Osiris Myth

• The Osiris Myth is at the basis of the Ancient Egyptian Religion.
• It deals with the murder of Osiris by his brother Set and the outcome.

The Myth

• The Deception and murder of Osiris by his brother Set
  • Osiris was killed by his brother Set, who wanted his Throne, and deceived Osiris into entering a coffin. This was then thrown into the Nile, and it floated out to the Sea, where it was washed up on the shores of the city of Byblos in Syria.
  • A sacred Tree then grew at a remarkable speed around the coffin and enclosed it inside its trunk. Unaware of the coffin inside the tree, the local King, impressed by the tree’s rapid growth, had it chopped down and its trunk turned into a wooden pillar in his palace.
• The Search for Osiris by Isis and Nephthys
  • Isis with the help of Anubis, located the coffin inside the pillar. She befriended the King and was granted the pillar as a gift. Isis removed the coffin from the pillar, but consecrated the wooden pillar which subsequently was named the Djed. The Djed is the symbol that Osiris is always shown holding in one hand, with the Ankh (symbol of life) in the other. The Djed came to represent his backbone, and symbolised the annual rebirth of the Nile.
• The Mummification, Funeral and Resurrection of Osiris
  • Isis then restored the Body of Osiris using a spell, brought him briefly back to life, during which period she became pregnant with Horus. Osiris then died again and became the God of the Afterlife, the Underworld and the Dead as well as the God of Reincarnation.