not surprising for a desert. Set is born violently and unnaturally. This opposition of the blessed fate of Osiris and the unfortunate fate of Set from the very beginning sets a certain metaphorical duality, which will only develop in the future.

Subsequently, Nephthys became the wife of Seth, and Isis and Osiris, having fallen in love with each other, united in the darkness of the womb even before birth. Hence the inevitable conclusion: incest in ancient Egyptian mythology is a completely normal thing. Moreover, the marriage of brothers and sisters is clearly under divine protection. This "norm" subsequently led to the degeneration of the pharaohs - due to numerous incestuous marriages.

Having reigned, Osiris instantly turned the Egyptians away from a poor and bestial way of life, gave them the fruits of the earth and taught them to honor the gods. Then he wandered, subjugating the whole earth to himself and not at all needing weapons for this, for he won over the majority of people to his side, charming them with a persuasive word, combined with singing and music.

And although the fate of the Lord of the World was prepared for Osiris from birth, he acts not only as a powerful ruler, but also as a monarch-enlightener. And this function of Osiris should be singled out as a key one. The civilization of Ancient Egypt, according to most historians, would not have taken place without their success in agriculture, in particular - in the cultivation of cereals. Therefore, it is not surprising that Osiris, the god who brought mankind out of the primitive state, was for the Egyptians the god of grain. (I immediately recall the Russian proverb "Bread is the head of everything") Here is what the famous anthropologist James Fraser writes about this in his work "The Golden Bough": "Osiris is the god of grain. Considering this myth and ritual associated with Osiris, I think, is enough to in order to prove that in one of his hypostases this god was the personification of bread, which, figuratively speaking, dies and is reborn annually. This interpretation is well consistent with the details of the myth of Osiris. It says that Osiris was the offspring of Heaven and Earth. Which more genealogy can be wished for a god growing out of the earth and fertilized by heavenly moisture? True, the Egyptian land directly owed its fertility not to downpours, but to the floods of the Nile, but its inhabitants must have known - or at least guessed that the great river is fed by rains falling in the depths of the country. The most direct relation to the god of bread is the legend of Osiris, who taught people agriculture. " Plutarch in his treatise explicitly associates Osiris with the Greek god of fertility, Dionysus. In one place, he even directly says: "And the fact that Osiris and Dionysus are one, who knows better than you, Clay? It should be so: after all, it is you who lead the inspired priestesses in Delphi, destined by the father and mother for the mysteries of Osiris" .

However, despite numerous proofs of the identity of these two gods, the nature of their cults differs greatly. It suffices to recall the work of Euripides "Bacchae" and compare the wild rites of the worshipers of Dionysus with educational activities Osiris. In the first part of the myth about Osiris, it is precisely the "solar", rational side of his religion that is revealed, he appears as a supreme being endowed with divine power and, at the same time, all-good, who brought civilization to people. The symbolic aspect is very important here: Osiris embodies any generative force in general; as psychoanalysts would put it - libido as such. In the interpretation of Plutarch, he represents the divine Logos - the creative Word. It is not for nothing that the ancient Egyptian phallic cult also refers to it as a cult of fertility, a cult of active, productive energy.

The second part of Plutarch's work speaks of the death of Osiris. Seth, upon the return of Osiris from his wanderings, began to prepare a trap for him, drawing as many as seventy-two people into the conspiracy and having the Ethiopian queen Aso as an "accomplice". He secretly measured the body of Osiris, built a sarcophagus, beautiful and wonderfully decorated, and brought it to the feast. While this spectacle caused delight and surprise, Set, as if in jest, offered to present the sarcophagus as a gift to someone who would like it in size. After everyone tried it in turn and it did not fit any guest, Osiris also climbed into it. The conspirators immediately ran up, slammed the lid shut and, having nailed it from the outside, filled it with hot lead, dragged the coffin into the river and let it into the sea at Tanis, through the mouth, which is why even now the Egyptians call it hateful and vile. According to myth, this happened on the seventeenth day of the month of Ather, when the sun crosses the constellation Scorpio, in the twenty-eighth year of the reign of Osiris.

Egyptian sources claim that the immured Osiris did not die immediately, but only on the fourteenth day. This is another reference to natural cycles: the ancient Egyptians associated the death of Osiris with the monthly waning of the moon, because it takes fourteen days from the full moon to the new moon. During this period, the moon, as it were, dies - like Osiris. True, on this occasion the question immediately arises: how could Osiris die at all? Aren't the gods immortal? After all, even in Pushkin's "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" during the journey of the royal family along the "sea-okiyanu" in a tarred barrel, the child did not die, but managed to grow up, learn to walk and talk. And although he grew "by leaps and bounds," a lot of time passed. It is strange that the characters of the Russian fairy tale survived in such circumstances, and the ancient Egyptian god died. But here, obviously, the way in which Osiris was killed has its own hidden meaning. The sea horizon had a mystical meaning in the minds of some peoples and played the role of a line dividing the world of the living and the world of the dead. Hence the custom to bury the dead, releasing them in a boat into the open sea. And the sarcophagus is an extremely important element here - despite the fact that the obvious absurdity of such a method of killing the Lord of All That Is is striking. However, they could not do without a sarcophagus, since it played the role of a ship that transported Osiris to the world of the dead.

Plutarch goes on to say how Isis learned that Osiris, who loved her, had mistakenly slept with her sister as if she were herself, and saw proof of this in the lotus wreath that he had left with Nephthys. She began to look for the child, for Nephthys, having given birth, immediately hid him out of fear of her husband Seth; the child was found with great difficulty and with the help of dogs that led Isis; she nursed him, named him Anubis, and he became her protector and companion, began to guard the gods, like dogs - people.

The funniest thing, of course, in this passage is the phrase "Osiris who loves her by mistake ..." Either Plutarch tried to keep up appearances, or he deliberately shielded Osiris - well, how can you sleep by mistake? However, now it becomes clear why Seth could dislike his brother. For a "mistake". It is interesting that Isis reacted to this betrayal with understanding. Sorrow from the death of her husband was for her clearly stronger than jealousy. And in general, there is not a word about jealousy here. It is not surprising: the pharaohs of ancient Egypt often had several wives, so betrayal of the "beloved wife" was not considered a shameful thing.

Later, Isis learned that the sea drove the sarcophagus to the shore of Byblos, where the surf carried it into the thickets of heather. And the heather, which quickly grew into a huge and beautiful trunk, embraced and covered him in itself. The king of Byblos, Malcander, was surprised at the size of the plant and, cutting down the trunk containing the coffin invisible to the eye, set it up as a support for the roof. This is also not just an episode: it symbolic meaning- a reference to another aspect of the cult of Osiris. In addition to the above "specializations", Osiris was also considered in ancient Egypt as the god of trees. For Plutarch, this was another proof of the complete identity of Osiris and Dionysus. It must be said that various cults of tree worship existed in different times and among different peoples. One of the most famous cults are the beliefs of the Druids. In some tribes of Oceania, for example, there was (and, perhaps, still exists) a tradition to bury their dead in the hollows of trees growing in a special sacred place. It was believed that the spirit of the deceased settles in such a tree, and continues to live as long as the tree itself is alive.

Isis, having learned from the divine spirit of rumors about what had become of the heather trunk, appeared in Byblos, sat down at the source, humble and tearful, and did not speak to anyone. True, she greeted the servants of Queen Byblos, caressed them, braided their braids and sent an amazing aroma from herself onto their bodies. As soon as the queen saw her servants at the source, an attraction arose in her to a stranger, whose hair and body exuded incense. She took Isis to the palace and made her son nurse. Tradition says that Isis fed the child, putting her finger in his mouth instead of her chest, and at night she burned out the mortal shell of his body with fire; herself, turning into a swallow, with a plaintive cry, curled around the roof support with her husband's sarcophagus - and so on until the queen ambushed her and screamed at the sight of the child in the fire, thereby depriving him of immortality. Then the exposed Isis begged for a support; she easily split the heather, and then, wrapping it in linen and smearing it with myrrh, handed it to the king and queen. And now the inhabitants of Byblos venerate the tree laid in the sanctuary of Isis. And they say that she fell on the coffin and cried out so that the youngest son of the king immediately died, and she allegedly took the eldest with her and, placing the coffin on the ship, sailed away.

Weird story, isn't it? It is difficult to interpret, and stylistically it is somewhat out of the rest of the story. For example, the behavior of Isis as a nurse is completely incomprehensible. However, we will find a clue by studying the Homeric hymn to Demeter, where the story of the burning of the mortal shell of a child is repeated almost word for word. The Greek Demeter and Isis generally have much in common. First, they were both goddesses of agriculture. After all, Osiris, having taught people to cultivate the soil, later entrusted the care of observing agricultural cycles to his sister and wife. Both of them mourn and are in search: Isis is looking for Osiris, Demeter - her daughter Persephone, kidnapped by Hades. Demeter also, hiding her true origin, becomes a nurse in a foreign royal family- the Eleusinian king Keley. Yes, and the queen mother in both cases becomes a witness to a frightening spectacle and thereby destroys her child, who has not gone through the cleansing ritual to the end. As for the sanctuary of Isis, the speech here, apparently, is about the temple of Baalat-Gebal, which really was during the life of Plutarch in Byblos. I must say that this temple was already very ancient at that time: the estimated time of its construction is approximately 2800 BC. The tree mentioned by Plutarch, most likely, was indeed a sacred artifact of this temple. So the mythology here closely merges with history.

As far as style is concerned, the second part of the legend is quite strikingly different from the first part; differs in general atmosphere. The first deals with "vertical" processes, mostly cosmological: it tells how the gods are born and descend from heaven, how people receive various abilities as a divine gift. In the second, events develop, rather, in a horizontal plane. The gods in their actions are more like people: they deceive, betray, die, suffer - and their divine nature is no longer so obvious. It is also curious that intrigue, uncharacteristic of archaic cults, is introduced into the plot of the myth. Characters involved in dramatic reality discover interesting specific traits. Isis, for example, appears as a magician. If Set achieves her goal by force and cunning, then Isis uses the hidden forces of nature to achieve her goals, power over which was given to her at birth.

The third and most interesting part describes the resurrection of Osiris and his subsequent reign in the Kingdom of the Dead. According to Plutarch, Isis then went to But to her son Horus, who was brought up there, and placed the coffin away from the road. Set, hunting by the moon, stumbled upon him and, recognizing the body, tore it into fourteen pieces and scattered them. Isis found out about this and went in search, crossing the swamps on a papyrus boat. Subsequently, the opinion was born that crocodiles supposedly do not touch those floating on papyrus boats, experiencing either fear or reverence for the goddess. And allegedly for the same reason in Egypt there are so many tombs of Osiris - after all, Isis, searching for it, buried every part of it. Some, however, deny this and say that she made statues and granted them to each city instead of the body of Osiris so that Set, if he defeated Horus and began to look for the true tomb, would simply get confused and find nothing. It is curious that of all the parts of the body of Osiris, Isis did not find only the phallus, for it immediately fell into the river and lepidotes, fagras and sturgeons fed on it. Now the Egyptians abhor these fish. Isis, instead of the phallus, made his image and consecrated; In honor of him, the Egyptians even now arrange festivities.

This part is one of the most important elements- This is the dismemberment of the body of Osiris into fourteen parts. Firstly, this explains why sanctuaries are scattered throughout ancient Egypt, the priests of which claimed that it was in their sanctuary that the ashes of Osiris were buried. The main one was located in Memphis, where, according to legend, the head was buried. Fraser gives an interesting symbolic interpretation of this fragment: Osiris is associated with grains that are buried in the ground for subsequent "resurrection" in new ears. So the division of Osiris into parts is the division into parts not of the body, but of the ear - for its subsequent rebirth. This version is supported by some elements of the cult of Osiris, in which the grains of wheat do represent his reproductive energy. One can draw a parallel with Christianity, because the huge symbolic meaning of bread in Holy Scripture well known. Bread plays an important role in the sacraments of the Church. So, in the divine liturgy, one of the key rites of both Orthodoxy and Catholicism, it symbolizes the body of Christ. It should be noted that this moment was very ambiguously perceived at the dawn of Christianity by its opponents. For example, many considered (and still consider) Christians to be crazy because they "eat the body of their own god." It got to the point that Christians were accused of cannibalism. However, the ignorant Romans did not know that the bread in this sacrament was a symbol of the resurrection of Christ, and, eating bread, Christians took communion eternal life.

It is a pity that Plutarch speaks little and casually of the resurrection of Osiris. But in Egyptian sources it is of central importance. It must be said that the retelling of the Greek scholar is somewhat different from the Egyptian primary sources. The well-known Egyptologist Wallis Budge in the book "Egyptian Magic" cites a translation of the original ancient Egyptian text dedicated to the god Thoth: "Finding the dead body of her husband, Isis soared over him like a bird, and the beats of her wings gave birth to the wind, and the shining plumage radiated light. With her" words of power "She resurrected a dead body. Horus was born from their embrace during this meeting. Isis raised and raised him in a secret refuge in reed marshes." It turns out - according to these texts - that Horus was conceived after the resurrection of Osiris, and the resurrection itself was the result of the magical manipulations of Isis, who received support from the god of heaven - Thoth.

Another option is available in Fraser's "Golden Bough" mentioned above. There, when the body of Osiris was found, Isis and Nephthys staged a funeral lament. The sisters' lamentations were not in vain: Ra took pity on their grief and sent from heaven the god Anubis with the head of a jackal, and with the help of Isis, Nephthys, Thoth and Horus, he put together a dead body from pieces, swaddled it with a cloth and performed all the rites on it that the Egyptians performed on the bodies of the dead. After that, Isis raised the cooled dust with a wave of her wings, Osiris came to life and began to rule in the kingdom of the dead, sitting in the great hall of the Two Truths in the company of forty-two advisers and judging the souls of the dead. They solemnly confessed to him, and after their hearts were weighed in the scales of justice, they received eternal life as a reward for virtue or a proper punishment for sins.

This version contains a reference to the rite of mummification - one of the most peculiar features of ancient Egyptian culture: each ancient Egyptian dead person buried according to the rite was associated with Osiris. The reign of Osiris in the Underworld, his title of Lord of the Dead, Master of Eternity is a continuation of his past when he was the Lord of All That Is. Having resurrected, Osiris becomes a symbol of immortality, a pledge of eternal life.

Plutarch outlined the denouement of the legend, one might say, "close to the text": in it, Osiris is secured victory in the battle between good and evil.

Further, Osiris, appearing to Horus from the realm of the dead, trained him for battle, and then asked what he considered the most beautiful thing in the world. Horus replied: to avenge the father and mother who had been harmed. Subsequently, many went over to the side of Horus, and Seth's concubine Tueris appeared to him. She was pursued by a snake, but Horus's friends killed the snake. In memory of this event, a rope is still thrown and cut in the middle.

Horus was victorious in a battle that lasted many days. Isis received the chained Set, but did not execute him, but untied and released him. Horus got angry and tore off the royal crown from her head, but Thoth crowned her with a horned helmet. Then Set charged Horus with illegitimacy, but under the protection of Thoth, Horus was recognized by the gods as a legitimate son, and Set was defeated in two more battles.

The struggle with Seth has a metaphysical character in the legend. The confrontation between the creator Osiris and the destroyer Set is reminiscent of the cosmic war between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu in ancient Persian mythology. Zoroastrianism, which arose in Azerbaijan and Persia, gave rise to Manichaeism, which also considers the struggle between good and evil principles, equal in their power, as the central theme of the world drama. It is difficult to say that this is the result of cultural borrowing or the embodiment of one archetype on different cultural soils. In any case, many of the features that were later successfully developed in Christianity were also present in these ancient cults. In general, the external similarity of the cult of Osiris and Christianity was emphasized by many researchers. The most striking parallel runs between the images of Christ and Osiris: both are the sons of the supreme god, both are God's anointed to the great kingdom, both embodied both the nature of God and the nature of man, both brought people a divine gift embodied in the word, both died innocently and both rose again, showing people the way to eternal life. There are parallels between their earthly life, for example, the distribution of bread by Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount and Osiris teaching people arable farming. It does not directly follow from this that the image of Christ was borrowed from the ancient Egyptian religion, but it is known that not a single religion was born from scratch - it absorbed the features of the previous one. In any case, in ancient times, Osiris inspired his adherents no less than Christ - Christians. For many centuries, the Egyptians believed in eternal life, the guarantor of which was Osiris. In the Hellenistic period, there was even a living emanation of Osiris - sacred bull Apis. According to legend, the soul of Osiris moved into this animal, which has a number of special features.

Today, faith in Osiris, like the entire ancient Egyptian civilization, is buried under a layer of sand. However, this legend ancient god still lives. And who knows, maybe someday the seeds of his divine Word will sprout, presenting to the world a new incarnation of Osiris.

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 a son Horus from her husband, 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 deep dream. 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:

1. Confession. It was built on the denial of their sins: "I did not steal, did not kill, etc."
2. 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.
3. 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.

Let's start.

Osiris, god in Egyptian mythology productive forces nature, the lord of the underworld, the judge in the realm of the dead. Osiris was the eldest son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, the brother and husband of Isis. He taught the Egyptians agriculture, viticulture and winemaking, the mining and processing of copper and gold ore, the art of medicine, the construction of cities, and established the cult of the gods.
Usually Osiris was depicted as a man with green skin, sitting among the trees, or with a vine wrapped around his figure. It was believed that, like the entire plant world, Osiris dies every year and is reborn to a new life, but the fertilizing life force in him remains even in the dead. Myth:
Set, his brother, the evil god of the desert, decided to kill Osiris and made a sarcophagus according to the measurements of his elder brother. Having arranged a feast, he invited Osiris and announced that the sarcophagus would be presented to the one who would fit. When Osiris lay down in the capcophagus, the conspirators slammed the lid, filled it with lead and threw it into the waters of the Nile. (It was normal at that time to pick up a sarcophagus while alive.)
The faithful wife of Osiris, Isis, found the body of her husband, miraculously retrieved the vitality and conceived from the dead Osiris a son named Horus. When Horus grew up, he took revenge on Set. Horus gave his magical Eye, torn out by Set at the beginning of the battle, to be swallowed by his dead father. Osiris came to life, but did not want to return to earth, and, leaving the throne to Horus, began to reign and judge in the afterlife. Seth, in Egyptian mythology, the god of the desert, that is, "foreign countries", the personification of the evil inclination, the brother and murderer of Osiris. In the era of the Old Kingdom, Set was revered as a warrior god, assistant to Ra and patron of the pharaohs.
As the personification of war, drought, death, Seth also embodied the evil principle - as the deity of the merciless desert, the god of strangers: he cut down sacred trees, ate the sacred cat of the goddess Bast, and so on.
The sacred animals of Set were considered a pig ("abomination for the gods"), an antelope, a giraffe, and the donkey was the main one. The Egyptians imagined him as a man with a thin long torso and a donkey's head. Some myths attributed to Set the salvation of Ra from the serpent Apep - Set pierced the giant Apep, personifying darkness and evil, with a harpoon. Myth:
Seth, envious of his brother Osiris, killed him, and threw his body into the Nile and legally took his throne. But the son of Osiris Horus, who had been hiding for many years, wanted to take revenge on Seth and take his throne. Horus and Set fought for eighty years. During one of the battles, Seth tore out his eye from Horus, which later became the great amulet of ujat; Horus castrated Set, depriving him of the main part of his essence. Horus or Horus, Horus ("height", "sky"), in Egyptian mythology, the god of heaven and the sun in the guise of a falcon, a man with the head of a falcon or a winged sun, the son of the fertility goddess Isis and Osiris, the god of productive forces. His symbol is a solar disk with outstretched wings. Initially, the falcon god was revered as a predatory god of hunting, claws digging into prey. Myth:
Isis conceived Horus from the dead Osiris, treacherously killed by the formidable god of the desert Seth, his brother. Having retired deep into the swampy Nile Delta, Isis gave birth and raised a son, who, having matured, in a dispute with Seth, seeks to recognize himself as the sole heir of Osiris.
In the battle with Seth, the killer of his father, Horus is first defeated - Seth tore out his eye, the wonderful Eye, but then Horus defeated Seth and deprived him of his masculinity. As a sign of submission, he placed the sandal of Osiris on Set's head. He gave his wonderful Eye of Horus to be swallowed by his father, and he came to life. The resurrected Osiris gave his throne in Egypt to Horus, and he himself became the king of the underworld. Isis or Isis, in Egyptian mythology, the goddess of fertility, water and wind, a symbol of femininity and marital fidelity, the goddess of navigation. Isis helped Osiris civilize Egypt and taught women to reap, spin and weave, heal diseases and established the institution of marriage. When Osiris went to wander the world, Isis replaced him and wisely ruled the country. Myth:
Upon hearing of the death of Osiris at the hands of the evil god Seth, Isis was dismayed. She cut her hair, put on mourning clothes and began searching for his body. The children told Isis that they saw a box with the body of Osiris floating down the Nile. The water carried him under a tree that grew on the shore near Byblos, which began to grow rapidly and soon the coffin completely disappeared in its trunk.
Upon learning of this, the king of Byblos ordered the tree to be cut down and brought to the palace, where it was used as a support for the roof in the form of a column. Isis, guessing everything, rushed to Byblos. She dressed poorly and sat by a well in the center of the city. When the queen's servants came to the well, Isis braided their hair and enveloped them in such a fragrance that the queen soon sent for her and took her son as a teacher. Every night, Isis placed the royal child in the fire of immortality, and herself, turning into a swallow, flew around the column with the body of her husband. Seeing her son in flames, the queen uttered such a piercing cry that the child lost immortality, and Isis revealed herself and asked to give her the column. Having received the body of her husband, Isis hid him in a swamp. However, Seth found the body and cut it into fourteen pieces, which he scattered throughout the country. With the help of the gods, Isis found all the pieces except for the penis, which had been swallowed by the fish.
According to one version, Isis collected the body and revived Osiris to life using her healing power, and conceived from him the sky and sun god Horus. Isis was so popular in Egypt that over time she took on the features of other goddesses. She was revered as the patroness of women in childbirth, determining the fate of newborn kings.

Osiris is one of the supreme gods in the Egyptian pantheon, a population ancient world he was perceived as the king of the underworld. Correct pronunciation the name of this god sounds like 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”.

With this god, the ancient Egyptians associated a large number of beliefs, religions and myths.

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 in different parts pieces of it, she performed the funeral ceremony and took them with her. After everything was collected, Osiris was mummified. Subsequently, the soul of Osiris gained dominion and began to rule 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 on 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 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 - in front of his throne, either a lotus or trees with a vine grow from a pond, vine it can also wrap around the canopy and the throne on which the god sits, and sometimes even 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 He is the son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. The image of Osiris is extremely complex and multifaceted. This was noted by the ancient Egyptians themselves. One of the ancient Egyptian hymns dedicated to Osiris says: "Your nature, O Osiris, is darker than that of other gods." First of all, Osiris is the patron and protector of people. He became the first king of Egypt, taught the Egyptians to cultivate the land and bake bread, grow grapes and make wine, extract ore from underground, build cities, heal diseases, play musical instruments, worship the gods. But, in addition, Osiris was revered as the god of vegetation, the productive forces of nature. In the temples dedicated to him, they installed a wooden frame repeating the contours of his body, covered it with fertile soil and sown it with grain. In the spring, the "body of Osiris" sprouted with young shoots. Osiris was also the lord of the underworld, a fair and impartial judge of the dead. The myth of Osiris, his faithful wife Isis and the evil brother Seth is one of the most interesting and elaborated in Egyptian mythology. The well-known Russian orientalist B. A. Turaev (1868-1920) called it "the main myth of the Egyptian religion, which occupies a central place in the entire culture of the Egyptians."

Osiris had a brother, the evil and treacherous Set. who envied Osiris and decided to destroy him. Secretly, he measured the height of Osiris and ordered a box made to measure with a beautiful finish. Then he invited Osiris to his feast. All the guests at the feast, being Set's accomplices, began to loudly admire the box. Seth said that he would give the box to someone who would have it in size. Everyone in turn began to lie down in the box, but it did not fit anyone except Osiris. When Osiris lay down in the box, Seth slammed the lid, locked the lock, and his accomplices carried the box to the Nile and threw it into the water.

The wife of Osiris, Isis, having learned about the death of her husband, set off in search of his body in order to bury it in a worthy manner.

The waves carried the box with the body of Osiris to the shore near the city of Byblos. A mighty tree grew above him, hiding the box inside its trunk. The local king ordered to cut down a tree and make a column out of it to decorate his palace.

Isis reached the city of Byblos, removed the body of Osiris from the column and took him on her pubis to the Nile Delta. There, in solitude, among the swamps, she began to mourn her husband.

... Darkness is around us, although Ra is in the sky, The sky mixed with the earth, a shadow fell on the earth.

My heart burns from evil separation, My heart burns, because you fenced yourself off from me with a wall ...

(Translated by Anna Akhmatova)

At night, when Isis fell asleep, the evil Set went out to hunt in the moonlight. And it so happened that on a deserted shore he saw the body of his hated brother. Seth cut the body of Osiris into fourteen pieces and scattered it all over the world.

The woeful Isis again went in search of her husband's body. In her wanderings, she was helped by people and animals, snakes and birds, and even crocodiles did not harm her when she sailed through the swamps on a papyrus boat. The Egyptians believed that in memory of the great goddess, crocodiles would never touch anyone who was sailing on a boat made of papyrus.

In one version of the myth, Isis buried the found parts of the body of Osiris in different places. This explains why there were several tombs of Osiris in Egypt. In another, she gathered his body together and said: “O bright Osiris! Your bones are gathered, your body is gathered, your heart is given to your body!”

The god Anubis embalmed the body of Osiris and made the world's first mummy. Since then, the Egyptians had a custom to mummify the dead.

Isis miraculously conceived from the deceased Osiris son - Horus. Growing up, Horus avenged his father, defeated Set and became king of Egypt.

And Osiris went to the afterlife, becoming its lord and judge over the dead.

Set killed his brother Osiris, the god of earth and growth. But he was resurrected and reigned in the afterlife, becoming the ruler of the tombs and the dead, the lord of the other world and the harbinger of the resurrection of the entire human race.

As a dead king and king of the dead, Osiris was especially revered in ancient Egypt. The love of Isis, his paredra sister, saved Osiris, and he came to life. This god embodies rebirth. Thanks to him, every person who has passed doomsday, will gain new life. And before the names of those who will be proclaimed "justified" at this judgment, the name "Osiris" will appear. Osiris is the god of Salvation, so it is people who need it the most!

Depictions of Osiris

Osiris is an anthropomorphic god, that is, a god with the appearance of a man. In addition, the white shroud in which he is wrapped up likens him to a mummy. This is a sign of the afterlife, ruled by Osiris. This god was always depicted in a static pose: most often standing, less often sitting, and never walking. Sometimes his sisters, Isis and Nephthys, appear next to him.

Sometimes there are also images of the reclining Osiris. This is a reference to the myth of Osiris the fruit-bearing, which we will talk about in more detail in the next article.

Often, before Osiris, an animal sacrificed to him was depicted.

Osiris is always crowned. Myths say that he was the first king of Egypt. In his hands he holds symbols of power - a whip and a scepter. Osiris, his sister and wife Isis, and son Horus make up the main sacred family of the Egyptian pantheon: god, goddess, and divine child.

god of renewal

The skin of Osiris is green or black. Black color in Egypt was not considered a sign of mourning. It is the color of rebirth, the color of new life, just like green. And since death is the path to the new world, Osiris is always accompanied by plants. It is a lotus, vine or tree. The crown of Osiris is a sheaf of wheat, the boat is made of papyrus, and the jed is made of bundles of reeds.

Myths about Osiris

The story of Osiris is the story of a god, but also very human. It is full of promises for people who are doomed to die. This is a love story, in the center of which is the wife of God, Isis. And although the myths about Osiris tell mainly about the afterlife, of which he is the king, this god embodies life and rebirth.

The myth of Osiris begins with the story of the god Ra, who gave birth to the divine couple, Shu and Tefnut. From their union were born Geb, the incarnation of the earth, and Nut, the incarnation of the sky. They were so attached to each other that it seemed impossible to separate them. Nothing separated heaven and earth any longer, and Ra (the sun) could no longer travel across the firmament. This is a rebellion against the power of the god of gods! Shu managed to tear his daughter away from her husband, and air, water and sun entered the vacant space. But Ra decided to punish the lovers for their carelessness.

Knowing that Nut carried five babies in her womb, Ra decreed that children could not be born in any of the twelve months of the year!

Tough birth

God Thoth rebelled against the cruel decision. He went to the moon and won five extra days from her, which were added to the calendar by the end of the year (these were epagomenes, “extra” days). Osiris was born the very first of five babies, so the first of these days is dedicated to him. Then his brothers and sisters were born: Horus, Seth (the future killer of God), Nephthys and Isis (his future wife).

Soon Osiris gained royal power over the world and the pharaohs of the first dynasties dedicated a cult to him. “As soon as he became the king of the world, he immediately brought the Egyptians out of the state of wild animals and helped them in their needs, showing them how to cultivate the land, giving them laws and teaching them to respect the gods. And then he went around the world to introduce it to culture. This is how the ancient texts describe the beginning of the reign of this king-god.

Osiris family

The myth of the creation of the world, common in Heliopolis, the city of the god Ra, says that Osiris is the son of Geb (Earth) and Nut (Heaven). He was born through the intervention of Thoth, the god of time and counting, along with Set, Isis, Nephthys and Horus. But in the divine family, not everything was fine. Osiris was openly at odds with his brother Set. Relations with Isis were also difficult: God wished to be not only her brother, but also her husband.

Seth, jealous brother

But the love and honors that people paid to Osiris for his good deeds aroused the envy and jealousy of other gods, and especially his brother Seth. To get rid of Osiris, Set conceived a cunning plan. Legend has it that the god secretly measured his brother's height. Then, according to these standards, he made a magnificent, richly decorated wooden chest. In the evening, Seth brought it to the feast and jokingly promised that he would give the chest to someone who would fit it. At first, all those present tried ... When the turn of Osiris came, he easily lay down inside. And then the assistants of Seth, running up, quickly nailed the chest and threw it into the Nile. It is at this point that Isis, the sister and wife of Osiris, comes into play. And the search for Osiris begins.

Dismemberment of Osiris

A variant of the myth about the murder of Osiris by his brother Seth, the Dismemberment of Osiris, became the basis of the cult of this god. Seth, who discovered the hiding place where Isis hid the body of her late brother and husband, immediately cut Osiris into 14 pieces, which he scattered in 4 parts of Egypt. The search for Isis was long, she decided that each piece would be buried in the place where it was found. This legend explains that the relics of Osiris were kept in different temples. So, in his main sanctuary, in Abydos, the head of a god was kept.

Search for Osiris

The myth of the search for Osiris has several variants. One of them says that Isis and Nephthys went after the body of Osiris and soon found him on the banks of the Nile.

In another, commonly referred to as The Dismemberment of Osiris, Isis discovered her husband's body much farther away, in the Phoenician city of Byblos (in present-day Lebanon). She brought him back to Egypt and hid him. But Seth, learning about this cache, dismembered the body and scattered its parts in different directions. Then the two sisters called out in a memorial cry to the gods, begging Ra, Thoth and Anubis to heed their requests and revive the god.

Isis miraculously conceived from the deceased Osiris son - Horus. Having been born, little Horus did not fail to avenge Seth for his father. And Osiris, resurrected by the boundless love of his wife, became the lord of the night and everything beyond, reigning in the afterlife. He left power over the day and the world of the living to the god Ra.

Cult of Osiris

As often happens in ancient beliefs, the image of Osiris appeared as a result of the merger of the cults of local deities. Researchers believe that one of them was Anjeti of Busiris, and the other was Khentamentiu of Abydos. It was in these two cities that Osiris was revered the most.

From Anjenti probably comes the kingship of Osiris (which he will never lose). And from the second deity, he received the title of "lord of the West", that is, the lord of the dead. Osiris, as the god of funeral rituals and the lord of the underworld, was unanimously worshiped by all the Egyptians. The enthusiasm with which he was glorified is explained by the fact that it was Osiris who was presented as the last judge of people. This new god-friend is undoubtedly worth two old ones, because it is with him that you will meet on the threshold of a new life!

Abydos: city of Osiris
Pharaohs of all dynasties, including the very first, favorably treated Abydos, because it was the city of Khentamentiu, the predecessor of Osiris. Representatives of the 1st and 2nd dynasty were buried here. By the period of the V and VI dynasties, Khentamentiu was gradually identified with the Osiris of Lower Egypt. It was then that the cult acquired impressive proportions. During the Middle Kingdom era, Abydos became a very popular place of worship. Pilgrims from all over Egypt came here, in addition, the priests announced that the head of a god was kept in the city. Many Egyptians sought to propitiate Osiris, especially at the onset of old age. They erected small brick cenotaphs (funeral monuments) and stone stelae between the temple of Osiris and the traditional necropolises. Initially, this temple was dedicated to Khentamentiu, but from the time of the XII dynasty it became the sanctuary of Osiris. This ancient building is built of bricks. Only the frames of window and door openings were made of stone. This explains the almost complete disappearance of the ruins of the sanctuary. Because of the belief in the mystical presence of the god, many pharaohs erected their mortuary temples at Abydos. The first of these was the temple of Sesostris III.

Any burial is part of the cult of Osiris

Isis conceived Horus, who was born after the death of Osiris and became his heir. Horus fought tirelessly against his uncle Seth to regain his claim to the throne. But the heavenly court intervened in their struggle, and the gods accepted Horus into their circle. By analogy, every reigning pharaoh during his lifetime is identified with Horus. When he dies, he becomes Osiris.

However, mere mortals found hope for a new life only in the era of the Middle Kingdom, as Egyptologist Serge Soneron (IFAO) writes: “On the eve of the Middle Kingdom, all the dead began to be considered Osiris, and thus humanity, which could once participate in the conquest of heaven only indirectly, through the deceased the lord, who embodied the vague and faceless collective image of his people, was given the opportunity to follow Osiris to the other world, which was democratically open to everyone. What does it mean to be Osiris? His life path and the love of his wife, Isis, make this god close and understandable to every Egyptian. Having opened the way to a new life, Osiris gave people the key to a new kingdom - the afterlife. Therefore, Osiris is addressed during various stages of the burial ritual: during the embalming, ritual opening of the mouth (which returns the breath to the deceased), during the procession, etc. All the deceased and embalmed pharaohs depict Osiris: they are wrapped in a white shroud, crowned with an atef crown holding divine symbols of power in their hands. The paintings in their tombs also inform about the new role of the pharaoh.

The symbols of power that Osiris holds in his hands first of all remind that this god is the founder of the Egyptian kingdom, but their origin is clear to ordinary people. Curved at the end of the heka scepter, the Magic wand (the word heka means "magic"), is similar in shape to a shepherd's staff. Aflagellum (or nekheh) resembles a whip used to collect incense. The atef crown symbolizes the fertility of the lands of Egypt. Its outlines are similar to the ears of a sheaf of wheat pulled together at the top. This indicates that Osiris, according to legend, taught people how to cultivate the land. Two feathers (probably ostrich) on the sides of the headdress indicate the highest rank of the god. Osiris is a deity who embodies agriculture and pastoralism, which underlay the ancient Egyptian civilization.

memphis festivities

In Memphis, a unique festival was celebrated in honor of Osiris: "the erection of the column of the djed." This ritual connected Osiris with royal power, which he endowed with divine power. On the eve of the coronation and on the days of anniversaries, the pharaoh himself led the installation of the monumental djed column, symbolizing the constancy and longevity that Osiris embodied.

Holidays and ceremonies

The main holidays of the cult of Osiris are celebrated in the month of Khoyak (October - November), between the decline of the Nile waters and the beginning of sowing. The soil, fertilized by the silt brought during the floods, can soon be sown. This earthly symbolism of rebirth, which the entire human race dreams of, is the basis of the rites of worship of Osiris.

The festivities begin with public rituals taking place outside the temple (closed to mere mortals). God is taken out to the people in a Nekhmet boat, with a statue of Upuaut. This jackal-god, "opener of paths", plays the role of a psychopomp (guide of souls). He accompanies the dead to the grave and helps them to be reborn. The victory of Upuaut over the insidious demons is also the victory of Osiris, who fights with the mummers throughout the festive procession.

Then comes the "Big Exit", a realistic and at times somewhat violent performance that recreates the battle between the allies and enemies of Osiris. Of course, the god emerges victorious from the fight and returns to his temple, escorted by a jubilant crowd.

Jed column

The djed column is one of the most common symbols of Ancient Egypt. She was painted on the walls of tombs, her image was worn around the neck as an amulet for both the living and the mummies. Its outlines were reflected in hieroglyphic writing: the hieroglyph "column" means "permanence" and "longevity". This fetish has a very ancient origin. Some scholars believe that the djed was originally a tree. Chapter 155 of the Book of the Dead connects him to the spine of Osiris and therefore to death. Therefore, this sign was often depicted inside sarcophagi. Others see it as a nilometer, a pillar that measured the level of the Nile floods. Too much or too little rise in water had a bad effect on crops, and a measuring post made it possible to know what to be prepared for.

Fruitful Osiris

Other ceremonies are performed secretly, in temples, away from the crowds, in the circle of high-ranking priests, and sometimes in the presence of the pharaoh himself. Their goal is to secure the mystical resurrection of Osiris.

How did this ritual go? First, in the silt brought from the river, they painted the image of Osiris. While it was still wet, it was sown with grain, which was watered for the next nine days. When shoots appeared on the surface, this "fruitful Osiris" was solemnly transferred to the boat, accompanied by a procession with 365 torches.

Boat sailing on sacred waters temple lake, reached the island, symbolizing the mound where the god was buried. When she approached, sprouted Osiris was carried out of her. The withered last year's image was removed and a verdant god was placed in the same place.

Thus, the annual renewal cycle was closed. The life-giving forces of nature were restored, and could begin new cycle. Nine days of watering, silt in which grains sprout... The connection with the bearing and birth of a new life is obvious. This is the life of Osiris in the other world! It is no coincidence that the Egyptian god was later identified with the ancient Greek Dionysus, the god of winemaking, the productive forces of nature, and Priapus, the god of fertility, fields and gardens.

Names of Osiris

The inhabitants of Ancient Egypt believed that one name is not enough for a divine being, whether it be a pharaoh or a god. So Osiris received many titles.

He is the lord of the West: to the west of the Nile, the desert began, over which the sun set every evening. A sunset is a very symbolic image of death. The Egyptians believed that in the west, under the earth, there was an afterlife (duat) and the sun had to cross it every night. Osiris, who managed to be reborn after death, was perceived as the ruler of this world, the lord of the West, in other words, the king of the dead!

He is the "Lord of Maat": the word maat means "truth and justice". These virtues are embodied by the goddess Maat. People who lived "according to Maat" could hope that they would be acquitted at the last judgment. This judgment is administered by Osiris himself, and when the heart of the deceased (the receptacle of the soul) is weighed, Maat appears in the form of a weight on the other side of the scale. If the weight-maat outweighs, then the burden of errors is not too great. And then the deceased finds a new life in the kingdom of Osiris.
He is the Lord of Eternity. This seems natural, because the power of Osiris extends over the afterlife. And eternity is promised to every dead person admitted into it. Whether a person is worthy or not - this, as we have already said, determines the judgment of Osiris.

He is the "Good Being" (unefer). This name reminds us of the enlightenment that Osiris gave to the first people. And that it was he who made the first plow and taught people how to farm and garden.