Orisis

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Osiris, one of the most important gods of ancient Egypt. The origin of Osiris is obscure; he was a local god of Busiris, in Lower Egypt, and may have been a personification of chthonic (underworld) fertility. By about 2400 bce, however, Osiris clearly played a double role: he was both a god of fertility and the embodiment of the dead and resurrected king. This dual role was in turn combined with the Egyptian concept of divine kingship: the king at death became Osiris, god of the underworld; and the dead king’s son, the living king, was identified with Horus, a god of the sky. Osiris and Horus were thus father and son. The goddess Isis was the mother of the king and was thus the mother of Horus and consort of Osiris. The god Seth was considered the murderer of Osiris and adversary of Horus.

According to the form of the myth reported by the Greek author Plutarch, Osiris was slain or drowned by Seth, who tore the corpse into 14 pieces and flung them over Egypt. Eventually, Isis and her sister Nephthys found and buried all the pieces, except the phallus, thereby giving new life to Osiris, who thenceforth remained in the underworld as ruler and judge. His son Horus successfully fought against Seth, avenging Osiris and becoming the new king of Egypt.

Osiris was not only ruler of the dead but also the power that granted all life from the underworld, from sprouting vegetation to the annual flood of the Nile River. From about 2000 bce onward it was believed that every man, not just the deceased kings, became associated with Osiris at death. This identification with Osiris, however, did not imply resurrection, for even Osiris did not rise from the dead. Instead, it signified the renewal of life both in the next world and through one’s descendants on Earth. In this universalized form Osiris’s cult spread throughout Egypt, often joining with the cults of local fertility and underworld deities.

The idea that rebirth in the next life could be gained by following Osiris was maintained through certain cult forms. In the Middle Kingdom (1938–c. 1630 bce) the god’s festivals consisted of processions and nocturnal rites and were celebrated at the temple of Abydos, where Osiris had assimilated the very ancient god of the dead, Khenty-Imentiu. This name, meaning “Foremost of the Westerners,” was adopted by Osiris as an epithet. Because the festivals took place in the open, public participation was permitted, and by the early 2nd millennium bce it had become fashionable to be buried along the processional road at Abydos or to erect a cenotaph there as a representative of the dead.

Osiris festivals symbolically reenacting the god’s fate were celebrated annually in various towns throughout Egypt. A central feature of the festivals during the late period was the construction of the “Osiris garden,” a mold in the shape of Osiris, filled with soil. The mold was moistened with the water of the Nile and sown with grain. Later, the sprouting grain symbolized the vital strength of Osiris.

At Memphis the holy bull, Apis, was linked with Osiris, becoming Osiris-Apis, which eventually became the name of the Hellenistic god Serapis. Greco-Roman authors connected Osiris with the god Dionysus. Osiris was also identified with Soker, an ancient Memphite god of the dead.

The oldest known depiction of Osiris dates to about 2300 bce, but representations of him are rare before the New Kingdom (1539–1075 bce), when he was shown in an archaizing form as a mummy with his arms crossed on his breast, one hand holding a crook, the other a flail. On his head was the atef-crown, composed of the white crown of Upper Egypt and two ostrich feathers.

来源：https://www.britannica.com/topic/Osiris-Egyptian-god

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The fullest version of the Osiris myth is told by the Greek historian and philosopher Plutarch (46 – c.120 CE). Though his account is rather late, it ties in well with evidence that we have from earlier periods.

Osiris was the first king of Egypt, the son of Geb (god of the earth) and Nut (goddess of the sky). He was a good king and with his wife, Isis, who was also his sister, he taught mankind how to grow crops and harvest them. His brother Seth was god of the desert, storms and winds, a force of chaos in opposition to maat ('right order'). Seth was, in fact, so dangerous that, when his name needed to be written, a protective amulet sign was often used in its place.

Seth was jealous of Osiris and plotted to kill him so that he could take the throne. There are several stories about how he did this. In one, Seth hacked his brother’s body apart and buried the pieces in different parts of Egypt. Isis recovered all the pieces apart from the phallus, which had been swallowed by a fish. Having re-assembled what she had, Isis and her sister Nephthys then turned themselves into kites and used their wings to protect Osiris’s body and to waft the breath of life back into his lungs.

In another story, Seth invited Osiris to a party, during which he offered the prize of a beautiful chest to whoever could fit inside it. As with Cinderella’s slipper, everyone tried the chest out for size, but the only one that it fitted was Osiris. As soon as he was inside, the friends of Seth slammed the lid shut and sealed it. The chest was thrown into the Nile and Osiris was drowned. It floated out into the Mediterranean and came to rest on the shore at Byblos in the Lebanon. A tree sprouted from the chest, and Isis, who was searching for her husband in the form of a kite, flew into its branches. Using magic, she was able to re-animate Osiris.

Osiris became the king of the dead. His son Horus was expected to succeed to the throne of Egypt, but first he had to contend with his father’s killer, Seth.

There are different accounts of how Horus was eventually established as the rightful king of Egypt. In one version, found on a papyrus in the village of the workmen who built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings, a tribunal of gods had to judge between Horus and Seth. In another, depicted in detail on the walls of the temple of Horus of Edfu, Horus eventually speared Seth, who had turned himself into a hippopotamus.

These myths were central to the concepts of Egyptian kingship. The current ruler was always identified with Horus, while his deceased predecessor was notionally Osiris. When a ruler died, his successor (who may or may not have been his actual son) became the next Horus.

The Osiris myths were important for the notion of rebirth. However, the Egyptians believed that the sun also had an important role to play in this process. This is nowhere more clearly seen than in the Valley of the Kings. The walls of the tombs there are covered with depictions of the sun-god (accompanied by the king) passing through the Underworld, during which voyage he restores Osiris to life in the fifth hour of the night.

来源：https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/exp ... nd-histories/osiris

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OSIRIS ō sĭ’ rəs. One of the principal gods of ancient Egypt.

According to Egyp. mythology, Osiris’ brother Seth cut up his body and scattered the pieces. Isis, Osiris’ wife, assembled his body and restored him to life. Their son Herus avenged his father by defeating Seth in single combat (Plutarch, Isis and Osiris, 12-20).

Osiris was connected with vegetation and the life-giving water of the Nile. His annual festival celebrated the sprouting of the grain.

Osiris was also king of the dead. He judged each person after death according to truth and moral laws. Acting as judge he often is represented as a seated mummy, holding a flail and shepherd’s crook and wearing a conical crown flanked by two feathers. The chief center of his worship was Abydos in Upper Egypt.

Later the worship of Osiris became popular outside of Egypt as a mystery cult mourning his death and celebrating his revival. In Ptolemaic times he was combined with the bull-god Apis as Serapis (Osiris + Apis), who was widely worshiped.

Bibliography S. A. B. Mercer, The Religion of Ancient Egypt (1949); H. Bonnet, “Osiris,” Reallexikon der ägyptischen Religionsgeschichte (1952), 568-576.

来源：https://www.biblegateway.com/res ... of-the-bible/Osiris