Naumova Anastasia
Osiris
Summary of the myth
God Osiris
Painting from the tomb
Sennejema
fragment, 13th century BC.
Osiris (Greek Ὄσῑρις - Greekized form of the Egyptian name Usir) is the greatest of the gods in ancient Egyptian mythology, the god of the productive forces of nature, the god of rebirth, the ruler the afterlife, judge in the kingdom of the dead. Reigning over Egypt, Osiris taught the Egyptians agriculture, gardening, viticulture and winemaking, mining and processing of copper and gold ore, the art of medicine, the construction of cities, and established the cult of the gods.
According to legend, Osiris was the eldest son of the earth god Heb and the sky goddess Nut, the brother and husband of the fertility goddess Isis, the brother of the “mistress of the house” - the goddess Nephthys, the brother of the god of rage, war and death Set, the father of the god of heaven and royalty Horus and the patron god dead Anubis.
Osiris was the fourth of the gods who reigned on earth in early times. He inherited the throne of two Egypts from his father. This was during the time of the divine dynasties. The creator of the world, Ra, and his descendants Shu and Geb already ruled the earth. Having grown old and tired of human ingratitude, they retired to heaven without knowing death. Legend has it that since its creation, rebellious humanity has been waiting for a god who can bring it into obedience. This leader was Osiris. When he was born, “a voice proclaimed to the world that the Lord of all things had come into the world.” Osiris succeeded where his ancestors failed, and he owes this, perhaps, to the magical charms of Isis, his sister-wife. The divine couple overcame all obstacles with the charm of beauty, wisdom and kindness.
God Osiris
Painting, VIII century. BC e.
However, the evil god of the desert, Osiris's younger brother Set, planned to kill him and become an earthly ruler. He prepared a casket according to the height of Osiris and invited him to a feast. The casket, decorated with jewelry, was supposed to go to the one who fit it. When Osiris, following the example of the other guests, lay down in it, Seth and his friends nailed down the casket and threw it into the Nile.
Having learned about this, Isis went in search of her husband's body. Returning to Egypt, Isis hid the body of Osiris in the Nile Delta. But Seth, who was hunting here, accidentally discovered his brother’s body. Then he tore it into fourteen pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. However, Isis, with the help of the gods, collected all the parts of Osiris’s body, united them and made the first mummy from her deceased husband. Possessing knowledge of the secrets of witchcraft, Isis gave birth to a son, Horus, from her dead husband. Having matured, Horus fought with Set and allowed the dead Osiris to swallow his eye. Wadjet Horus (the guarding eye) raised Osiris from the dead, but he did not want to return to earth and remained the king of the dead, becoming the ruler underworld. Osiris bequeathed Horus to rule the kingdom of the living, blessing him to fight Seth.
Images and symbols of myth
Symbolic tomb of Osiris at Giza
Osiris is one of the most famous and significant gods of ancient Egypt, embodying fertility and rebirth, defeating death.
Osiris is associated with nature, and this connection remained throughout Egyptian history. He was usually depicted sitting among trees or with a vine sometimes entwining his figure. The color of Osiris' body can be white, like the burial shrouds, but more often it is black, like the fertile Egyptian soil, or green, as a symbol of the rebirth of the forces of nature.
It was believed that, like everything flora, Osiris dies every year and is reborn to a new life, the life force always remains in him, even in the dead.
As the god of the dead and the king of the underworld, Osiris was perceived as the judge of the underworld. It was believed that the deceased appears before him, whose heart is weighed on scales, where on one bowl lay the image of the goddess of truth Maat, and on the other - the heart of the deceased. The justified one went to the “paradise fields” of Jaru and enjoyed eternal life.
At first Osiris was identified only with the dead and reborn king. In the Pyramid Texts, the pharaoh after death is likened to Osiris, he is called by the name of Osiris. But starting from the Middle Kingdom, every dead Egyptian was identified with Osiris. This is explained by the fact that the deceased, like Osiris, comes to life after death. In all funeral texts, the name of the deceased is preceded by the name of Osiris.
Given the importance of Osiris as the ruler of fertility and the mortuary cult, the most important part of his essence was the revival of vital forces as a result of victory over death and the acquisition eternal life.
Statue of the god Osiris
New Kingdom
The myths about Osiris are rich in symbolism. Osiris was usually depicted in human form, dressed in a shroud, with his arms crossed on his chest, in which he holds the main symbols of supreme power - the royal scepters heket and nehekha (scepter and whip) - the most important attributes of the supreme deity. An important attribute of Osiris is the atef crown, consisting of a tall pin-shaped central part framed by two tall feathers, usually of a heavenly color, which is a symbol of deity and greatness. Osiris is often depicted with two crowns - the Upper Egyptian one with the sun disk and the one with feathers. Images of the tomb of Osiris often contain greenery: it may be a tree growing next to the tomb where the soul of Osiris resides in the form of a phoenix; or a tree that has grown through the tomb and entwined it with its branches and roots; or four trees grow from the tomb itself.
An important symbol of Osiris is the sacred boat Neshmet. During the mysteries in honor of Osiris, his symbolic embodiment leaves the temple at the beginning of the festival to return back, awakened from death. According to legend, Neshmet, together with the reborn deity, brought eternal life to the king and his ancestors. The Egyptians themselves wanted to take part in Neshmet’s journey after their death in order to be resurrected just like Osiris. The image of a solar ship was associated with thoughts about the relocation of the dead, which gave people hope for an afterlife.
The myths about Osiris include the story of the falcon's eye of Horus, which Seth snatched from him in battle. Horus used the eye healed by the gods to resurrect his father, the god Osiris. After Osiris swallowed the eye of Horus, his dismembered body grew back together, like a restored eye. Since then, the eye of Horus has become an amulet worn by both pharaohs and ordinary Egyptians.
Communicative means of creating images and symbols of myth
Osiris and Isis with Horus. Hermitage
From the very first times of united Egypt, a god appeared, whose cult spread to all cities. Osiris became this god.
Every year in Egypt they celebrated the resurrection of Osiris, which marked the awakening to life of all plant nature. Perhaps the most important were the celebrations in honor of Osiris. This is explained by the connection between Osiris and the entire natural world.
The great festival of Osiris took place annually at Abydos, central part which was called the mysteries. It consisted of many ceremonies and processions that symbolically represented episodes from the life of the god.
The main part of the festivities associated with Osiris, as a rule, was the ceremony of making his “likeness” or “images”. Such likenesses were usually made from earth mixed with silt, which was given the shape of the body of Osiris. Sacred grains of cereals were placed inside, which, when germinating, symbolized the victory of Osiris over death and the rebirth of life. At the end of the year, the sprouted image of the god, considered the greatest shrine, was placed in a sarcophagus and a special tomb in a special temple necropolis, or in the tomb of a deceased king. In the mysteries, cutting the ears of corn meant the murder of Osiris; sowing grain is burial, sprouting is its resurrection.
Proof of the veneration of Osiris by the Egyptians are the numerous centers of the cult of Osiris. According to legend, where Isis found parts of her husband’s body, torn to pieces by Seth, she erected shrines in memory of her deceased husband. This is how 14 sanctuaries appeared, which became the sacred centers of all of Egypt. Busiris was considered the location of the spine of Osiris, or the pillar of Djed, a famous symbol, one of the main meanings of which was stability and inviolability, and the island of Abaton (“forbidden”), located next to the island of Isis Philae, was the repository of the heart of the god.
The main cult center of Osiris was located in the south of the country. In Abydos, ancient city Abjiu had the head of the god buried.
The main cult centers were considered Busiris and Abydos (the burial place of the pharaohs), and later the islands of Philae and Bige.
Osiris is repeatedly mentioned by ancient authors: Herodotus, Tibullus, Diodorus, Plutarch.
According to Herodotus, Osiris is the god whom the Egyptians believe to be Dionysus. Diodorus notes his connection with Priapus (a fertility deity of Asia Minor origin).
In addition, as the god of the underworld, Osiris influenced the traditions of burial of the dead. Following the example of Osiris, in order to gain eternal life, the body of the deceased was embalmed, thereby becoming like the body of Osiris, from which Isis and Anubis made the first mummy. Thus, the ritual of mummification is a kind of tribute to the great god Osiris.
Numerous statues of Osiris, wall paintings, frescoes, mysteries, the ritual of mummification - all this contributed to the strengthening and prosperity of the cult of Osiris.
Social significance of the myth
Temple of the god Osiris. Abydos, Egypt
Osiris is positioned as a beneficent god. He was called “Good Being” (Unefer), i.e. one who dedicated himself to the salvation of all people. He weaned people from cannibalism, taught them agriculture, medicine and other arts. Having provided people with means of defense, Osiris introduced them to spiritual and social life. He gave them a capital - The Hundred Gates of Thebes. Osiris subordinated people to laws, taught them knowledge and morality, and the worship of the gods. Thanks to him, people learned to read the starry sky, learning about life that goes beyond the boundaries of the earth. According to myths, Osiris rarely resorted to force of arms: people themselves followed him, enchanted by words, the charms of dance and music.
According to legend, every deceased person appears before Osiris, as a judge in the Underworld, and then his decision is made. further fate: hell or heaven. This part of the myth carried enormous social significance, since it gave people motivation to take responsibility for their actions in earthly life, because even after death they would have to answer for their actions before a formidable and fair judge.
Osiris
Relief from the Temple of Abydos
The divine couple Osiris and Isis are a symbol of love, fidelity, self-sacrifice, overcoming obstacles and eternal life.
The cult of Osiris spread to the countries conquered by Egypt. In the Hellenic era, the cult of Osiris became widespread in Western Asia and Europe, including the Northern Black Sea region.
Combining at different times 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 judgment seat, the myth of Osiris absorbed a reflection of the religious ideas of Egyptian society.
Osiris personifies greatness, beneficence, justice, the change of life and natural cycles, rebirth and eternal life.
Osiris - main god the underworld, its king. One of the most important gods in the Egyptian pantheon of deities. The Egyptians called him Usir, and Osiris is already a Greekized form of this name. Depicted as a man, the lower part of which - the torso and legs - are bandaged, like a mummy. In his hands he holds the scepter signs of royal dignity - a hook and a flail.
The distinctive headdress of the deity is his crown - the atef crown. It consists of a tall, conical-shaped cap with two feathers on its sides.
Also sometimes the god's headdress includes ram's horns. The first found image of Osiris dates back to the reign of the V dynasty pharaoh Djedkara Isesi (c. 2413 - 2381 BC). Sometimes the deity's skin has green color, which emphasizes his aspects as a god of abundance and fertility.
There is no consensus among Egyptologists regarding the etymology (i.e. origin and meaning) of the name of this deity. The most common point of view is the connection of his name (Usir) with the ancient Egyptian word “voser” (ws"ir), which can be translated as “mighty one.”
Osiris and the Pyramid Texts
The genealogy (origin) of this divine person is described in the inscriptions carved on the inner walls of the pyramids of the 5th dynasty - the “Pyramid Texts”. According to these texts, Egyptiangod Osiris was the eldest of the children (along with Isis, Seth, Nephthys) of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, who were, in turn, the children of Shu and Tefnut, who were fathered by the god Atum.
Thus, he is one of the nine most important gods - the “ennead” - of the city of Heliopolis, which was one of the main theological centers of ancient Egypt. The Heliopolitan Ennead was the oldest system that explained the origin of the gods (theogony) and the origin of the universe and man (cosmology).
The desert located west of Memphis was considered the place of his birth - it was there, according to the ancient Egyptians, that the afterlife began. Later, when the religious images and cults of various regions of Egypt were transformed into a more complex religious system, the area around Thebes was sometimes considered the birthplace of the god. 14 cities in Egypt had sacred sites or tombs that were revered as tomb of Osiris.
The Myth of Osiris
Stories about the murder and resurrection of this deity are among the most important myths Ancient Egypt. Most consistently stated myth of Osiris Greek writer Plutarch. Here summary this myth. According to this version, he was originally an earthly king, and ruled in Egypt together with his wife (and at the same time sister) Isis. Was fourth Egyptian pharaoh after his great-grandfather Atum (Ra-Atum), grandfather Shu and father Geb who ruled before him.
He taught people to grow crops, obey laws and honor the gods. Moreover, this was done with the power of his songs, and not with weapons (which allowed the Greeks to sometimes identify Osiris with their god Dionysus).
His good rule, the love that he enjoyed among people, aroused jealousy and hatred on the part of his brother, Seth (Plutarch has the name Typhon). Seth announced that he would present a beautiful sarcophagus (that is, a coffin) to anyone for whom it was the right size; he himself made the sarcophagus, using measurements taken in advance from his own brother.
Osiris lay down in the sarcophagus - and it turned out to be just the right size for him. While he was rejoicing, Seth arrived in time with other conspirators (there were 72 of them). Together they slammed the lid on the sarcophagus, even sealed everything with lead, and then threw it into the Nile. The sarcophagus did not sink, but floated with the flow. The river carried the sealed box to the shore near Byblos, where a tree immediately grew in this place.
The inconsolable Isis, who has not lost the ability to act decisively and quickly from grief, finds a sarcophagus with her dead husband. She returns his body to Egypt, to the Delta, where she intended to perform the funeral ceremony. However, the insidious Seth, taking advantage of the fact that Isis temporarily left her husband’s body, cut the deceased into many pieces, which he scattered throughout Egypt.
And again Isis began to search for her husband. In every place in Egypt where she found a body part, funeral rites were performed. Having collected all the parts of her husband, Isis reunited them together, and after that the body was mummified.
The fragments of the ancient Egyptian myths about Osiris and Isis that we know today contain some details that are missing from Plutarch. It is possible that Plutarch, who professed a different religion, simply did not include them in his version. Plutarch's central character, even before his death, had a son, Horus, from his marriage to Isis.
Egyptian myths say that Horus was conceived by Isis from her husband after the latter’s death. It is described as follows: with the help of magic, Isis, flapping her wings, creating the air of life, temporarily revived her husband’s mummy and conceived Horus from him.
Cult of Osiris in Ancient Egypt
Osiris was worshiped from a very early period in ancient Egyptian history. It is suggested that he was originally a god of abundance whose duty it was to ensure a good harvest; in this capacity was associated with the Nile flood. He quickly became the god of resurrection.
In the Old Kingdom, the deceased pharaoh was identified with Osiris, and his successor, the living king, with Horus, the son of the deity. Later it was believed, as can be seen, for example, from the “Texts of the Sarcophagi” and the “Book of the Dead”, that each deceased took on the features of Osiris, that is, it was believed that he would also come to life after death.
Main center cult of Osiris in ancient Egypt was Abydos, the capital of the eighth nome in Upper Egypt, the burial place of the pharaohs (see Map of Ancient Egypt). The ruler of the underworld, his wife Isis and their son Horus formed the most important trinity of gods of Abydos. A very important place of pilgrimage there was the tomb of one of the ancient kings of the first dynasty - Pharaoh Djer, which later became revered as the tomb of Osiris.
A festival dedicated to the deity was held annually in Abydos. During the celebration, the god's boat was carried in a huge procession, celebrating his victories over his enemies. Abydos was also believed to be the place where the god's head was buried after his body was cut into pieces by Set. The emblem of the city (nome) depicted a head with a crown “atef” - the crown of the king of the underworld.
Another important center for the veneration of the deity was the city of Djedu (Busiris), which, in fact, was the place where his cult arose. Despite the presence of these obvious centers, the cult of Osiris in Ancient Egypt spread throughout the country, and later spread beyond its borders - in Libya, Nubia, Mesopotamia, Greece, etc.
Death of Osiris. From the king of the earth to the kings of the underworld
The Pyramid Texts indicate that Osiris was the ruler of Egypt during the pre-dynastic period. However, information about this reign, which ended with his murder at the hands of his brother Set, is extremely scarce. It seems that the earthly life of the god of the underworld is included in the cycle of myths about Osiris only in order to make his fatherly attitude towards the Egyptian king more understandable. Because after his death, Horus, the son of God, becomes the ruler of Egypt, having defeated Seth, thus ensuring, on the one hand, the “divinity” of the pharaohs themselves, and on the other, their close connection with Osiris, as the forerunner of all pharaohs.
From the Sarcophagi Texts of the Middle Kingdom it follows that Seth attacked his brother on the land of Gahesty and killed him on the shore of Nedyet. There is also a hint of death of Osiris from drowning near Memphis. This connection between the god of the underworld and water was further developed in a later period, when the events surrounding his death and resurrection were already connected with the Nile.
The insidious Seth not only lured his gullible brother into a chest (sarcophagus), which was then thrown into the river, but also chopped the body of the deceased into pieces. According to one version, there were 14 of these parts, according to another – 16, and according to another – 42. The first figure is undoubtedly connected with the number of cities and temples that claimed that the tomb of Osiris (his grave) was located in their area. The last figure is related to the number of nomes - regions of Ancient Egypt.
There were 22 nomes in Upper Egypt, 20 in Lower Egypt, for a total of 42. It was natural for the Egyptians to believe that in each administrative unit the country is (was) located on part of the body of the national god. This corresponded to the state ideology, national self-awareness and identification, and the unity of the country.
The myths as presented by Plutarch conveyed some details of where and what parts of the body were located (were buried):
Sebennutos - thigh and lower leg;
Herakleopolis - thigh, head, two legs;
Athribis - heart;
Abydos - head;
Edfu - leg;
Biga Island - left leg.
Thus, the veneration of relics, sacred remains, and body parts of divine personalities also came to us from Ancient Egypt. The fact that the same parts were in different places is not an obstacle to a religious worldview. Just like the presence of several tombs of Osiris. Suffice it to remember that in much later Christianity the same sacred relics For example, there are several heads of John the Baptist.
The devotion of the deity's sister and wife, the goddess Isis, which became an extremely developed motif in later versions of the Osiris legends, is already present in the earliest versions of the myth. After a long search, she finds parts of her dismembered husband and puts his flesh back together.
After this, the ritual of embalming the god was performed in Abydos (the gods Anubis and Thoth played an important role in this). This is why he is depicted as a mummy, with his legs and body (excluding his arms and head) tightly wrapped in linen.
Despite his miraculous resurrection, Osiris no longer lays claim to the Egyptian throne. He becomes king of the underworld, leaving his son Horus to fight for the Egyptian throne with Set.
Isis and Osiris
How was the god Horus born? Isis and Osiris were a married couple, but during the earthly life of Osiris - before his murder - they had no children.
Here's what ancient Egyptian myths say about it. When Isis found and pieced together the body of her husband cut into pieces, she began magical rites over her murdered husband.
According to myths, she managed to breathe life into the deceased so much that he was able to have sexual intercourse with Isis and impregnate her. Thanks to this, Isis became pregnant and subsequently gave birth to a son, Horus.
The piquancy of this story is that, according to one version of the myth, Seth, having scattered the body of his gullible brother cut into 14 parts throughout Egypt, threw the god’s phallus into the Nile, where it was eaten by fish.
Isis used her magic to create an artificial phallus for her husband. The ancient Egyptians had a separate cult and festival dedicated to this event. It should be noted that according to another mythological tradition, the god's phallus was not damaged and was located in Memphis, where it was found by Isis
Judgment of Osiris
By the time of the New Kingdom, a religious concept had formed and took shape, according to which Osiris, at the head of 42 gods, carries out judgment over the soul of the deceased. The king of the underworld is shown sitting on a throne in the Hall of Two Truths, where every deceased person is brought.
The deceased takes an oath that during his earthly life he was a God-fearing person and obedient to earthly authorities. All formulas of this oath begin with the preposition “not”: did not violate, did not deceive, etc. Therefore, it was called the “oath of denial.”
What follows is the procedure of weighing on the scales of truth. On one bowl is the heart of the deceased, on the other is the feather of the goddess Maat. If a person’s sins were great, then the cup with the heart outweighs the other cup. If the person was pious, then the scales are equalized.
On what verdict he makes court of Osiris, the further fate of the deceased depends - either he will end up on the fertile fields of Iaru, where he will remain in contentment and joy, or his heart will be eaten by the merciless monster Ammut, which will make his death final and resurrection impossible. The scene of the trial of Osiris is both the central plot and the finale of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Since all Egyptians will have to appear before the court of Osiris, his cult becomes dominant in the era of the New Kingdom, and the ruler of the underworld himself is perceived and revered as the greatest of the gods.
These ideas about him as a just judge and savior of the dead are characteristic of all the last stages of the history of Ancient Egypt. This concept had reassuring and comforting messages for the broadest sections of the population. The posthumous fate of a person does not depend on his wealth and position on earth. It depends only on the moral qualities and actions of the person himself, as well as on the goodwill of the king of the underworld.
Epithets of Osiris
Osiris is one of the most complex divine images of the ancient Egyptians. From the local deity of the city of Djedu in the western part of the Delta, where he largely adopted the features of the also local god Anjeti, Osiris becomes one of the most universal gods of Ancient Egypt. Over time, this image began to include the features and characteristics of many other gods, and they themselves turned into hypostases of this deity.
"He who protects burials." In the west of the Nile, where most of the cemeteries were located, the sun sank into the Duat (the afterlife underworld). He took on the features of Khentiamenti, the god of the Abydos necropolis.
"He who lives in Djedu (Busiris)." This epithet is associated with the cult center of the deity - the city of Busiris in the Delta (Lower Egypt). It is believed that it was from the local god of these places, Anjeti, depicted with a flail and hook in his hands, that these attributes passed on to Osiris.
"He who lives in Heliopolis." With this epithet he is associated with the most important ancient center of sun worship - the dying and resurrecting deity.
"He who lives in Orion." This epithet connects the deity with an important constellation of stars and shows the sidereal element in it, contrasting with the predominant subterranean aspect.
"He who lives in the house of Serket." Serket (Selket) is the patron goddess of the dead. This epithet shows the close connection of the ruler of the underworld with the scorpion goddess, who plays an important role in the ancient Egyptian cult of the dead as the guardian of human remains.
"He who is in the embalming room." In a special room, embalmers turned the body of the deceased into a mummy. It was believed that this process occurs with the direct participation and protection of the king of the afterlife. In this case, he takes on the traits of Anubis.
"He who is in fumigation." Embalming and mummification were accompanied by fumigation with incense. By creating a specific aromatic atmosphere, the ancient Egyptians counteracted the fear that death caused through its decomposition and decay of the body.
"He who was placed in the sarcophagus." This epithet is only partly connected with the legend, known to us from the version given by the Greek writer Plutarch, that Seth lured his brother into a box (sarcophagus) by cunning. The main content of the epithet is Osiris’s patronage of the dead, whose bodies were placed in sarcophagi.
Thus, the main epithets of the deity are associated with funeral procedures. Initially, they applied only to the funeral of the king (pharaoh), but gradually their application became widest, including the entire population of Egypt. Osiris became the main funeral god and king of the underworld.
Osiris and Pharaoh
During the Old Kingdom, Osiris was associated almost exclusively with the pharaoh. When the ruler of Egypt dies, he becomes none other than Osiris, the king of the Duat - the afterlife.
In texts carved into the pyramids of the 5th and 6th dynasties, the deceased king is sometimes referred to by the name of a god, such as Osiris Unas or Osiris Pepi. That is, the pharaoh did not die, but turned into a god.
However, it should be noted that even in these early sources, there are moments that indicate that the monarchs wanted to be with the sun god in the sky, and not to live in the unknown and dark regions of the Duat. In particular, one of the texts says that Ra will not hand over the king to the king of the underworld, and the other contains a spell for the god of the underworld to leave the royal grave free from “his evil.”
During the era of the Middle Kingdom, there are such descriptions of the ruler of the underworld in the “Texts of the Sarcophagi” that make him more like an evil demon than a good defender and patron.
However, these darker aspects of Osiris were never predominant in the description of this deity, and did not eliminate his role as the personification of a deceased person of kingship.
Osiris and Ra
The Egyptian worldview is characterized by dualism, which manifests itself both in views of nature and in religious and mythological constructs.
The roots of this dualism are in the surrounding reality itself: up-down, damp-dry, light-dark, hot-cold, etc. And the gods were perceived by the Egyptians dualistically.
Each god has a kind of dual other half. The king of the underworld has the sun god Ra.
On the one hand, Osiris is the light of the underworld, an underground copy of the solar god Ra. On the other hand, Ra takes part in the funeral ceremonies of Osiris; every night Ra’s boat sails along the underground Nile in the domain of the god of the underworld (afterlife). According to some texts of the Book of the Dead from the New Kingdom period, after the death of Osiris, in the darkest hour of the night, the soul of the sun god Ra reached the cave where the body of the deceased lay and united with the soul of Osiris. This allowed Osiris and all the dead to awaken and live again. In the understanding of the Egyptians, Osiris and Ra acted as a kind of Double Soul.
However, it is precisely within the framework of the concept of dualism that there is constant competition between the gods. A typical mythological story is in which Osiris emphasizes his own importance as an agricultural deity in the production of wheat and barley, the most important crops of Ancient Egypt. Ra in this story states that crops exist independently of the lord of the underworld.
When Horus entered the struggle for the Egyptian throne against the murderer of his father, Set, Ra initially supported Set, not Horus. And only after the intervention of Isis, who actually forced Ra to change his position, did he support Horus. But at the same time, Seth did not lose his favor - Ra took him into his boat, and Seth faithfully began to protect the sun god from his worst enemy -
God of fertility and king of the underworld. Son of the earth god Heb 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 society, and worship the gods. He also gave people writing and knowledge of the basics of crafts and arts. After this, a golden age of abundance and happiness was established on earth.
However, Osiris's foster brother Set, planned to kill him and become an earthly ruler. He prepared a box according to the height of Osiris and invited him to the feast as a guest. The jeweled box was meant to go to someone who could fit comfortably inside 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 into the open sea and brought by waves to the Phoenician coast. There Isis found him. Returning to Egypt, Isis hid the body of Osiris in the Nile Delta. Here it was accidentally discovered by Seth while he was hunting. He cut the body into fourteen pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. However, Isis collected almost all the parts of Osiris’s body, united them and made the first mummy from her deceased husband. Possessing knowledge of the secrets of witchcraft, Isis was able to give birth to a son, Horus, from her dead husband. Having matured, Horus fought with Set and allowed the dead Osiris to swallow his eye. Thanks to this, Osiris was resurrected. He blessed Horus to fight Seth, and he himself descended into the underworld and became its ruler. Before Osiris, the heart of a deceased person was weighed on scales to determine the measure of the latter’s sinfulness. Every year in Egypt they celebrated the resurrection of Osiris, which marked the awakening of all plant nature to life.
(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, and the father of Horus. He was the fourth of the gods who reigned on earth in primordial times, inheriting the power of his great-grandfather Atum-Ra, grandfather Shu and father Geb. Osiris ruled the Earth and the center of his blessed land was Egypt. Osiris taught people good morals 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 also 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 the interval between the 6th-5th millennia BC. A coherent story about Osiris, Isis, Set and Horus can be stated as follows. The firstborn 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, who does good. Next baby there was Seth, strong and resilient, and behind him were two sisters: Isis and Nephthys.
Having become king, Osiris led people out of savagery, teaching them agriculture and crafts. His wife was Isis, who mastered 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 in Asia, Seth ordered the making of a luxuriously decorated box. When, having won the victory, Osiris returned home and threw a feast, Set appeared there with his supporters, bringing this intricately decorated box. Seth announced that the gift would go to whoever it fits. The sarcophagus was specially built according to the measurements of Osiris.
When the unsuspecting Osiris lay down in the box, Set and his minions quickly slammed the lid shut and nailed it shut. The box was thrown into the waters of the Nile. However, the current did not carry him out to sea: a heather bush stopped him near the shore, clasping him with branches. Thanks to clairvoyance, Isis was able to find the sarcophagus with her husband’s body, extracted it through spiritual practices vitality from the body of Osiris and thus conceived from him. Isis, in the form of a falcon, alighted on the corpse of Osiris and then gave birth to a son, Horus. Horus was conceived and born in order to act as the only legitimate heir of the latter and the avenger of his father's death.
Isis hid the body of Osiris in a secret place in the Nile Delta. However, he was discovered there by the hunting Seth. He cut his brother's body into 14 pieces and scattered them across different parts of Egypt. (It is assumed that in this way the priests explained the existence of tombs with the body of Osiris in 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 man during his lifetime. As a result, it was decided whether the soul would end up in 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 that Osiris wears is made of papyrus stalks, his sacred boat is also made of this plant, and his fetish "Djed" consists of several bundles of reeds inserted one into the other. Further, Osiris is always depicted with one plant or another: from the pond in front of his throne grows either a lotus or a row of trees and a vine; sometimes the entire canopy under which Osiris sits is entwined with bunches of grapes; sometimes he himself is entwined with vines. In the same way, the tomb of Osiris is not depicted without greenery: then next to it grows a tree on which the soul of Osiris sits in the form of a phoenix; that tree grew through the tomb, entwining it with its branches and roots; 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 grains planted in the kingdom of the dead served as a symbol of the rebirth of the deceased in the kingdom of the dead. wet ground filling a clay mold. The appearance of shoots was identified with 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 subside.
Osiris (Greek) - Usir (Egyptian)
Function. God of the productive forces of nature and the supreme deity in the afterlife cult, judge of the dead, 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 merged with the cult of the sacred bull Apis (Osiris-Apis) and on its basis the cult of Serapis arose. In the Late Period, Ba Osiris was personified by Benu.
Location. One of the Heliopolis Ennead of gods. The fourth of the gods who reigned on earth in primordial times. Inherited the power of Ra, Shu and Geb. Reigning, weaned people from wild image life, cannibalism, taught to sow cereals, bake bread, plant vineyards and make beer and wine, mine and process copper and gold. He taught healing, construction, and established the cult of the gods.
Genealogy. The eldest son of Geb and Nut, brother of Seth, Isis and Nephthys, husband of Isis, father of Horus and Anubis.
Iconography. He was depicted as a man with a body of green (symbol of vegetation) or red (symbol of earth) color, wrapped, like a mummy, in white material. On the head was the Atef crown, consisting of the white crown of Upper Egypt and red feathers, reminiscent of the center of the cult, Busiris. In the hands are symbols of supreme power (flail and hook). Often depicted sitting among trees or with a vine entwining his figure. Ra-Osiris was depicted with a solar disk on his head.
Fetish. Djed pillar. For ritual purposes, wooden cases in the form of the mummy of Osiris were used: they were hollow inside, earth was poured into it and grain was thrown, and holes were drilled in the lid of the case through which green shoots sprouted - “Sprouting Osiris”. In the Mysteries, the harvest, the cutting of ears of corn, symbolized the murder of Osiris; sowing grain is the burial of Osiris, germination is his resurrection.
Worship centers. The main cult centers are Busiris and Abydos (the burial place of the pharaohs), and later the islands of Philae and Bige.
Identification. Aah, Khentiamenti, Sokar, Ptah, Hapi, Nun, towards 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, at the head of the pantheon of Egyptian gods was the sun god Amon-Ra. The myths also tell about a divine couple - the earth god Hebe 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 passed on to people knowledge about the land capable of sprouting, initiated them into the mysteries of art and craft, taught writing and the canons of temple construction. 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 souls a love for Wisdom and a thirst for knowledge. It was the most wonderful and happiest time for people.
As the myths tell, on the 17th day of the month Atir, when the sun crossed the constellation Scorpio, a great disaster occurred on earth. Osiris's brother, the god Set, seeking to seize power over the world, killed Osiris and threw his body into the Nile.
For a long time, without knowing fatigue, Isis searched all over the earth for her divine spouse. Having found the body of Osiris, she hid it on the banks of the Nile in the reed thickets. But Seth, who was hunting at night, found him and cut him into fourteen pieces, which he scattered throughout the Egyptian land. Isis set out on a search again. Where the goddess found parts of the body of Osiris, she erected sanctuaries in memory of her divine spouse. Fourteen sanctuaries built by the goddess Isis in historical times will become sacred centers of the entire country.
Around them, in places determined by the gods themselves, Egypt will be built and developed. Thus, at all times, Egypt represented the body of the divine Osiris, dismembered by his brother Set into 14 parts. As the myth further tells, 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 into battle with the forces of darkness. In one of the battles with Seth, Horus loses an eye. In return, the gods give him Udjat - the eye of the inner. Vision Horus defeats Set, and with the help of Udjat 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 to rule the Earth. With his departure to heaven, the age of the reign of the gods ends. Millennia will pass before the first historical pharaoh appears and earthly power passes to the earthly king.
Osiris is the king of Egypt. This happened a very long time ago, after the god Ra left the earth and ascended to heaven. The Egyptians did not yet know how to raise livestock, cultivate fields, harvest crops, and did not know how to treat the simplest diseases. People were at enmity, and bloody fights broke out between them every now and then.
But Osiris became the king of Egypt. He called upon the god of wisdom Thoth and with his help taught the Egyptians to sow cereals, grow grapes, bake bread, prepare beer and wine, mine and process copper and gold, treat diseases, build homes, palaces, temples, read and write, and engage in astronomy (the study of stars), mathematics and other sciences. He taught people laws and justice. It was a happy time, a “golden” age in the life of Egypt.
Sarcophagus of Set. Osiris was the eldest son of the sky goddess Nut and the earth god Geb. Then their second son was born - Set, the evil god of the desert. Osiris, as the eldest, became the ruler of Egypt, which Seth was very jealous of. He himself wanted to rule the country and people so much that he decided to use cunning to destroy his older brother. He plotted against Osiris, and 72 demons helped him in this. Once Osiris returned after a successful military campaign and decided to throw a feast in honor of his victory. Seth was able to take advantage of the opportunity. Having secretly measured the body of Osiris, he ordered a sarcophagus to be made according to this measurement, decorated with gold, silver, precious stones. Set brought this sarcophagus to the feast of the gods. Everyone was delighted with such a wonderful thing; everyone wanted to become its owner.
Seth brings his evil plan to fruition. Seth, as if as a joke, suggested that the participants of the feast take turns to lie down in the sarcophagus - whoever fits it will get it. Everyone began to try it on, but the sarcophagus did not fit anyone. Osiris, not suspecting anything, watched what was happening. He was not interested in wealth, and he would hardly have gone into a sarcophagus just to get it. However, Osiris did not want to offend his brother. He approached the sarcophagus, lay down in it, and Seth and his accomplices quickly slammed the lid, pushed the bolt, filled it with lead and threw the sarcophagus into the waters of the Nile. The sarcophagus was carried by the current of the Nile into the sea, and there the waves carried it to the city of Byblos and there they threw it ashore next to a heather bush. The heather quickly grew and hid the sarcophagus inside its trunk. And then this trunk was cut down by order of King Byblos and a column was made from it for the royal palace.
Isis is looking for her husband's body. Isis, devoted and faithful wife Osiris, went in search of her husband. She cried and wailed:
“The sky merges with the earth, a shadow on the earth today, My heart burns from a long separation from you. O lord, who has departed to the lands of silence, Return to us in your former form.”
Mummy of Osiris, cooked
to burial by Anubis
Mad with grief, she walked and walked, asking everyone she met if they had seen Osiris, and finally learned that the sarcophagus with the body of her husband had been nailed to seashore near the city of Byblos. Isis went there. No one in Byblos knew that she was a goddess and she went to the palace to work as a servant. She served the Queen of Byblos and nursed her little son. And at night, when everyone was asleep, she put the king’s son in the fire and cast spells to make him immortal. But one day Queen Byblos saw this and screamed in fear. This cry broke the spell of Isis, and she could not make the prince immortal. Isis called her real name, cut the column, took out the sarcophagus with the body of Osiris and returned with it to Egypt. There she hid the sarcophagus in the Nile Delta and, covering it with branches so that it was not visible, went to her sister, with whom she wanted to mourn Osiris and bury him with honors.
Goddess Isis
and god Horus
Meanwhile, Seth went hunting. He loved to hunt at night under the moon. The villain came across a sarcophagus, was surprised to see the body of his unfortunate brother, cut it into pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. Soon the sisters returned, opened the sarcophagus, and it was empty. Isis’s grief knew no bounds; for twelve days she searched for the remains of her husband until she found them and buried them. And where she found parts of the body of Osiris, she erected a stone stele, and from this the veneration of Osiris began in Egypt.
Horus, the future avenger, is born to Isis. Then Isis went into the swamps of the delta to hide from the persecutions of the treacherous Set. There her son Horus was born. She managed to feed and save the baby. One day, when Horus was alone, he was bitten by poisonous snake. Returning, Isis saw the lifeless body of her little son. The unfortunate mother raised a terrible cry, begging the gods and people to come to her aid. The god of wisdom Thoth calmed her down and healed the baby with his miraculous spells.
Horus grew up, matured and decided to avenge his father's death.
Osiris
Osiris(Osiris) - god of rebirth, 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 earth god and sky goddess, brother and husband, brother, father and. He was the fourth of the gods who reigned on earth in primordial times, inheriting the power of his great-grandfather, grandfather and father Geb. The tomb of Osiris was located 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. Osiris's wife, 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, according to another version, cut up by Seth) parts of Osiris, embalmed the body and swaddled it. Isis fashioned a phallus from clay (the only part of Osiris’s body that Isis could not find was the phallus: it was eaten by fish), consecrated it and attached it to the assembled body of Osiris. Having turned into a female kite - the bird Hat, Isis spread her wings over the mummy of Osiris and said magic words and got pregnant. Horus was 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 legal heir of the latter.
After a lengthy litigation, Horus is recognized as the rightful heir of Osiris and receives the kingdom. He resurrects Osiris by allowing him to 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 judgment seat, the myth of Osiris absorbed the reflection of religious ideas of a number of successive stages in the development of Egyptian society .
The crown Osiris wears is made of papyrus stalks, his sacred boat is also made of this plant, and his symbol of the djed (an ancient Egyptian cult object symbolizing the spine of Osiris) consists of several bundles of reeds inserted one into another. Further, Osiris is always depicted with one plant or another: from the pond in front of his throne grows either a lotus or a row of trees and a vine; sometimes the entire canopy under which Osiris sits is entwined with bunches of grapes; sometimes he himself is entwined with vines.
In the same way, the tomb of Osiris is not depicted without greenery: then next to it grows a tree on which the soul of Osiris sits in the form of a phoenix; that tree grew through the tomb, entwining it with its branches and roots; then four trees grow from the tomb itself.
Osiris and Anubis
In the Osiris Cycle he was the son of Osiris and. Nephthys's wife fell in love with Osiris and, taking the guise of Isis, seduced him. As a result of intercourse, the god Anubis was born. Frightened by Seth's retribution for treason, Nephthys abandoned the baby in the reed thickets, where the goddess Isis later found him. Afterwards, the god Anubis began to help Isis in searching for 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 through 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 main god of the Duat pass to Osiris. Anubis becomes the god of necropolises and funeral mysteries. At the Judgment of Osiris, described in the Book of the Dead, Anubis helps judge the souls of the dead.