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Osiris and Gods of the Dead
Since the Egyptians were much concerned with
death and the afterlife, several gods were attributed with special
powers to assist them in this area. The most important was Osiris
who, from the Middle Kingdom, dominated funerary beliefs and
practices.
Origins and Evolution of Osiris No extant account of the myth of Osiris survives in Egyptian literature; the earliest, most complete version exists in the writings of the Classical author Plutarch (AD 50–120). Other sources for Osiris include the Pyramid Texts and some late temple inscriptions. Plutarch’s myth describes Osiris as an early human king who brought civilization and agriculture to Egypt. Murdered by his jealous brother Seth, his body was dismembered and scattered, but Isis, his sister and wife, collected and magically reunited his limbs. Posthumously conceiving Osiris’s son, Horus, Isis hid and reared the child in the Delta marshes. Once grown Horus set out to avenge his father’s death and engaged Seth in a bloody conflict. Their dispute was brought before a divine tribunal whose judgment favored Horus and Osiris. Resurrected, Osiris became king and judge of the dead in his underworld realm, while Horus (with whom every king was now identified) became ruler of the living. Seth, regarded as the “Evil One,” became an outcast. Osiris probably originated as a vegetation god personifying the phases of the agricultural year with the annual life, death, and rebirth of the vegetation. He was regarded as the life giver and source of fertility. The annual Festival of Khoiakh celebrated his death and resurrection and was closely associated with the accession, coronation, and jubilee of the living king. From this role Osiris acquired his functions as ruler of the underworld and divine judge, expressing the wider concepts of victory over evil and conquest of death. In the Middle Kingdom democratization of religious beliefs and funerary customs was closely associated with Osiris’s ability to offer immortality to all his followers, rich or poor. Entry to his kingdom was now dependent on correct burial procedures and a successful trial before the divine judges. At this “Day of Judgment” the deceased faced a tribunal of forty-two gods and was required to recite the Negative Confession, declaring innocence of any serious offense during life. His heart weighed in the balance against the feather representing truth, and if he lied his heart would weigh against him. If he was innocent and his heart balanced the feather he was declared “true of voice” and, reunited with his soul, passed into the eternal kingdom of Osiris. If found guilty his heart would be thrown to a composite creature called the “Devourer” and he lost any chance of immortality. Through his vegetation role Osiris came to be regarded as a corn god. He may also have had associations with deities in other countries, such as Adonis, Tammuz, and Dionysus. He was always represented as a mummiform, dead king wearing a long white cloak and the crown of Upper Egypt and carrying a crook and flail. His face was sometimes colored black or green to symbolize his powers of regeneration. His two major cult centers were Busiris in the Delta and Abydos, Egypt’s greatest religious city. Pilgrimage to Abydos to enhance the chance of eternity became essential for all worshipers who could make the journey. .
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Other Gods of the Dead
An earlier god at Abydos was Khentiamentiu, the “Foremost of the Westerners,” an important deity in the land of the dead. When Osiris arrived at Abydos in Dynasty 5, he supplanted and adopted some of the characteristics and attributes of Khentiamentiu. The oldest known god of Abydos, Wepwawet, had himself been supplanted by Khentiamentiu. Wepwawet (the name means “Opener of the Ways”) was believed to lead the dead to the underworld. Represented as a jackal with a grey or white head, Wepwawet may have been worshiped originally as a wolf god at Abydos; at Lycopolis (“Wolf City,” modern Assiut), another important center for his cult, he definitely received worship as a wolf. Osiris also had close funerary associations with other gods. At Memphis he first acquired funerary characteristics when he became identified with Sokar, the ancient local deity of the dead who was usually represented as a hawk and regarded as guardian of the Memphite necropolis. Sokar was himself amalgamated with Ptah when the latter became principal god of Memphis. By the end of the Middle Kingdom a composite deity, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris, had been created. In later times a wooden figure of this god, with a hollowed base that contained a papyrus of the Book of the Dead, was often placed in the tomb. Under the Ptolemies a new god, Serapis, was introduced in an attempt to provide a deity whom both Greeks and Egyptians could worship. Serapis combined elements of the Greek gods Zeus, Asklepios, and Dionysus and of Osiris and the cult of the sacred Apis bull of Memphis. Serapis was a god of fertility and of the underworld, but he never received full acceptance by the Egyptians. Other members of the Osirian family also played funerary roles. Isis, wife of Osiris, was a universal mother goddess with a reputation as a great magician. With Nephthys, Neith, and Selket, she protected the body; these goddesses stood at the four corners of the sarcophagus, and Isis also had the task of guarding the deceased’s liver (an organ particularly revered). Isis and her sister Nephthys were the chief divine mourners and protectors of the dead. Nephthys, although the sister-wife of Seth, nevertheless supported her other siblings, Osiris and Isis, in the conflict and helped Isis to reassemble and wrap the body of Osiris and then to mourn for him. She also protected the sarcophagus and the canopic jars. And according to one myth Nephthys’s union with Osiris (who mistook her for Isis) produced the god Anubis. Worshiped at Cynopolis in Middle Egypt, Anubis was the great funerary god and judge of the dead prior to Osiris’s prominence. Originally the royal god of the dead, Anubis’s role was eventually extended. He had embalmed and wrapped the body of Osiris, and he subsequently performed this duty for all the dead. Anubis was represented as a jackal and became the patron of embalmers. Jackals were frequent scavengers in cemeteries, and by deifying the animal the Egyptians may have hoped to appease and prevent him from molesting the dead. In the afterlife Anubis was also the guardian of the balance at the Day of Judgment, and he read the scales and reported the deceased’s fate to the tribunal. Horus, the legitimate son of Osiris, in his form as Harsiesis (Horus-son-of-Isis) was also a protector of the dead. He was helped by the demigods known as the “Four Sons of Horus” (Imset, Hapy, Duamutef, and Qebhsennuef) to guard the viscera removed during mummification. They in turn were protected by the four goddesses Isis, Nephthys, Neith, and Selket. .
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Osiris and Gods of the Dead
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