Osiris

Who Was Osiris?

Osiris was the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, the underworld, and the afterlife. He is usually depicted as a man with green skin and a beard associated with the pharaoh, wearing a crown with two large ostrich feathers, and legs partially wrapped like a mummy. In his hands he holds a flail and a symbolic crook.

His Names

Osiris is a Latin word. In Egyptian hieroglyphs the traditional rendering of the name is Wsjr. Some Egyptologists refer to the deity as Aser, Ausar, Asar, Asari, Ausir, Ausare, Usire, Usir, Wser, or Wesir. The English translation of the name is Almighty or The Powerful.

This is how he was perceived among the ancient Egyptians and his name was celebrated with much prayer and ritual activity for thousands of years. He was also worshiped as the shepherd god. Archaeologists point to him being pictured with the shepherd’s crook as evidence of this designation.

Titles of Osiris

His name appears during Egypt’s Fifth Dynasty, although he is said to have been worshiped since the First Dynasty. He is also mentioned in later Egyptian documents, including the Contending of Horus and Seth, the Shabaka Stone and the writings of ancient Greek authors.

Osiris was given many titles. He is sometimes referred to as “King of the Living” and “Foremost of the Westerners”. Both of those titles were given to him because of his being the ruler of the dead, whom the ancient Egyptians called Westerners or The Living Ones.

Considered to be a merciful judge of people in the afterlife, Osiris is also credited with the fertile flooding of the Nile, the sprouting of vegetation, and the granting of all life. Some of his other titles and attributes include the Lord of Silence, the Lord of Love and He Who is Permanently Benign and Youthful.

His Appearance

Ancient paintings of Osiris often have him colored green or black. Green is said to be the color ancient Egyptians associated with rebirth. Black was the color associated with fertility: it was the color of the rich, fertile soil which stretched over the plains each year, when the River Nile overflowed, and played a huge role in Egypt’s prosperity.

In some rare instances, Osiris was depicted wearing a crown that included a rendering of the moon. This has led some researchers to surmise he was associated with the moon or the night.

History of Osiris

Osiris is told to have been one of five children born to the god of the earth and the goddess of the skies, Geb and Nut respectively. Through this family tree he was also a great-grandson of one of the most popular Egyptian gods, Ra. Osiris had four younger siblings who would also play critical roles in his story: his brother Seth and two sisters known as Isis and Nephthys.

As the firstborn child and son of Geb and Nut, it fell to Osiris to inherit the throne of Egypt. Seth married Nephthys and Osiris married Isis. Together, Isis and Osiris seemed to have possession of numerous powers. Their marriage was not destined to be happy, however.

At one point, Nephthys appears to have magically taken on the appearance of Isis and presented herself to Osiris as his wife. Not knowing the difference, Osiris was seduced by Nephthys and she became pregnant and gave birth to Anubis.

Later, Seth developed a vendetta against his extremely popular sibling, possibly either because Osiris had inherited the throne or because he had gotten Seth’s wife pregnant. At any rate, Seth sought to kill him by luring him into a coffin and drowning him in the Nile. The annual flooding of the Nile River is still thought to be representative of this event.

Isis managed to recover her husband’s body; however Seth was very stealthy and stole away with it. After cutting up the body of the Egyptian god of the underworld, Seth hid the pieces throughout the Egyptian desert.

The connection between Isis and Osiris was so strong that the Egyptian goddess proceeded to spend a number of years searching for the mutilated body parts of her husband. She finally managed to find all of the pieces save one, and is believed to have used her magical powers to restore her husband’s body.

Although there are different versions to this part of the story, it seems Isis became pregnant, presumably by Osiris and gave birth to a son, Horus. Osiris died once again and descended to fully assume his duties as Egyptian god of the underworld.

Some versions of the history of Osiris state that when he descended into the underworld he took over several important roles and duties as Egyptian god of the underworld from Anubis, who was believed to have been his son. Other tales contend that he rightfully obtained the important role as Egyptian god of the underworld because he was the first god to have died. However he obtained the role, it became Osiris’ responsibility to judge the souls of the dead.