In ancient times, Egypt was a huge country by ancient standards, with endless deserts and well-groomed arable lands, which were adjacent to each other, as wealth and poverty coexist.
Ordinary people spend all their days in tireless work. Spring was replaced by a sultry summer, a rainy autumn was followed by a cold winter, plants grew, died and in their place a new life began again, but already of other plants. There are many terrible animals walking in the desert, people are overtaken by diseases and all kinds of difficulties. Trying to somehow explain the inexplicable laws of nature, trying to find an assistant, a defender, people began to invent myths. Gradually myths became religion. The gods in mythology came from ordinary mortals, many had families. They could be both bad and good. Among them there was deceit, enmity, murder, envy, but there was a place for love, devotion, care, that is, in their life there was a place for everything that was in the life of ordinary people. One of the most respected and revered gods was considered the master of the other world - the god Osiris.
This god of the Renaissance is one of the most important gods in the hierarchy of ancient Egyptian mythology. His name translates as "one mighty". This is the lord of the afterlife, he was painted in the form of a man with a bull's head, his legs, as a rule, are wrapped like those of mummies. He holds a chain and a hook in his hands. There is a crown on the head, it was called "atef". In shape, it resembled a tall, narrow hat, to which two feathers are attached on the sides. Sometimes, instead of a hat, they could also depict bull horns.
According to ancient Egyptian texts, Osiris was the very first son of a divine married couple - Hebe and Nut, he was also the husband and brother of Isis, Set and Nephthys, the parent of Anubis and Horus Osiris ruled the fourth of the gods. Power he inherited from his great-grandfather Atum Ra, grandfather Shu and his father Geb. During his reign, he taught people how to grow grapes, fruit trees, and taught agriculture. On the head of Osiris there is a crown made of papyrus. Very often you can see him floating in a boat, which is also made of papyrus. The symbol of God is bundles of reeds, as if inserted into each other. Since he helped people learn the basics of agriculture, he was portrayed with some kind of plant, be it a grape near the throne, or a tree near the tomb, or a noble lotus flower.
The myth of Osiris
Osiris, as Plutarch tells us, was an ordinary living person and ruled Egypt. He ruled very wisely. During his reign, there were no wars, unrest, people were calm about their future, the lands gave good harvests, crafts developed, which means that cities flourished. He ruled with his sister and at the same time his wife Isis. This was the fourth ruler: the first was the great-grandfather of Atum (or Ra-Atum), then the grandfather of Shu, then the father of Geb. He taught people a lot. Osiris taught with the help of words, songs, legends, and not with the help of warriors and murders, robberies. People began to sow grain, grow fruit trees. Life was getting better and easier. Everyone loved Osiris and his wife Isis very much, adored them, revered and respected them. And as always, a fierce envious person appeared - brother Seth, this is his brother. Seth was a real freak, evil, ruthless. If Osiris's birthday was a holiday,the birthday of Seth was never mentioned. Seth made a very beautiful coffin, having removed the dimensions from the brother of Osiris in advance and appeared at the feast, announced that he would give a sarcophagus to whoever it would fit. The sarcophagus was amazingly beautiful. As soon as Osiris lay in it, Seth immediately closed the coffin, in this Seth was also helped by his minions. Then they sealed the sarcophagus and filled it with lead and threw it far into the river. And Seth put Ishida in prison, but her relatives helped her escape. Then they sealed the sarcophagus and filled it with lead and threw it far into the river. And Seth put Ishida in prison, but her relatives helped her escape. Then they sealed the sarcophagus and filled it with lead and threw it far into the river. And Seth put Ishida in prison, but her relatives helped her escape.
The coffin floated with the current, it washed ashore near the Egyptian city of Byblos. A wonderful tree immediately grew in this place. When it was discovered in the palace that Osiris had disappeared, everyone rushed in search. Only the faithful wife Isis managed to find the sarcophagus with her beloved husband. She transports the coffin to Egypt and begins to prepare for the burial ceremony. Taking advantage of the moment, seeing that no one was guarding the body of Osiris, Set cut it into 42 pieces, or, according to other chronicles, into 15 pieces and scattered all over Egypt. And again, the inconsolable Isis goes in search, wanting to put together the body of Osiris's beloved husband. Each time, finding another fragment of the body, she performs a burial ceremony on the spot. But this is not one version of this tragedy. According to another version, Atum Ra took pity on Isis and sent the divine jackal Anubis to help. He collected the entire body of Osiris. Further versions agree that Osiris was embalmed. Isis turned into a bird and, breathing life for a short time, was able to miraculously conceive from Osiris the son of Horus. In some chronicles, you can read a juicy detail. The reproductive organ of Osiris was cut off by Set and thrown into the river, where it was eaten by fish. Isis made him an artificial likeness. In ancient Egypt, there was even a celebration of this event. According to another version, the reproductive organ was in Memphis, and it was there that Osiris' wife found it. Further, after his resurrection, Osiris does not want to be an earthly king and retires to the afterlife, where he begins to rule over the souls of the dead, leaving the earthly reign to his son Horus.breathing life for a short time, she miraculously conceived a son of Horus from Osiris. In some chronicles, you can read a juicy detail. The reproductive organ of Osiris was cut off by Set and thrown into the river, where it was eaten by fish. Isis made him an artificial likeness. In ancient Egypt, there was even a celebration of this event. According to another version, the reproductive organ was in Memphis, and it was there that Osiris' wife found it. Further, after his resurrection, Osiris does not want to be an earthly king and retires to the afterlife, where he begins to rule over the souls of the dead, leaving the earthly reign to his son Horus.breathing life for a short time, she miraculously conceived a son of Horus from Osiris. In some chronicles, you can read a juicy detail. The reproductive organ of Osiris was cut off by Set and thrown into the river, where it was eaten by fish. Isis made him an artificial likeness. In ancient Egypt, there was even a celebration of this event. According to another version, the reproductive organ was in Memphis, and it was there that Osiris' wife found it. Further, after his resurrection, Osiris does not want to be an earthly king and retires to the afterlife, where he begins to rule over the souls of the dead, leaving the earthly reign to his son Horus. In ancient Egypt, there was even a celebration of this event. According to another version, the reproductive organ was in Memphis, and it was there that Osiris' wife found it. Further, after his resurrection, Osiris does not want to be an earthly king and retires to the afterlife, where he begins to rule over the souls of the dead, leaving the earthly reign to his son Horus. In ancient Egypt, there was even a celebration of this event. According to another version, the reproductive organ was in Memphis, and it was there that Osiris' wife found it. Further, after his resurrection, Osiris does not want to be an earthly king and retires to the afterlife, where he begins to rule over the souls of the dead, leaving the earthly reign to his son Horus.
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Fair judgment of the god Osiris
Osiris in the underworld is at the head of 42 gods. The ceremony of meeting the dead human soul takes place in the Hall of Two Truths. Osiris is seated on a throne in the center of this room. In his hands he holds a hook and a bunch of reeds. The deceased tells about how he lived, whether he honored the gods, whether he respected those living nearby, whether he offended his neighbors. The story about the past life began with the preposition: "did not" - "did not kill", "did not deceive", "did not steal", etc. Subsequently, this story of a past life was called "the story of denial." Everything was listened to by the gods, and then the main ceremony took place. The heart of the deceased was placed on one side of the scale, and the feather of the goddess Maat on the other side. If the cup with a person's heart outweighed, it means that the deceased lived wrong, sinned a lot. In this case, he was eaten by the terrible monster Ammut and he never resurrected. If the scales were in balance, it means that the person lived his life with dignity and a reward awaited him - the just god Osiris sent the soul of the deceased to the fertile fields of Iaru.
Osiris and the living king
The inhabitants of Ancient Egypt revered and respected the god Osiris very much. And the pharaohs were no exception, everyone wanted to appease Osiris, so that later his soul would fall on the fields of Iaru. Since all the pharaohs had divine roots, as they believed in those distant times, therefore, they did not die, but became gods. Very often you can find in ancient sources the pharaoh with the name of the god - Osiris Pepi. In later Egypt, other desires already appear. After all, you must admit that you don't want to be in the gloomy dungeons of the underworld all the time, without the sun, in darkness and dampness. The priests, at the behest of the rulers, began to look for and found "opportunities" to send the soul of Pharaoh to another god - the sun god Ra. From this moment, Osiris from a "good" just lord of the afterlife gradually turns into an evil, fierce "bad" master of a dark dungeon. And already in the tombs are placed prayers, spells that protect from the god of the underworld. But this does not happen so often, yet the image of the god Osiris is light.
Confrontation between Ra and Osiris
The beliefs of ancient Egypt were inherent in the opposition of the gods. Each god has its opposite. For the bright sun god Ra, the opposite was the god Osiris. If Ra is the sun, life, all the best in real life, then Osiris is also the sun, rebirth, but only in the afterlife. But some sources describe the struggle of one god with another. Even when the son of Osiris fought with Set, the sun god was originally on the side of Set. At the same time, Osiris tried to appropriate the merit for having taught people to grow crops, and this was not without discontent from Ra. But the gods were not always at odds with each other. The "Book of the Dead" tells that the sun god Ra visited the soul of the deceased Osiris, thereby giving him the opportunity to be reborn in the afterlife.
The cult of the god Osiris in ancient Egypt
The inhabitants of Ancient Egypt believed that thanks to the help of Osiris, spring comes every year, with its arrival everything comes to life, begins to grow, give a harvest, which means that you can not be afraid of hunger. According to ancient religion, one can judge the idea of people about the rules, norms of life. Ancient people believed that only by living honestly, righteously, you can earn the best in the afterlife and get the opportunity to be reborn to a new life. You can also observe the eternal struggle between good and evil, see how good wins. The texts of the annals show the desire of people for justice and kindness. They believed that evil will not go unpunished, and that perfect evil will always be followed by just retribution. Over time, the Egyptians begin to reward the god Osiris with qualities inherent in other gods. God Osiris guards burial places, protects the remains of a person,is present during the embalming of a person's body and, accordingly, helps his loved ones, consoles them. That is, God, Osiris becomes the sovereign head of the underworld and the afterlife, as well as all the rituals accompanying the funeral of a person.
There were several centers of special worship for Osiris. One of the center of the cult of the god Osiris was the city of Abydos. The ancient Egyptians believed that the head of the god was in this city. The city's coat of arms depicted a crown, it was the crown of the god Osiris. In this city there was the tomb of Pharaoh Jer, it was she who began to worship as the tomb of Osiris. Every year a very magnificent holiday dedicated to the beloved god was held here. A huge boat solemnly sailed along the central streets, scenes from the life of Osiris were played out on the streets. The next place of special veneration of the god Osiris is the city of Jeru. It also hosted an annual celebration in honor of the beloved god. These are the two most obvious places of worship of the god Osiris, but the cult of the god diverges far beyond the borders of Egypt, for example, the ancient inhabitants of Mesopotamia worshiped him,Greece and other ancient states.
Belova Tatiana Vladimirovna