Osiris myth
The Osirismythos is a tale from ancient Egyptian mythology , which tells of the murder of Osiris by his brother Seth and the efforts of his wife and sister Isis .
The Osiris legend
The assassination of Osiris
King Osiris had once left the country, and when he returned home, his brother Seth devised a scheme to murder him. He hired 72 men as co-conspirators and also the Queen Aso ("the helper") of Nubia . Seth had a large, decorated wooden box made after he had secretly taken the measurements of Osiris. At a banquet, Seth jokingly offered the box as a gift to the person who fitted it exactly. After all the other guests had tried in vain to fit in, Osiris tried last. When it was in it, the 72 men locked the coffin, sealed it with lead, and Seth had it thrown into the Nile .
During the embalming , the Egyptians in particular reenacted this part of the myth for every dead person, although normally death did not result from murder. However, since there is no natural death in mythical thought, the violent end of life was generally equated with murder. The story of the murder of Osiris by Seth was also based on this mythological basis.
Seth's second attempt and the resuscitation
When Isis found out about this outrage, she went looking for her husband. The coffin had meanwhile been driven to Byblos , where an acacia tree overgrown it. This trunk was used as a pillar for a building at the king's court. Isis found out about that too and was able to retrieve the coffin. Seth found out about Isis' find, stole the coffin and dismembered the body inside and threw the pieces into the Nile, which now scattered them all over the country.
Isis searched and found the body parts of Osiris. She then put Osiris back together with the help of Anubis to revive him. After Anubis had stowed the organs in the canopies , Isis used her magic and tried to breathe life back into the dead with her wings. She turned into a Milan and was able to receive Horus . Osiris remained in the Duat and was declared ruler of the realm of the dead by the judgment of the dead .
The mythological background to these acts can be seen in the Egyptian second burial . After death had occurred and the deceased was placed in the sarcophagus before mummification at his first burial , embalming followed for seventy days. Connected to this, Isis' search symbolized the removal of the most important body organs and the subsequent reunion with the mummy . In addition, the ritual cleansing of the dead body followed in order to prepare it for further life in the duat. The conception of Isis and the birth of Horus are very rarely mentioned in ancient Egyptian texts:
“Isis comes cheering out of love for you (Osiris), so that your seed may come out into her. Horus, who comes out of you in his name 'Horus who is in Sopdet '. May it be through him in your name, 'Spirit in the Djendjeru barge '. Horus protected you in his name 'Horus, protector of your father'. Who (Isis) took up his seed and created the heir who suckled the child, no one knows where. The Ninth was happy: Welcome son of Osiris, righteous , son of Isis, heir of Osiris. "
The so accomplished "salvation of the dead, torn Osiris" took over Isis in her capacity as loving sister and wife. In the healing of death, Isis embodied the invigorating forces that arose from the family love relationship, which is why the image of Isis was very often used as a motif on coffin walls. The most important weapon that Isis can use against death is the recitation of spells that can magically reassemble the body parts of the dead Osiris. Since the sun god Re watched over the earthly realm during the day, Osiris acted as ruler in the realm of the dead, who ruled over them as the father of the dead and was responsible for the daily rebirth of the sun god Re. The role of the sun god was played by Horus in the early days of Egyptian history, who in this capacity represented the son of Osiris.
See also
literature
- Jan Assmann Death and the afterlife in ancient Egypt . Beck, Munich 2003, ISBN 3-406-49707-1
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jan Assmann: Death and the afterlife in ancient Egypt . P. 33.