Osiris God, is a gilded bronze statuette produced in 700 BC. Osiris was recognized as the god of fertility, agriculture, and resurrection then. With the hope of a new life after death, Osiris began to be associated with the cycles of nature, including the flooding of the Nile and the beginning of a new harvest.
Osiris is depicted as a covered mummy to emphasize his transformed state. In his hands, he holds a flail and a small shepherd’s crook to indicate that he belongs to Egyptian royalty.
The statue has a long braided beard and wears an Atef crown with a hero on the front, which is a sacred cobra ready to attack enemies. The horns are associated with the Sun god, who turns into a ram-headed man at sunset and remains that way throughout the night.
Statues and figurines of Osiris were popular during the first millennium B.C.E.
Osiris was one of the most prominent gods of ancient Egypt, part of a group of nine Egyptian gods
The Egyptians believed that Osiris was the first pharaoh of Egypt, and that he brought civilization to his land
The myth says that because of Seth’s jealousy, he conspired to get rid of his brother Osiris God.
He built a coffin to the exact size of the Egyptian god and then organized a great banquet where he announced that the coffin would be given to the person who fit perfectly into it.
One by one, Seth’s guests tried their luck, but none of them managed to fit until Osiris jumped into the coffin and it was there that his brother took the opportunity to lock him in the coffin box and throw him into the Nile River.
It is said that the waters of the Nile carried the coffin to the sea, and finally, the coffin ended up resting in a tamarisk tree near Byblos, in Phoenicia, where Osiris remained until he died.
his wife Isis managed to find and recover her husband’s body. Still, after Seth found out about it, he decided to dismember him and divide his remains into 14 pieces that were scattered throughout the Egyptian empire.
However, Isis recovered almost all the remains of her beloved except his penis, which an oxyrhynchus fish devoured.
Finally, Isis rebuilt her husband with the power of her magic for 12 days. Still, being incomplete, Osiris could no longer reign over the land of the living and therefore became king of the Underworld.
An established practice in Egyptian religiosity, the cult of Osiris was carried out throughout Egypt through ceremonies, rituals, offerings, festivals, and sacrifices. Many festivals were held to celebrate his rebirth after he had been killed by Set.
The cult of Osiris was centered in Abydos, where there was an important temple to this god. The most important sanctuary of this temple was only open to priests, but the population could visit the temple to worship and leave offerings to the god of the dead. The cult of Osiris also drew parallels between the god and the River Nile, demonstrating that the flooding of the Nile symbolized its rebirth.
Historically, the cult of Osiris in Egypt is believed to have been established during the Predynastic period, lasting from 6000 BC to 3150 BC. His cult became more influential from the Dynastic period, between 3150 BC and 2613 BC, and remained very present until the period when the Greeks controlled Egypt, in the Ptolemaic dynasty, between 323 BC and 30 BC.
There is a theory that Osiris God was a very important pharaoh of the Predynastic period and was divinized after his death, although this is not the only idea about the origin of the cult of this god.
In mythology, Osiris was the daughter of Geb, goddess of the Earth, and Nut, goddess of the sky. The love between these two gods gave birth to Osiris and his siblings, Isis, Set, Nephthys, and Horus (a variation of Osiris). In Egyptian myths, Osiris was married to Isis and had a son called Horus with her.
Myths are certainly the poetic attempt to explain historical, political, social and other events.
There are several temples, but perhaps the most important is the Temple of Osiris or Osirion, located at Abydos as part of the temple of Seti I. He was also worshipped at the city of Mendes in the Nile Delta.
The myth embodied some of the most important values of Egyptian culture: harmony, order, eternal life, and gratitude.
The city of Abydos was the center of his worship and the necropolis became the most sought-after cemetery, as people wanted to be buried as close as possible to the god.
Osiris God was considered the first king of Egypt who established the cultural values to which all subsequent kings swore to uphold. The kings of Egypt identified themselves with Horus during life (each had a personal name and a “Horus name” that they took at the beginning of their reign) and with Osiris in death.
Since Isis was the mother of Horus, she was considered the mother of all kings, the king was her son, and Osiris was her father, her supreme figure, and her hope for salvation after death.
There is no doubt that Osiris is a mythical god and king of ancient Egypt. According to Egyptian mythology, he is the inventor of agriculture and religion and his reign was beneficial and civilized.
