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Osiris

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Divinities

   Osiris
   in hieroglyphs


   Q1
   D4 A40

   Osiris ( Greek language, also Usiris; the Egyptian language name is
   variously transliterated Asar, Aser, Ausar, Wesir, or Ausare) is the
   Egyptian god of life, death, and fertility.He is also called the
   Allfather. At the height of the ancient Nile civilization, Osiris was
   regarded as the primary deity of a henotheism. Osiris was not only the
   merciful judge of the dead in the afterlife, but also the underworld
   agency that granted all life, including sprouting vegetation and the
   fertile flooding of the Nile River. Beginning at about 2000 B.C. all
   men, not just dead pharaohs, were believed to be associated with Osiris
   at death.

   The origin of Osiris's name is a mystery, which forms an obstacle to
   knowing the pronunciation of its hieroglyphic form. The majority of
   current thinking is that the Egyptian name is pronounced aser where the
   a is the letter ayin (i.e. a short 'a' pronounced from the back of the
   throat as if swallowing).

Origin of name

   The name was first recorded in Egyptian hieroglyphs only as ws-ir or
   os-ir because the Egyptian writing system omitted vowels. It is
   reconstructed to have been pronounced Us-iri (oos-ee-ree) meaning
   'Throne of the Eye' and survives into the Coptic language as Ousire.

Early mythology

Father of Anubis

   Earlier, when the Ennead and Ogdoad cosmogenies became merged, with the
   identification of Ra as Atum (Atum-Ra), gradually Anubis, the god of
   the underworld in the Ogdoad system, was replaced by Osiris, whose cult
   had become more significant. In order to explain this, Anubis was said
   to have given way to Osiris out of respect, and, as an underworld
   deity, was subsequently identified as being Osiris' son. Abydos, which
   had been a strong centre of the cult of Anubis, became a centre of the
   cult of Osiris.

   However, as Isis, Osiris' wife, represented life, in the Ennead, it was
   considered somewhat inappropriate for her to be the mother of a god
   associated with death, and so instead, it was usually said that
   Nephthys, the other of the two female children of Geb and Nut, was his
   mother. To explain the apparent infidelity of Osiris, it was said that
   a sexually frustrated Nephthys had disguised herself as Isis to get
   more attention from her husband, Set, but did not succeed, although
   Osiris then mistook her for Isis, and they procreated, resulting in
   Anubis' birth.

Father of Horus

   Later, when Hathor's identity (from the Ogdoad) was assimilated into
   that of Isis, Horus, who had been Isis' husband (in the Ogdoad), became
   considered her son, and thus, since Osiris was Isis' husband (in the
   Ennead), Osiris also became considered Horus' father. Attempts to
   explain how Osiris, a god of the dead, could give rise to someone so
   definitely alive as Horus, lead to the development of the Legend of
   Osiris and Isis, which became the greatest myth in Egyptian mythology.

   The myth described Osiris as having been killed by his brother Seth who
   wanted Osiris' throne. Osiris was subsequently resurrected by Anubis.
   Osiris and Isis gave birth to Horus. As such, since Horus was born
   after Osiris' resurrection, Horus became thought of as representing new
   beginnings. This combination, Osiris-Horus, was therefore a
   life-death-rebirth deity, and thus associated with the new harvest each
   year.

   Ptah-Seker (who resulted from the identification of Ptah as Seker), who
   was god of re-incarnation, thus gradually became identified with
   Osiris, the two becoming Ptah-Seker-Osiris (rarely known as
   Ptah-Seker-Atum, although this was just the name, and involved Osiris
   rather than Atum). As the sun was thought to spend the night in the
   underworld, and subsequently be re-incarnated, as both king of the
   underworld, and god of reincarnation, Ptah-Seker-Osiris was identified
   as the sun during the night.

Ram god

   Banebdjed (b3-nb-ḏd)
   in hieroglyphs


   E10 nb Dd niwt Dd

   Since Osiris was considered dead, as God of the Dead, Osiris' soul, or
   rather his Ba, was occasionally worshipped in its own right, almost as
   if it were a distinct god, especially so in the Delta city of Mendes.
   This aspect of Osiris was referred to as Banebdjed (also spelt Banebded
   or Banebdjedet, which is technically feminine) which literally means
   The ba of the lord of the djed, which roughly means The soul of the
   lord of the pillar of stability. The djed, a type of pillar, was
   usually understood as the backbone of Osiris, since the Egyptians had
   associated death, and the dead, as symbolic of stability. As Banebdjed,
   Osiris was given epithets such as Lord of the Sky and Life of the ( sun
   god) Ra, since Ra, when he had become identified with Atum, was
   considered Osiris' ancestor, from whom his regal authority was
   inherited.

   Ba does not, however, quite mean soul in the western sense, and also
   has a lot to do with power, reputation, force of character, especially
   in the case of a god. Since the ba was associated with power, and also
   happened to be a word for ram in Egyptian, Banebdjed was depicted as a
   ram, or as Ram-headed. A living, sacred ram, was even kept at Mendes
   and worshipped as the incarnation of the god, and upon death, the rams
   were mummified and buried in a ram-specific necropolis.

   In Mendes, they had considered Hatmehit, a local fish-goddess, as the
   most important god/goddess, and so when the cult of Osiris became more
   significant, Banebdjed was identified in Mendes as deriving his
   authority from being married to Hatmehit. Later, when Horus became
   identified as the child of Osiris (in this form Horus is known as
   Harpocrates in greek and Har-pa-khered in Egyptian), Banebdjed was
   consequently said to be Horus' father, as Banebdjed is an aspect of
   Osiris.

   In occult writings, Banebdjed is often called the goat of Mendes, and
   identified with Baphomet; the fact that Banebdjed was a ram (sheep),
   not a goat, is apparently overlooked.

Mystery religion

The Cult of Osiris

   The cult of Osiris had a particularly strong interest towards the
   concept of immortality. According to the myth surrounding the cult, Set
   (Osiris's evil brother) fooled Osiris into getting into a coffin, which
   he then shut, had sealed with lead and threw into the Nile. Osiris's
   wife, Isis, searched for his remains until she finally found him
   embedded in a tree trunk, which was holding up the roof of a palace.
   She managed to remove the coffin and open it, but Osiris was already
   dead. She used a spell she had learned from her father and brought him
   back to life so he could impregnate her. After they finished, he died
   again, so she hid his body in the desert. Months later, she gave birth
   to Horus. While she was off raising him, Set had been out hunting one
   night and he came across the body of Osiris. Enraged, he tore the body
   into 14 pieces and again threw them into the Nile. Isis gathered up all
   the parts of the body and bandaged them together for a proper burial.
   The Gods were impressed by the devotion of Isis and thus restored
   Osiris to life in the form of a different kind of existence as the god
   of the underworld. Because of his death and resurrection, Osiris is
   associated with the flooding and retreating of the Nile and thus with
   the crops along the Nile valley.

The passion and resurrection

   Plutarch and others have noted that the sacrifices to Osiris were
   “gloomy, solemn, and mournful…” (Isis and Osiris, 69) and that the
   great mystery festival, celebrated in two phases, began at Abydos on
   the 17th of Athyr (Nov. 13th) commemorating the death of the god, which
   is also the same day that grain was planted in the ground. “The death
   of the grain and the death of the god were one and the same: the cereal
   was identified with the god who came from heaven; he was the bread by
   which man lives. The resurrection of the god symbolized the rebirth of
   the grain.” (Larson 17) The first phase of the festival was a public
   drama depicting the murder and dismemberment of Osiris, the search for
   his body by Isis, his triumphal return as the resurrected god, and the
   battle in which Horus defeated Set. This was all presented by skilled
   actors as a literary history, and was the main method of recruiting
   cult membership. According to Julius Firmicus Maternus of the fourth
   century, this play was re-enacted each year by worshippers who “beat
   their breasts and gashed their shoulders…. When they pretend that the
   mutilated remains of the god have been found and rejoined…they turn
   from mourning to rejoicing.” (De Errore Profanorum).

   The Passion of Osiris was re-enacted at all of his temples during his
   annual festivals. On a stele at Abydos erected in the 12th Dynasty by
   I-Kher-Nefert, a priest of Osiris during the reign of Usertsen III
   (Pharaoh Sesostris, about 1875 BC) we find the principle scenes of the
   mystery-drama depicted (I-Kher-Nefert played Horus). In the first
   scene, Osiris is slain, no one knowing what happened to his body, and
   the onlookers weep and mourn, rend their hair and beat their breasts.
   Isis and Nepthys then recover the remnants and return to the temple. In
   the second scene, Thoth, Horus and Isis revive Osiris in the sanctuary,
   not witnessed by the populace. Then Osiris emerges, to much rejoicing.
   Horus then places Osiris in a solar boat, christened the Nefarté, to
   proceed directly to the eternal regions, known as the “coming forth by
   day” mentioned so often in the Book of the Dead. The climax of the play
   is the great battle between Horus and Set, described in detail by
   Herodotus (History II, 63).

Wheat and clay rituals

   Differing from the public portion above, an esoteric phase consisted of
   ceremonials performed inside the temples by priests witnessed only by
   initiates. Plutarch mentions that two days after the beginning of the
   festival “the priests bring forth sacred chest containing a small
   golden coffer, into which they pour some potable water…and a great
   shout arises from the company for joy that Osiris is found (or
   resurrected). Then they knead some fertile soil with the water…and
   fashion therefrom a crescent-shaped figure, which they cloth and adorn,
   this indicating that they regard these gods as the substance of Earth
   and Water.” (Isis and Osiris, 39). Yet even he was obscure, for he also
   wrote, “I pass over the cutting of the wood” opting to not describe it
   since he considered it most sacred (Ibid. 21).

   In the Osirian temple at Denderah, an inscription (translated by Budge,
   Chapter XV, Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection) describes in detail
   the making of wheat paste models of each dismembered piece of Osiris to
   be sent out to the town where each piece was discovered by Isis. At the
   temple of Mendes, figures of Osiris are made from wheat and paste
   placed in a trough on the day of the murder, then water added for
   several days, when finally the mixture was kneaded into a mold of
   Osiris and taken to the temple and buried (the sacred grain for these
   cakes only grown in the temple fields). Molds are made from wood of a
   red tree in the forms of the sixteen dismembered parts of Osiris, cakes
   of divine bread made from each mold, placed in a silver chest and set
   near the head of the god, the inward parts of Osiris as described in
   the Book of the Dead (XVII). On the first day of the Festival of
   Ploughing, where the goddess Isis appears in her shrine where she is
   stripped naked, Paste made from the grain is placed in her bed and
   moistened with water, representing the fecund earth. All of these
   sacred rituals were climaxed by the eating of sacramental god, the
   eucharist by which the celebrants were transformed, in their
   persuasion, into replicas of their god-man (Larson 20).

The Osirian Sacrament

   Although there were ethical and ceremonial considerations none of these
   could compare to the power of the divine eucharist, since it was
   literally believed to be the body (bread) and blood (ale) of the god.
   Since the ancient Nilotics believed that humans were whatever they eat,
   this sacrament was, by extension, able to make them celestial and
   immortal. The doctrine of the eucharist ultimately has its roots in
   prehistoric cannibalism, whose practitioners understood that virtues
   and powers of the eaten can be thus absorbed by the eater. This
   phenomenon has been described throughout the world.

   One of the oldest of the Pyramid Texts is the Unas from the 6th Dynasty
   (circa 2500 BC). It shows that the original ideology of Egypt
   commingled with Osirian concepts. Although ultimately given a high
   place in heaven by order of Osiris, Unas is at first an enemy of the
   gods and his ancestors, who he hunts, lassoes, kills, cooks, and eats
   so that their powers may become his own. This was written at a time
   when the eating of parents and gods was a laudable ceremony, and this
   emphasizes how hard it must have been to stamp out the older order of
   cannibalism. “He eats men, he feeds on the gods…he cooks them in his
   fiery cauldrons. He eats their words of power, he swallows their
   spirits…. He eats the wisdom of every god, his period of life is
   eternity…. Their soul is in his body, their spirits are within him.” A
   parallel passage is found in the Pyramid Text of Pepi II, who is said
   to have “seizeth those who are a follower of Set…he breaketh their
   heads, he cutteth off their haunches, he teareth out their intestines,
   he diggeth out their hearts, he drinketh copiously of their blood!”
   (line 531, ff). Although crude, this was a core concept, the conviction
   that one could receive immortality by eating the flesh and blood of a
   god who had died became a dominating obsession in the ancient world.
   Although the cult of Osiris forbade cannibalism, it did not outlaw
   dismemberment and eating of enemies, and practiced the ritual rending
   and eating of the sacred bull, symbolizing Osiris.

   Although this sacramental concept only originated once in history, it
   spread throughout the Mediterranean area and became the dynamic force
   in every mystery cult. It was only by this sacerdotal means that the
   corruptible deceased could be clothed in incorruption and this idea
   appears again and again in infinite variety. The scribe Nebseni
   implores: “And there in the celestial mansions of heaven which my
   divine father Tem hath established, let my hands lay hold upon the
   wheat and the barley which shall be given unto me therein in abundant
   measure” (Ibid. LXXII). Nu corroborates that this is the eucharist by
   saying: “I am established, and the divine Sekhet-hetep is before me, I
   have eaten therein, I have become a spirit therein, I have abundance
   therein.” (Ibid. LXXVII) Again Nu states: “I am the divine soul of
   Ra…which is god…I am the divine food which is not corrupted” (Ibid.
   LXXXV). The ancientness of the concept is again reaffirmed in the
   Pyramid Text of Teta (2600 BC) where the Osiris Teta “receivest thy
   bread which decayeth not, and thy beer which perisheth not” In the Text
   of Pepi I we read: “All the gods give thee their flesh and their
   blood…. Thou shalt not die.” In the Text of Pepi II the aspirant prays
   for “thy bread of eternity, and thy beer of everlastingness” (Line
   390).

Osiris-Dionysus

   By the Hellenic era, Greek awareness of Osiris had grown, and attempts
   had been made to merge Greek philosophy, such as Platonism, and the
   cult of Osiris (especially the myth of his resurrection), resulting in
   a new mystery religion. Gradually, this became more popular, and was
   exported to other parts of the Greek sphere of influence. However,
   these mystery religions valued the change in wisdom, personality, and
   knowledge of fundamental truth, rather than the exact details of the
   acknowledged myths on which their teachings were superimposed. Thus in
   each region that it was exported to, the myth was changed to be about a
   similar local god, resulting in a series of gods, who had originally
   been quite distinct, but who were now syncretisms with Osiris. These
   gods became known as Osiris-Dionysus.

Serapis

   Eventually, in Egypt, the Hellenic pharaohs decided to produce a deity
   that would be acceptable to both the local Egyptian population, and the
   influx of Hellenic visitors, to bring the two groups together, rather
   than allow a source of rebellion to grow. Thus Osiris was identified
   explicitly with Apis, really an aspect of Ptah, who had already been
   identified as Osiris by this point, and a syncretism of the two was
   created, known as Serapis, and depicted as a standard Greek god.

Destruction

   Osiris-worship continued up until the 6th century AD on the island of
   Philae in Upper Nile. The Theodosian decree (in about 380 AD) to
   destroy all pagan temples and force worshippers to accept Christianity
   was ignored there. However, Justinian dispatched a General Narses to
   Philae, who destroyed the Osirian temples and sanctuaries, threw the
   priests into prison, and carted the sacred images off to
   Constantinople. However, by that time, the soteriology of Osiris had
   assumed various forms which had long spread far and wide in the ancient
   world.

Osiris in popular culture

     * Albert Pike (the grand commander of Freemasonry) worshipped Osiris
       and he proudly made that known in his book, Morals and Dogma.
     * In Mozart's opera The Magic Flute, the priests in the Temple of
       Wisdom worship Osiris and Isis. The chief priest, Sarastro, sings
       an aria beginning "O Isis und Osiris, schenket der Weisheit Geist"
       ("O Isis and Osiris, grant the spirit of wisdom").
     * Osiris is a deity used more than once in the hit television show
       Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the show, Osiris is described as the
       "keeper of the gate, master of all fate" and is used in
       resurrection rituals. He is also unique as he is seen in one
       episode, communicating with Willow Rosenberg as she tries to
       resurrect her dead lover, Tara Maclay; although names of deities
       are often given in spells on the show, most of the time the deity
       is not seen.
     * Saint Dragon - The God of Osiris is one of the Three Divine Beasts,
       or God Cards, from the manga Yu-Gi-Oh! and its animated adaptation,
       Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.
     * In the show Futurama the three main characters Fry, Leela and
       Bender visit an Egypt-themed planet named Osiris IV.
     * In the Animatrix, the Osiris is the name of the ship that is
       sacrificed to make sure Zion gets the information that the machines
       are coming.
     * In the television series Stargate SG-1, Osiris and other gods are
       represented as evil aliens pretending to be gods, whereas in
       Egyptian culture, most of them were told to be good and beneficial,
       in some way, to life. Osiris is unique among the villains in that
       he has a male personality, but a female host body.
     * In Joss Whedon's Firefly, Osiris is the name of the Core planet
       River and Simon Tam are originally from.
     * In the movie Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Hedwig's song "Origin of
       Love" mentions Osiris.
     * In The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice, the legend of Osiris being cut
       up by his brother, Set, is discussed. As the one part of Osiris
       unable to be found by Isis was his genitals and because he is the
       god of the underworld, Lestat believes him to be a vampire god, as
       vampires are unable to copulate.
     * In Vampire: The Masquerade, Osiris was a powerful vampire, either
       an antedeluvian or methuselah who fought against the Antedeluvian
       Set. He was the founder of the vampire bloodline known as the
       Serpents of the Light.
     * The Wu-Tang Clan's (now deceased) member, Ol' Dirty Bastard, went
       by the alias, Osirus. Fans would know this as he would sometimes
       shout on a song, "I'm the Osirus of this shit!!"
     * Osiris was the name of a now defunct rock/alternative band formed
       in 1994 in Wheelersburg, Ohio. For more information, see Osiris
       (band).
     * Osiris is the name of a large Order battleship in Microsoft's
       Freelancer videogame.
     * On Adult Swim's The Venture Bros., an episode ( Escape to the House
       of Mummies Part II) mostly takes place in Egypt centering around an
       evil cult wanting the Hand of Osiris.
     * Appears as a boss monster in the MMORPG Ragnarok Online where
       Osiris attacks adventurers. He can be found within the highest
       level of the Pyramid map and resurrects an hour after being
       destroyed.
     * In the Doctor Who episode " Pyramids of Mars" the Osirans were a
       long lived and extremely powerful race of beings possessed of
       enormous psionic might and great technical sophistication. One of
       their number, Sutekh, ravaged planets across the galaxy until the
       rest of them ran him to ground and imprisoned him on Earth. Their
       presence here is implied to be the source of Egyption worship.
     * Osiris is also the name of a stem-cell therapy research
       organization.
     * In Tad Williams's Otherland series, the villain Felix Jongleur
       frequently takes the form of Osiris inside his virtual reality
       simulation of ancient Egypt.
     * In a 1984 song called Powerslave by Iron Maiden a mention of Osiris
       is made.
     * In the game Age of Mythology Osiris is a selectable god by the
       Egyptians.
     * The boss at the end of an Egyptian themed dungeon in world of
       warcraft is named Osirian and has the features of a hawk.

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