What Are the Key Symbols of Osiris and What Do They Represent?

Mine is yesterday and I know tomorrow – it means Osiris.

Coffin Texts

Osiris (in ancient Greek: Ὄσιρις / Ósiris) is a god of the Egyptian pantheon and a mythical king of ancient Egypt. He is the inventor of agriculture and religion, ruling in a benevolent and civilizing manner.

Osiris dies by drowning in the Nile, murdered in a plot by his younger brother Seth. Despite his body being dismembered, he is resurrected through the magical power of his sister Isis. Osiris’s martyrdom allows him to gain dominion over the afterlife, becoming the sovereign and supreme judge of Ma’at’s laws.

In the Middle Kingdom, the city of Abydos becomes the city of the god Osiris, attracting many worshippers in search of eternity. The city’s fame is based on its New Year cult festivities and a sacred relic, the head of the god.

During the first millennium BCE, Osiris maintained his status as a funerary god and judge of souls. However, his aspects as a god of the Nile and, consequently, a fertility god became more prominent, increasing his popularity among the Nile population. Greek colonists in Memphis adopted his cult in the 4th century BCE in the local form of Osiris-Apis, the sacred dead and mummified bull.

The Ptolemaic rulers imported this cult to their capital Alexandria in the form of Serapis, the Greco-Egyptian syncretic god. After the Roman conquest of Egypt, Osiris and Isis were exported to Rome and its empire, maintaining their presence until the 4th century CE when Christianity eventually displaced them (due to the prohibition of paganism following the Edict of Thessalonica).

The Osirian cult, active since the 25th century BCE, lasted until the 6th century CE, when the Temple of Isis on the island of Philae, the last in Egypt, was closed around 530 CE by order of Emperor Justinian I.

Osiris | Etymology

The theonym Osiris is a Latin transliteration of a word from ancient Greek: Ὄσιρις, which itself originates from an Egyptian word: Wsjr, variably transliterated by authors as Asar, Asari, Aser, Ausar, Ausir, Wesir, Ousir, Ousire, or Ausare, with the original Egyptian pronunciation being unknown due to the limitations of Egyptian hieroglyphic writing in representing all vowels.

Several Egyptologists have attempted to provide a meaning for the theonym Osiris. In 1980, John Gwyn Griffiths proposed that Wsjr derives from Wser and means “the Powerful.” Moreover, one of the earliest attestations of the god Osiris appears in the mastaba of the deceased Netjer-ouser (God-Powerful).

In 1987, Wolfhart Westendorf suggested the etymology Waset-jret: “the one who bears the eye.” In 1985, David Lorton hypothesized that Wsjr is a compound word derived from the morpheme set associated with jret; set-jret meaning “ritual activity.” Osiris would then be “He who benefits from ritual activity.”

According to the Egyptian worldview, destructive forces are in perpetual struggle against positive forces. In this respect, Seth opposes his brother Osiris, the symbol of fertile and nourishing land.

First Attestations of Osiris in Egyptian Religion

Osiris is one of the principal deities of the Egyptian pantheon. However, the origins of his cult remain very obscure. According to current Egyptological knowledge, the earliest attestations of Osiris date back to the 25th century BCE, specifically to the end of the 4th or the beginning of the 5th dynasty.

The first representation of Osiris is fragmentary, appearing on a piece from the upper temple of King Djedkarê Isesi. The god is depicted as a male figure wearing a long divine wig.

Another early archaeological testimony is an inscription of Osiris’ name on the lintel of the tomb of the high priest Ptahchepsès, who died during the reign of King Niuserre. Discovered at Saqqara, the large necropolis of Memphis, the lintel is now housed in the British Museum in London.

The Pyramid Texts are collections of litanies and incantations recited during royal funerary ceremonies, carved into the walls of burial chambers starting with King Unas, the last ruler of the 5th dynasty. These texts do not provide conclusive evidence of where or when Osiris’ cult originated.

However, Chapter 219 lists various cult sites along the Nile, such as Heliopolis, Busiris, and Memphis, but strangely omits Abydos. Nevertheless, Abydos became the most important pilgrimage site for Osiris’ cult starting from the Middle Kingdom. The Pyramid Texts note that Osiris’ body was found near the Nile at Nedit, close to Abydos.

The God Osiris | Archetypes and Associations

According to Egyptologist Bernard Mathieu, the emergence of the God Osiris is the result of a royal decision, as his cult suddenly spread across all of Egypt during the early Fifth Dynasty.

Osiris name is a graphic play based on the hieroglyph representing the throne. From the start, Osiris is thus linked to the goddess Isis, whose name means “The throne” Osiris is the king of the funerary domains and the judge of the deceased.

Osiris representation is anthropomorphic, very different from the animal forms taken by other deities from the pre-dynastic period (bovids, crocodiles, falcons). The Osirian dogma was developed by the clergy of Heliopolis under the control of the monarchy, which worked to spread it throughout the country, likely to strengthen its influence over major temples like those in Bousiris, Abydos, or Heracleopolis.

Osiris is associated with other deities. In Lower Egypt, at Bousiris, he absorbs the qualities of Andjéty, the tutelary god of this locality since prehistory. The representation of this shepherd god is characterized by two tall plumes on his head, held by a long headband, with the scepter Héqa and the flagellum Nekhekh in his hands.

Osiris is also assimilated to the funerary god Sokar, who watches over the Memphite necropolis. This god is represented by the combination of a human body, sometimes wrapped in a shroud, and a falcon head, often without any distinguishing features. He is sometimes depicted as a mummified falcon.

In Upper Egypt, Osiris is particularly established in the nome of the Great Land, the region surrounding the city of Thinis, the oldest capital of ancient Egypt. This ancient city has not yet been accurately located. However, it is known that Osiris was associated with the god Onouris there. This god is a bearded man wearing a headdress made of four tall plumes. In his funerary aspect, Onouris bears the epithet Khentamenti, “Chief of the West”.

The Thinite necropolis was located in Abydos. There, Osiris is assimilated to Khentamentiou, “Chief of the Westerners”, a funerary deity close to Wepwawet and represented in the form of a black canine.

Representations of the God Osiris

The god Osiris is closely associated with the Egyptian monarchy. He is seen as a deceased king who was later deified. His attributes are those of Egyptian rulers. Osiris is considered a sovereign of all Egypt, yet his representations typically show him only with the Hedjet crown, symbolizing Upper Egypt.

This crown is shaped like a cap that tapers upward and ends with a bulge. It may also be adorned with two high lateral plumes, known as the Atef crown. His other royal symbols include the scepter Heqa and the flail Nekhekh, which he holds with crossed arms over his chest.

As a god of the dead, he is depicted as a mummified body, with various postures: lying on his funerary bed, seated on a throne, or standing as one who has conquered death.

Epithets of Osiris: The Many-Named Deity of Life, Death, and Cosmic Order

Osiris is a complex god whose presence is attested throughout Egypt. This god embodies multiple facets. His aspects as a funerary deity are well known, but Osiris is also a deity ensuring the universe’s proper functioning. His beneficent influence appears in the stars’ procession and the seasonal cycles of vegetation.

As such, Osiris presents himself to worshippers under a multitude of names. Early on, he receives the epithet “He who has many names” (ash-renou). This array of epithets and names appears in Chapter 142 of the Book of the Dead:

Osiris Wennefer,
Osiris the Living,
Osiris Master of Life,
Osiris Master of the Universe, (…)
Osiris who presides over grain,
Osiris Orion, (…)
Osiris Master of Millions of Years,
Osiris Soul of the Two Ladies,
Osiris-Ptah, Master of Life,
Osiris who presides at Ro-Setaou,
Osiris Regent of the Banks, who resides at Busiris, (…)
Osiris in his palace at Ro-Setaou,
Osiris in the nome of Abydos,
Osiris in Nedyt,
Osiris who presides over his city,
Osiris the Sovereign, (…)

— Excerpts from Chap. 142 of the Book of the Dead, translated by Paul Barguet.

Birth and Family

Osiris, the Son of Nut

The Greek author Plutarch wrote extensively on morality, philosophy, and theology, including his treatise On Isis and Osiris, which explains Egyptian beliefs. Plutarch was the first to summarize the Osirian myth in a linear narrative.

The story begins with the mythic creation of the 365-day solar calendar. Nut, goddess of the sky, had a forbidden relationship with Geb, god of the earth. Angered, Ra, the sun god, barred Nut from giving birth on any day of the year.

Thoth, Nut’s other brother, gambled with the Moon and won enough light to add five extra days to the 360 created by Ra.

Osiris was born on the first of these days, Horus the Elder on the second, Seth on the third (tearing his mother’s womb), Isis on the fourth in the Nile Delta marshes, and Nephthys on the fifth and final day.

Plutarch adds that Ra may actually be the true father of Osiris and Horus the Elder, and Thoth the father of Isis, while only Seth and Nephthys are Geb’s children.

Another tradition even suggests that Osiris and Isis, in love before their birth, conceived Horus the Elder in their mother’s womb.

Chapter 219 of the Pyramid Texts magically identifies the deceased pharaoh with Osiris, the god restored to life. The Osirian gods are called upon to revive the dead king as they did for Osiris.

This chapter details the familial ties among the gods of Heliopolis: Osiris is the son of Atum, Shu, Tefnut, Geb, and Nut.

Other texts suggest that Atum created Shu and Tefnut, who then parented Geb and Nut. The list continues, stating Osiris’ siblings as Isis, Seth, Nephthys, and Thoth, with Horus as his son.

Osiris, beloved by his sisters

Isis

In ancient Egypt, Isis was regarded as the wife of Osiris, a role that brought her widespread devotion, especially during the Late Period. As the worship of Egyptian gods began to wane in Egypt, the cult of Isis continued abroad, particularly in Greece (Athens, Delphi, Corinth), Italy (Rome and Pompeii), and Germany (Mainz).

Although Osiris (or his Greco-Roman form Sarapis) was always linked to her, Isis surpassed her husband in the hearts of devotees.

The funerary stele of Amenmes (18th Dynasty), now housed in the Louvre Museum, is the most comprehensive Egyptian archaeological document concerning the Osirian myth. It contains a hymn to Osiris.

Unsurprisingly, parts are devoted to his grieving wife. Seth murdered Osiris and hid the body. Through her magical powers, Isis resurrects Osiris, the god with a faltering heart. Then, after joining with him, she conceives Horus, the future heir to the throne.

‘Her sister makes her protection, she who keeps adversaries away. She wards off occasions of disorder with the charms of her mouth, skilled in her tongue, whose words do not falter, perfect in her commands. Isis, the Effective, the protector of her brother, seeking him tirelessly, traversing this land, in mourning, does not rest until she finds him. Shading with her plumage, producing air with her two wings, making gestures of joy, she calls her brother to her; raising what was fallen for Him whose heart falters; extracting his seed, creating an heir, she nurses the child in the solitude of an unknown place, anointing him, her arm made strong, in the Great Hall of Geb.’

— Great Hymn to Osiris (stela C286 in the Louvre). Translation of the Great Hymn to Osiris: Alexandre Moret, “The Legend of Osiris in Theban Times from the Hymn to Osiris in the Louvre,” Cairo, BIFAO, vol. 30 (1931), pp. 725-750.

Nephtys

In his treatise, Plutarch mentions that Osiris, by mistake, deceived Isis, and this infidelity was committed with his twin sister Nephtys, the wife of Seth. From this adulterous relationship was born Anubis, the god with a canine head.

A paragraph from the Brooklyn Papyrus (26th dynasty) mentions that in the city of Letopolis there is a statue representing Nephtys in the form of the lioness Sekhmet embracing the mummy of Osiris; an attitude more befitting an official wife than a mistress.

This fact is confirmed by two scenes from the temple of Edfu where Nephtys bears the name Onnophret. This designation makes Nephtys the female counterpart of Osiris in his aspect of Ounennéfer “Wenennefer” (the perfect existence).

In one scene, Nephtys protects the mummy of Osiris after restoring his head and life. Furthermore, the name of the goddess is inscribed in a cartouche, which makes her a legitimate wife. One must then consider Isis as the earthly wife of Osiris and Nephtys as his eternal wife, the one who accompanies him in the afterlife.

Abusive interpretation?

Plutarch writes about Osiris’s two sisters: ‘Nephtys, indeed, designates what is underground and what cannot be seen; Isis, on the contrary, what is on earth and what is seen.’ Nephtys was the nurse of the young Horus. She protected him from Seth’s fury by hiding him in the marshes of Khemmis (Akhmim). I

n exchange for this protection and to escape Seth’s vengeance, she obtained the favor of being alongside Osiris in the underworld.

Remember what I have done for you, (my) child: I kept Seth away from you, I acted as a wet nurse by carrying you and having milk. You were saved during the affair of Khemnis, for I refused to recognize Seth’s face because of you! Give me just one hour so that I may see Osiris because of what I have done for you!

— Excerpt from the Papyrus of Imouthes. Translation by Jean-Claude Goyon.

Mythical Egyptian Sovereign

Osiris the Enthroned

The Ennead of the gods of Heliopolis was regarded by the ancient Egyptians as the first dynasty of their rulers. After creating Egypt, Atum-Ra reigned over the land, followed by Shu and then Geb. The latter, recognizing the merits of Osiris, left him the throne:

[Osiris] firmly established order throughout all of Egypt. He placed the son on the throne of his father, praised by his father Geb, beloved of his mother Nut […] heir of Geb for the kingship of the Two Lands. As he has seen his perfection, he commanded that he guide the land for a happy success.

— Hymn to Osiris from the New Kingdom (stela C286 from the Louvre).

A scene from the Temple of Dendera, carved in the 1st century BCE, informs us that Osiris, like the human pharaohs, had a royal titulary composed of five names based on a theological wordplay:

• Horus Name: vigorous (wsr) of arms
• Nebty Name: vigorous (wsr) by valor
• Golden Horus Name: Osiris (wsjr)
• Nesout-bity Name: Osiris (wsjr)
• Sa-Re Name: Ounennefer triumphant

Chapter 175 of the Book of the Dead mentions Osiris being crowned in the city of Heracleopolis Magna by the creator god Atum-Re:

Then Osiris had a headache due to the heat of the Atef crown that was on his head (the first day he had placed it on his head) so that the gods would be afraid of him. Then Re returned peacefully to Heracleopolis to see Osiris, and he found him sitting in his dwelling with his head swollen due to the heat of the crown. Then Re made the blood and pus from the abscess flow, and they became a pool. Then Re said to Osiris: ‘Look, you have formed a pool from the blood and pus that flowed from your head.’— Hence, this sacred pool at Heracleopolis.

— Excerpt from Chapter 175 of the Book of the Dead. Translation by Paul Barguet.

Osiris, lord of Ma’at

Plutarch reports that Osiris taught his people civilized ways so that men would no longer resemble wild beasts. He taught them agriculture and the respect for gods and laws.

The oldest Egyptian archaeological documents concerning Osiris confirm Plutarch’s account. A fragment of a beam from the 5th Dynasty informs us that, from its earliest cultic practices, Osiris was referred to as ‘the great god, lord of Ma’at, Osiris who presides at Busiris and in all his places.’.

Ma’at (cosmic order) is a politico-religious concept that emerged during the formation of the Old Kingdom. During this time, the Egyptian king took on a central role, representing supreme authority. Ma’at was the deification of the royal will and order, symbolizing unity under one sovereign.

To participate in Maat was to align oneself with societal order and mutual human solidarity, with anti-Ma’at behaviors such as laziness, mental deafness, and greed seen as detrimental to social harmony.

During the peak of the Old Kingdom’s monarchy, Ma’at was a typical attribute of the human king. An example of this is the pyramid builder Sneferu (4th Dynasty), who identified himself as “lord of Ma’at” in his titulary.

However, by the 5th Dynasty, supreme power shifted from the earthly realm to the divine, with kings becoming “sons of Ra” As a result, the kings lost authority over Ma’at to Osiris, who became the divine enforcer of Ma’at in the afterlife, making it sacred:

Ma’at is powerful, and of perpetual efficacy in action. It cannot be disturbed since the time of Osiris. A punishment is inflicted on one who transgresses the laws. This is what escapes the attention of the greedy.

— Teaching of Ptahhotep. Excerpt from Maxim 5.

Murders and rebirth

Pyramid Texts

The brutal death of the god Osiris and the magical process of his rebirth are mentioned multiple times in the Pyramid Texts. Chapter 670 is a funerary recitation that highlights key moments of Osiris’s fate.

Two kings, Pepi I and Pepi II from the 6th Dynasty, benefited from this ritual text, which was engraved on the southern wall of the burial chamber near the sarcophagus. The recitation is not a narrative but a magical incantation that casts the deceased king in the role of Osiris.

The recitation can be divided into two sequences. The first describes the martyrdom of Osiris. The gates of heaven open to allow the gods from the city of Pe, a location in Lower Egypt, to pass through.

This likely includes Horus and his two sons, Amset and Hapi. The gods approach Osiris’s body, drawn by the lamentations of Isis and Nephtys. Mourning and honoring the deceased, they strike their thighs, dishevel their hair, and clap their hands while denying Osiris’s death.

They urge him to awaken so he can hear what Horus has done for him. He is informed that his murder has been avenged. Seth struck and killed Osiris like a mere bovine and then bound him. Horus informs his father that he has inflicted the same fate on Seth and has placed him under the care of Isis.

The continuation of the recitation traces the resurrection of the god Osiris. In the Lake of Life, the deceased takes the form of the jackal god Anubis. Horus offers his father the defeated enemies of Seth, who are brought by Thoth. Then, the son crowns the father as the chief of the deceased by giving him the Was scepter.

After being purified by Nephtys, Osiris is anointed by Isis. It seems that Seth also dismembered his brother, as it is later mentioned that the two sisters gathered his flesh and reattached his limbs. His eyes are restored to him in the form of the boats of day and night (Sun and Moon).

The four children of Horus participated in the restoration of Osiris. To fully calm him, the ritual of the Opening of the Mouth is performed on him. Awakened to life by Shu and Tefnut, Osiris emerges from the Duat and ascends towards Atum, heading for the fields of paradise.

The most recent version of the myth was transmitted to us by Plutarch. This Greek philosopher depicts Osiris and Isis as beneficent rulers. Osiris taught humans the basics of agriculture and fishing, while Isis taught them weaving and medicine.

Meanwhile, Seth ruled over the desert and hostile lands, as well as foreign territories. Jealous of his brother, Seth plotted the murder of Osiris to seize the throne of Egypt that he coveted.

During a banquet in honor of Osiris, Seth presented a magnificent chest, swearing to give it to whoever perfectly fit inside it. None of those who attempted the feat succeeded. When it was Osiris’s turn, the only one able to do so, Seth had the chest closed and sealed, while his accomplices chased away the guests and kept Isis at bay, Seth threw the chest into the Nile, which carried it to the Mediterranean Sea.

Osiris drowned, and Seth took advantage of the murder to establish his rule over Egypt. The grieving widow, Isis, searched throughout Egypt for her husband’s body and found it in Byblos, Lebanon.

She brought the remains of the murdered king back to Egypt and hid in the Nile Delta marshes. During a nighttime hunt in the swamps, Seth discovered his hated brother’s body. Enraged, he chopped the deceased into fourteen pieces and scattered them across Egypt.

With the help of loyal followers, including Thoth, Nephtys, and Anubis, Isis recovered the parts of the god, except for his penis, which was eaten by an oxyrhynchus fish.

After reassembling the body, she embalmed him with Anubis’s assistance, wrapping him in linen strips. With the body still lifeless, Isis, with the help of her sister Nephtys, flapped her wings and cried out, using her magical powers to breathe life into Osiris. Revived, Osiris did not return to earth but now ruled over the realm of the dead.

Thus, Osiris’s resurrection heralds all forms of renewal, whether in vegetation or among humans. Transformed into a falcon, Isis could conceive, and from this union, Horus the Child (Harpocrates) was born, whom she hid in the papyrus thickets of the delta to protect him from her uncle Seth.

The Djed pillar

The Djed pillar is a very ancient fetish recorded at Hierakonpolis as early as the Thinite period within a cult dedicated to Sokar, a funerary god depicted as a mummified falcon.

The original meaning of Djed is still unknown, possibly referring to a branchless tree. However, from its inception, this pillar also formed part of agrarian fertility rites for grain.

In Memphis, the Djed pillar was initially erected in honor of Ptah and Sokar. By the beginning of the New Kingdom, Osiris merged with these deities as Ptah-Sokar-Osiris.

The erection of the Djed pillar thus symbolizes Osiris’s victory over Seth. In this context, the Djed is seen as Osiris’s backbone. This interpretation of the Djed also appears in the Book of the Dead. On the day of burial, a Djed amulet is placed around the mummy’s neck:

Rise up, Osiris! You have (again) your back, (oh) you whose heart no longer beats; you have your vertebrae, (oh) you whose heart no longer beats. Lie on your side, that I may put the water beneath you! I bring you the golden Djed pillar; may you rejoice in it!’

— Chapter 155 of the Book of the Dead. Translation by Paul Barguet.

From the New Kingdom onwards, the Djed pillar is anthropomorphized, and its representations become similar to those of Osiris. In the reliefs of the funerary temple of Seti I, the Djed pillar, like a resurrected Osiris, comes to life after being raised by Pharaoh Ramses II.

The rite of the Djed pillar’s erection consists of giving life to the god Osiris. The Djed pillar is equipped with two Oudjat eyes (Eye of Horus), various crowns (including one made of two tall ostrich feathers), and is adorned with the royal loincloth.

In hieroglyphic writing, the Djed symbolizes stability. In the Abydos ritual, this notion of stability refers to the necessary cohesion of the Double Country formed by the union of Upper and Lower Egypt.

Cosmic divinity

Osiris who encircles the Duat

Duat

The Duat is a mythical place without a precise geographical location. Sometimes it is depicted in the sky, other times on earth.

Egyptologists translate it as an afterlife or hell, though it doesn’t fully correspond to either concept. In ancient Egyptian, the root of the word duat is related to the verb douâ, meaning ‘to pray, to worship’.

The term can also signify ‘praise, hymn, adoration’, Additionally, douâou means ‘dawn, morning, and aurora’.

The planet Venus is either the douâou netjer (morning god) or simply Duat. The region of Duat serves as a junction where the living and the dead can praise the rebirth of light as the nightly darkness fades with the sunrise.

Nightly regeneration

In the New Kingdom, a new genre of funerary literature was created: the ‘Books of What is in the Duat.’ These works were intended for royal personalities and are depicted on the walls of their tombs, cenotaphs, or sarcophagi.

These texts, unlike the Book of the Dead, are not compilations of magical formulas from diverse sources. They are immutable texts that describe the rich illustrations associated with them.

The oldest work is the Book of the Amdouat, which appeared during Thutmose III‘s reign. While the Book of the gates appears with Horemheb, the first complete copy is found on the sarcophagus of Seti I.

The twelfth and final sequence of this composition contains a depiction of the moment the sun emerges from the underworld to be reborn at dawn. This scene visually represents the cosmological thought of the Egyptians of the New Kingdom.

The god Noun seems to emerge from the primordial waters. He raises the solar barque with his two long arms. On board, the scarab Khepri (symbol of rebirth) holds the solar disk.

On either side of the scarab, the goddesses Isis and Nephthys appear to welcome or propel the reborn sun. The latter is received in the arms of Nut, the goddess of the sky. Depicted upside down, the goddess stands on the head of Osiris, whose body forms a loop containing the Duat. The note states: ‘It is Nut who receives Ra.’.

Like the serpent Ouroboros that bites its tail, Osiris is coiled upon himself. His body forms a circle, and the note states: ‘It is Osiris who encircles the Duat.’.

This representation of the god illustrates that time is cyclical. The circle symbolizes perfection and movement. This continual return of things and events is a succession of regenerations.

Osiris and Nut are depicted upside down to show that the Duat is not subject to the same rules as the ordered universe, where the sun travels from west to east. When the sun enters, it can only exit. In the evening, the sun enters the West. It regenerates during its passage through the Duat.

This world of night and death is governed by Osiris. After traversing twelve regions and twelve gates, the sun is reborn at dawn when it rises from the eastern horizon. This emergence from the underworld is symbolized by the second sun located at the prow of the solar barque. The sky, through Nut, is situated between the Duat and the ordered universe, forming the link between the two worlds.

Osiris, the lord of millions of years

The mortality of the Egyptian gods is often depicted in a cycle where death and rebirth alternate, the rejuvenation of the god being possible only through his death. However, there are few Egyptian documents that mention the definitive end of time and the final disappearance of the gods.

Chapter 175 of the Book of the Dead clearly describes this situation. At the end of time, only Atum and Osiris will remain. Osiris laments having to stay in the realm of the afterlife. Atum consoles him by saying that the desert of the necropolises is his kingdom, that his son Horus reigns over men, and that his lifespan will be very long. Atum tells him that they two alone will endure by returning to the chaos of origins in the form of a serpent.

You are destined for millions of millions of years, a lifespan of millions of years. But I will destroy everything I have created; this land will return to the state of Nun, to the state of floating, as in its first state. I am what will remain, with Osiris, when I have transformed again into a serpent, which men cannot know, which the gods cannot see.

— Book of the Dead, chap. 175, excerpt. Translation by Paul Barguet.

Osiris Orion

The Egyptians referred to the Orion constellation as Sȝḥ. Personified by a man wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt, Sah was considered the ruler of the stars, commanding their course across the night sky.

Sah is the Ba-soul of Osiris or Osiris himself, according to various traditions. Several chapters of the Coffin Texts (chap. 469, 470, 689, 1017) are dedicated to this constellation. Chapter 227 allows the deceased to transform into the successor of Osiris, with the deceased claiming to be Osiris and then speaking of Orion:

I am Orion, the one who has reached his Double-Land, the one who navigates at the front of the structure of the sky [the stars] in the body of his mother, Nut; she was pregnant with me according to her desire, and she gave birth to me with joy in her heart.

— Excerpt from Chapter 227 of the Coffin Texts. Translation by Paul Barguet.

Osiris the Progenitor

Chapters 366 and 593 of the Pyramid Texts, very similar in their wording, describe the birth and conception of Horus. It appears that his parents are Osiris and Isis:

‘Your sister Isis came to you, happy with your love. After you placed her on your phallus, your seed erupted inside her.’

— Pyramid Texts, Chapter 366.

The continuation of the text has an astral dimension because the result of this union is Hor-imy-Sopedet, meaning ‘Horus in the constellation of the Great Dog.’ Osiris, assimilated to the constellation of Orion, transmits his stellar essence to Horus, that is, the star Sirius, through Isis, the constellation of the Great Dog.

Your semen shot into her (Isis), piercing (soped) into Sopedet; Horus-Sopedet is born of you in his name of Horus in Sopedet.

— Pyramid Texts, Chapter 593.

The mythic and astronomical birth of Horus is tied to a series of theological wordplays. The Egyptian name “Soped” refers to the sharpness or skill of the Sirius star, while “Sopedet” can mean triangle and efficiency.

The star Sirius-Soped plays a central role in a celestial triangle with Betelgeuse and Rigel, pointing toward Sirius. Osiris, symbolized by Orion, is associated with three stars that form his phallus, and the Grand Dog constellation is equated with Isis in the form of a bird.

Funerary deity

Osiris, chief of the Westerners

Dating from the reign of Ramses V (20th dynasty), the Chester Beatty I papyrus contains the tale of The Contendings of Horus and Seth. The story recounts the internal struggles raging within the Osirian family.

King Osiris is dead. For eighty years, Horus and Seth have quarreled over the succession to the throne. The Egyptian gods sit as jurors in a court presided over by Ra. They are divided into two equally powerful factions. Horus, a young and inexperienced adolescent, is supported by a faction led by his mother Isis. Seth, a valiant defender of the Solar Barque against Apophis, has his cause supported by Ra.

While Horus must face Seth’s magical assaults, Seth must contend with those of Isis. After thousands of deceptions, the gods of the court grow weary of Ra’s vacillation. His successive judgments are all in favor of Horus, but each time, Seth can challenge them due to his influence over Ra. On the advice of Thoth and Shu, Ra sends a letter to Osiris to seek his opinion. In reply, the deceased god highlights his own merits:

Why is harm being done to my son Horus? It is I who made you strong. It is I who created barley and spelt to sustain the gods, as well as the herds under the care of the deities. No god or goddess was found to do this.

— The Contendings of Horus and Seth. Translation by Claire Lalouette.

Not impressed, Ra mocks Osiris’ power, saying that with or without him, barley and spelt would still exist. In anger, Osiris threatens the gods of the Ennead. Fearing a plague, the gods make a final judgment in favor of Horus.

The final argument is that the health of creation depends on Osiris, who nourishes the gods and men as the god of abundance. But at his will, he can unleash an army of demons upon his enemies and the impious to shorten the joyful earthly life of the living.

“Truly, all that you have created, O Inventor of the Ennead, is indeed perfect! But we have taken care to devour justice in the underworld. Consider this: this land I dwell in is full of fierce-faced messengers who fear no god or goddess. If you allow them to go forth, they will reclaim the hearts of those who have committed wicked deeds, yet they appear here with me. Why should I live in peace in the West while all of you are out there, all of you? Among them are those stronger than I? But behold, they have invented lies…”

The Contendings of Horus and Seth, translated by Claire Lalouette

Wenennefer (High Priest of Osiris)

The ancient Egyptians did not view death as a natural event. By identifying all the deceased with Osiris, the murdered god, they saw death as crossing a threshold between the earthly realm and the afterlife.

Death was seen as a temporary crisis, resolvable through funerary rituals. The tribunal of Osiris symbolized this crucial step because only the morally pure could undergo these rites. Only those free of sin could present themselves before Osiris’ tribunal, with purity emphasized in texts from the Old Kingdom.

I have accomplished justice for my lord, for I have satisfied him in what he loves. I have spoken the truth, I have done justice, I have spoken good, I have repeated good, I have attained perfection, for I desired goodness among men. I judged two litigants so that they were satisfied. I saved the helpless from the more powerful, in matters over which I had authority. I gave bread to the hungry, clothes to the naked, passage to the shipwrecked, and a coffin to one without sons. I made a boat for one without a boat. […]

— False door of Nefersechemre, known as Chechi.

In the New Kingdom, the judgment of the dead took its final form as depicted in the Book of the Dead (chapter 125). The passage before Osiris and his forty-two assessors is more of a trial than a judicial process.

The deceased already knows what they may be accused of and defends themselves by denying two lists of sins. The first list of forty offenses is denied before Osiris, and a second list of forty-two sins is denied before the forty-two assessors, representing all of Egypt’s regions. These laws conditioned access to the afterlife. However, Chapter 125 is more than just a magical formula to purify the deceased:

I am a noble who has delighted in Maat, who has followed the laws of the hall of the two Maat, for I intended to enter the necropolis without any baseness associated with my name. I have done no harm to men, nor anything that their gods disapprove of.

— Funerary stela of Baki, 14th century.

From Osiris-Apis to Sarapis

The bull Apis (Hapi in Egyptian) symbolizes the cycle of a young animal succeeding an elder who has died naturally. When a bull died, priests would search for a calf resembling it and inaugurate it.

The succession of Apis is documented from Amenhotep III until the end of the Ptolemaic dynasty, likely continuing until the 4th century CE. Apis represents two theological images: the royal succession and Osirian rebirth. The deceased Apis becomes Osiris under the name Osiris-Apis (Osor-Hapi in Egyptian).

In the Late Period, a cult developed in honor of this dead animal within the limits of the city of Memphis. The cult was practiced both by Egyptians and Greek settlers in Memphis.

A Greek papyrus mentions the god Oserapis as early as the 4th century BCE. When the Ptolemaic dynasty settled in Egypt, they established the cult of Sarapis in Alexandria.

This deity took on the funerary and agricultural functions of Osiris, but its representations were of a Greek god: a bearded man with curly hair, crowned either with a modius (symbol of fertility) or the Atef crown (characteristic of Osiris).

Osiris | Vegetation Deity

Osiris Who Presides Over Grain

Anthropologist James George Frazer sees Osiris, along with Dionysus, Attis, and Adonis, as spirits of vegetation. Osiris symbolizes the buried grain during sowing, which resurrects in the following harvest. The grain is fertilized by water in the soil, then, at harvest, it is dismembered by the sickles of the reapers.

It is not yet certain whether Osiris was originally a vegetation god or if this aspect was later added to his funerary characteristics. The fertility of Egyptian soil is associated with the silt deposited by the Nile’s flood, with which Osiris is linked.

Although Osiris’s body is fragmented, his physical death is depicted as a form of lethargy. This unconscious state of Osiris resembles that of Atum in the Nun (the primordial ocean) before the universe’s creation.

The slumber of the god Osiris runs counter to the order established by the creator god. Nevertheless, his death is necessary for humanity to transcend earthly limits and reach divine eternity.

Osiris is the god who drowned in the waters of the Nile. His prolonged stay in the water is viewed as a return to the chaos of the primordial ocean, the source of life. The dismemberment of Osiris into sixteen pieces is linked to the annual Nile flood, with sixteen cubits marking the ideal flood level, at which point Osiris is restored.

O Primordial of the entire Double-Land! nourishment and sustenance before the Ennead, Perfect Akh among the akhou for whom the Nun pours its water […] Plants grow according to his will, and the fertile earth continually brings forth sustenance for him […] [Geb] placed under his hand this land, its water and wind, its grass and all its flocks, everything that flies and lands, its reptiles and desert creatures, all offered to the son of Nut: and the Double-Land rejoices! […] all that the solar disk encircles is subject to his desires; likewise, the north wind, the river, the waves, the fruit tree, and all that grows. Nepri provides all its vegetation, the sustenance of the soil. He establishes abundance and brings it to all lands. Every being is content, every heart joyful.

— Great Hymn to Osiris. New Kingdom. Stela of the Louvre C286.

Festivities of the Month of Khoiak

Originally developed in Abydos and Busiris, the ritual festivities of the month of Khoiak spread to all temples that were believed to house a relic of the dismembered Osirian body as early as the 11th Dynasty.

The Egyptians viewed the cycle of grain germination as a metaphor for their conception of death. One of the images representing the rebirth of Osiris depicts ears of grain growing from his mummified body.

This imagery was enacted in temples during the Khoiak ritual. In a mummy-shaped basin, priests placed an earthy mixture in which grain would begin to sprout. (During underwater research, such a basin was found within the temenos of the temple of Amun and Khonsu in the submerged city of Heracleion.)

Once this vegetative Osiris was placed in the sun and dried, it was put in a sacred boat and transported to the necropolis of the city of Canopus. This vegetal mummy was then disposed of, either by burial or by being thrown into the water.

In tombs, small molds of this type could be placed, known in Egyptology as ‘vegetative Osiris’ or ‘grain Osiris.’.

Cult of Sacred Relics

Osiris in All His Tombs

The cult of Osiris spread across Egypt, with certain cities becoming prominent due to their special connection to the myth of Osiris’s dismemberment. Traditions vary on the number of Osiris’s body parts scattered across the land, with versions ranging from fourteen to forty-two.

According to Plutarch, Seth killed his brother Osiris by sealing him in a chest and throwing it into the Nile. The body drifted to Byblos (Lebanon), where it was found by Isis. The goddess brought the chest and Osiris’s body back to Egypt, near Buto.

But during a hunting trip, Seth found the body of Osiris. Enraged, he dismembered the body into fourteen pieces and scattered them in all directions. Desperate, Isis set out to find them, traveling throughout the country. Each time she found a piece, she entrusted it to the local clergy so that Osiris’s memory would be honored.

In the first chapter of the Book of the Dead, the deceased presents himself as a priest in the cult of Osiris, hoping to benefit from the funeral rites established by the dismembered god. He names several cities where, during his life, he honored Osiris.

Participating in the rites of these sacred places earns divine favor, as in the afterlife, the gods only care for those who honored them. Taking part in rites related to Osiris’s embalming ensures that, after death, one can see the god and survive in his realm.

I am with Horus, as protector of this left shoulder of Osiris that is in Letopolis; I come and go like a flame on the day of driving out the rebels from Letopolis.

I am with Horus on the day of celebrating the feasts of Osiris and preparing offerings for Re, at the feast of the sixth day of the month and the feast of the half-month, in Heliopolis.

I am the pure priest at Busiris, and I exalt the One on the mound.

I am the prophet of Abydos, on the day when the earth is high.

I am the one who sees the mysteries at Ro-setaou.

I am the one who recites the ceremony of the Ram at Mendes.

— Excerpt from Chapter 1 of the Book of the Dead. Translation by Paul Barguet

Phallus of Mendes

Plutarch, in his version of the myth of Osiris, reports that the goddess Isis found all the scattered body parts except the phallus, which was eaten by fish. To replace it, she made an imitation. However, the city of Mendes preserved a different mythological tradition.

The relic honored in this city is the phallus attached to the spinal column. These two parts are considered one relic because Egyptians (and later Greeks) believed the spinal marrow descended to the testicles and exited through the phallus as semen.

Semen in a woman’s body then formed the bones of the child, while female humors formed the flesh. Later, the Djed pillar became associated with this relic. The city of Mendes, known in Egyptian as Djedet or Perbanebdjedet, revered the god Banebdjedet, who was considered the ba-soul of Osiris.

This ram deity embodied four ba-souls—those of Ra, Shu, Geb, and Osiris—and was thus depicted with four ram heads.

Philae and the Abaton of Biggeh

For the Egyptians, the Nile’s floodwaters were believed to emerge from the underworld, originating in a cavern near the first cataract. Initially, this mythical source was located at Elephantine, the city of the ram god Khnum.

Later, in the Late Period, the Nile’s source was more commonly associated with the Abaton on the island of Biggeh, where the floodwaters were said to spring from a wound inflicted by Seth on Osiris’s left leg, preserved in this location. The Osiris cult likely began here around the 6th century BCE, during the reign of Psamtik II.

“Abaton” is derived from the ancient Greek word ἂβατον, meaning “inaccessible.” In Egyptian, the Abaton was known as Iat-ouabet, “The Pure Place”, and Iou-ouabet, “The Pure Island”.

It was considered one of the tombs of Osiris—a sacred burial ground where Isis found her brother’s severed left leg. The Osiris cults of Biggeh’s Abaton were closely connected with those of Isis on the nearby island of Philae.

Near Philae, there is said to be a small, inaccessible island; no birds ever alight there, and fish do not approach it. However, at a specific time, priests cross the water to perform funeral sacrifices, adorning the tomb shaded by a methida tree, taller than all olive trees.

— On Isis and Osiris. Plutarch

Every ten days, the statue of the goddess Isis was taken in a ceremonial procession from her temple at Philae to Biggeh by boat. There, through her priests, Isis performed ritual acts, such as milk libations for Osiris, aiming to revive his strength.

These rites focused on reuniting Osiris’s Ba-soul with his body, to awaken the mummy resting in the Abaton. Besides these regular rituals, major annual observances included the thirteenth day of the month of Epiphi, when Isis and Harendotes visited the tomb, and the renewal rites of the Khoiak festival.

Magical Threats Against the Cult

In the early 4th century CE, the Neoplatonist Iamblichus, in his treatise on the Mysteries of Egypt, explained to opponents of theurgy the operative mechanism of verbal threats aimed at cults and festivals dedicated to Osiris and Isis.

According to him, threats voiced by the magician were not directed at deities (sun, moon, stars) but at lower spirits. These spirits, lacking judgment or reason, merely obey their divine superiors. Verbal threats frighten these spirits, and an experienced magician could easily deceive them by presenting himself as a superior deity during a ritual.

In the 12th century, the tale of the Adventures of Horus and Seth ends with a mention of these lower spirits. To achieve his goal, Osiris threatens the other gods with sending them against them. If Horus does not obtain the throne, then a horde of hostile spirits will descend upon the earth, and living beings—gods and humans alike—will join the realm of the Afterlife sooner than expected. The magical papyri from Turin are dated to the same period.

A magic spell uses verbal threats against Osirian festivals and cults. The aim of the incantation is to heal a sick person believed to be cursed by an envoy of Osiris. The healing involves a necessary exorcism.

The healer-magician frames the spell as a royal decree written by Osiris, compelling the harmful entity to leave the victim’s body. To ensure its effectiveness, the magician frightens the entity by issuing dark threats against the Osirian cult, as the universe’s order maintained by Osiris’ worship depends on the entity’s departure from the victim.

If the enemy, be it a man or a woman, the dead, or any detestable thing, is not promptly driven out, then the enemy of the sky will split the heavens, the enemy of the earth will overturn it, and Apophis will seize the boat of millions of years. Water will not be given to the one in the coffin, the one at Abydos will not be buried, the one at Busiris will not be hidden, rites will not be performed for the one in Heliopolis, offerings will cease in temples, and people will offer nothing to any god during any festival.

But if the dead, the male and female enemies, the male and female adversaries, and detestable things in this body are expelled, then the sky will remain steady on its four pillars, the earth will stay in its place, water will be given to the one in the coffin, the one at Abydos will be buried, the one at Busiris will be hidden, rites will be performed for the one at Heliopolis, offerings will be made to the gods in their temples, and people will make offerings to all gods during every festival as soon as the dead, the male and female enemies, the male and female adversaries leave the body of (name of the sick person), son of (mother’s name).

— Excerpts from the Turin Magical Papyrus.

Osiris in the Nome of Abydos

Royal Necropolis

Very early on, the funerary god of Abydos was the canine Khentamentiou, “he who presides over the Westerners (the deceased),” venerated since the end of the predynastic period. While the cult of Osiris was established in the city during the 5th Dynasty, it only flourished from the First Intermediate Period, which led to the fusion of the two funerary deities during the 11th Dynasty, when King Antef II brought Abydos under his authority.

Osiris completely supplanted Khentamentiou, who became a simple title of Osiris. During the Middle Kingdom, Abydos became the primary center of the Osirian cult. However, its peak occurred during the 19th Dynasty, when Kings Seti I and Ramses II undertook major construction projects.

The necropolis of Abydos has long been an important site in Egyptian history, dating back to the earliest dynasties. It housed the tombs and cenotaphs of the first Egyptian kings, including from Dynasty 0 (Scorpion I) and the early Thinite Dynasties (I and II).

By the Middle Kingdom, Abydos became a major center for Osiris worship, especially under the reign of King Antef II. The tomb of King Djer, from around 3000 BCE, later became identified as the burial place of Osiris, and during the New Kingdom, it became a significant pilgrimage site.

Head of Osiris

In the Middle Kingdom, the prestige of Abydos was due to the fact that the city was the keeper of an Osirian relic entrusted by the gods. The gods had found the head of Osiris not far from the necropolis:

Spring, it is the day when the head was found, placed in the Gebel of the West. Anubis, Thoth, and Isis had gone to the necropolis; a qebeq bird and a wolf kept watch over it. Thoth lifted the head and found a scarab beneath it. He made it rest in the necropolis of Abydos until today. Abydos was called ‘the city of the scarab’ because of this. As for the qebeq bird, it is Horus, the master of Letopolis. The wolf is Anubis.

— papyrus Jumilhac, translated by Jacques Vandier.

The relic is a sacred but fragile object. Fearing a possible Sethian attack, the relic is placed and hidden in a reliquary. These can take various forms, such as a chest, an obelisk, a vase, or an animal skin. The Abydos relic is enclosed in a basket perched on a post:

The reliquary-insout is a basket made of reeds (n sout), specifically rushes. The head of the god is wrapped inside it. In other words, the reliquary is called ‘king’ (nesout) because of the head placed within it, in a mysterious unknown chest. It is a basket of woven rushes, a shrine whose contents are unknown. The venerable head, wearing a white crown, is inside, made of paste and covered in gold. Its height is three palms and three fingers (28.2 cm).

— Wall of the Temple of Dendera. Translation by Sylvie Cauville.

Abydos Festivities

Egyptian temples were typically closed to the general public, with the god’s statue remaining hidden in the naos (the sanctuary) throughout the year. However, once a year, the god emerged from the temple, marking a grand festival that allowed public participation.

In Abydos, this celebration occurred at the beginning of the flood season, when Osiris’s statue, placed on a ceremonial boat, journeyed from the temple to his tomb at a site called Ro-Peker.

Here, they commemorated his death and subsequent victory over his enemies before returning the statue to the temple. The Abydos Osirian festivities were inspired by ancient royal funeral rites from Memphis, adapted to celebrate Osiris annually.

Ikhernofret’s Account on the Berlin Stele

On his stele preserved in Berlin, Ikhernofret recounts the festive events he directed in the 19th year of King Senusret III’s reign. At age twenty-six, he was sent by royal order to Abydos to honor Osiris with gold offerings after a victory over the Nubians. Before participating as Horus in the Osirian celebrations, Ikhernofret restored the sacred Neshmet boat, crafted statues, and rebuilt chapels. The festivities then unfolded in four acts:

• The Procession of Wepwawet, the Opener of the Way. This deity, representing Horus, fights on behalf of his father Osiris against the Sethian enemies. These enemies are symbolically crushed during a magical ritual, in which wax figurines and vessels representing them are battered and then destroyed.

I ‘performed’ the emergence of the ‘Opener of the Way’ as he advanced to avenge his father; I drove the enemies from the Neshmet barque, I repelled the enemies of Osiris. I then ‘performed’ a grand emergence, while Thoth correctly guided the navigation.

— Stela of Ikhernofret. Translated by Claire Lalouette.

• The procession of the Neshmet barque is the grand funeral procession of the god Osiris. The statue of the god, in his barque, leaves the temple towards the necropolis. This sacred ritual is so significant that even the deceased wish to take part in it. Spell 138 from the Book of the Dead enables them to attend posthumously.

I equipped the barque (called) ‘She Who Appears in Glory through Truth-Justice’ with a fine chapel, and, having set its beautiful crowns, behold, the god advances toward Peker. I cleared the path that leads to his tomb facing Peker.

— Stele of Ikhernofret. Translation by Claire Lalouette.

• The Festival of Haker, the night of Horus the Fighter. This night corresponds in funerary worship to the night of justification, where the judgment of the deceased is ritualized during nocturnal vigils.

I avenged Wenennefer (Osiris) on that famous day of the Great Battle, and I destroyed all his enemies on the shore of Nedyt.

— Stela of Ikhernofret. Translation by Claire Lalouette.

• The procession to the temple of Osiris. This is the final act of the festival, featuring the triumphant return of the statue of the god Osiris to his temple, now justified and resurrected.

I caused him to advance within the barque called ‘the Great,’ bearing his beauty. I made the hills of the western desert rejoice and created exultation in these hills when they saw the beauty of the Neshmet barque as I arrived at Abydos. The barque, bringing Osiris, lord of the city, back to his palace, followed the god to his house. I ensured he was purified and rejoined his throne…

— Stele of Ikhernofret. Translation by Claire Lalouette.

Votive stelae

In the Middle Kingdom, King Sesostris III of the 12th Dynasty encouraged the cult of Osiris at Abydos by renewing cult materials, building a temple for Osiris, and creating his own pyramid burial complex.

At this time, many wealthy individuals, motivated by their devotion to Osiris, built chapels or cenotaphs on the ‘Terrace of the Great God’ near the Osiris temple. These buildings, made of mudbrick and surrounded by a rectangular enclosure, featured vaulted rooms with statues and votive stelae placed on the walls.

The central focus of these constructions was stelae commemorating the deceased and their family. These archaeological pieces are now spread across museums worldwide.

In 1973, 1,120 stelae from the 6th to the 14th Dynasty were cataloged, with 961 invoking Osiris. By the end of the 12th and 13th Dynasties, stelae were no longer a privilege for high-ranking officials.

People of modest means also deposited stelae in smaller chapels or in the monuments of wealthier individuals. This funerary practice continued into the New Kingdom and the Late Period.

FAQ

Who is osiris in the bible?

Osiris is not a figure found in the Bible; he is a prominent deity in ancient Egyptian mythology. Osiris was considered the god of the afterlife, resurrection, and agriculture, and he was associated with the cycle of life and death. He is often depicted as a mummified king, representing the idea of rebirth.

How did Osiris die?

Osiris, the ancient Egyptian god of the afterlife and resurrection, was killed by his brother Set. According to mythology, Set was jealous of Osiris’s position and devised a plan to murder him. He lured Osiris into a sarcophagus and then sealed it shut, throwing it into the Nile River. This act of betrayal led to Osiris’s death, but he was later resurrected by his wife, Isis, who collected his body and used her magical powers to bring him back to life.