Main article: History of Ancient Egypt
Osiris displaces Ra as king of the afterlife. All aspire to be buried in Abju - the 'burial place' of Osiris
In the era of the Middle Kingdom, the same, basically magical-ritual, view of the afterlife as in the Old Kingdom was preserved. The democratization of the funeral cult that took place during the First Transitional Period did not, in fact, bring anything fundamentally new to the views of the Egyptians on the afterlife, it only extended the afterlife to the masses of the population. The ethical principle in these views is still absent (only its individual elements are born), but the general picture of the afterlife of the Egyptian of the middle hand becomes clearer and clearer.
The cult of Osiris, which is extremely significant, spreads slowly but surely from north to south. In the "Texts of the Pyramids," Osiris is sometimes clearly opposed to the god Ra: if the latter is a luminous heavenly deity, the "father" of the pharaoh, then Osiris is a chthonic deity, the king of the afterlife. Thus, one appeal to the deceased king says: "You find your place in heaven between the stars, for you are the only star to carry Hu (Orion? - M. Korostovtsev), you look down at Osiris, commanding the blessed (dead). You are far from them.. (Pyr., 8,251).
Elsewhere, it says of the sun god: "He unties the bandages and removes the [burial] veils. So he freed [the deceased king]... did not give it to Osiris. For he should not (king. - M. Korostovtsev) to die the death of [mortals], and [must] stay forever in a light-bearing country "(Pyr., 8 349/50). It clearly speaks of Osiris as king of dead mortals.
But along with this, in the same "Texts of the pyramids," in complete contradiction with the above, the identification of the deceased king with Osiris is planned. This is an extremely important point in the development of afterlife views. The identification of first the king, and then any deceased with Osiris, and not with the god Ra, becomes the leitmotif of the memorial texts. During the Middle Kingdom, Osiris acquired, in the view of the Egyptians, the status of the general Egyptian god-king of the afterlife, displacing the Memphis Socar, the Abydos Hentimentiu, Anubis and other local gods of the otherworldly world, which partly became his assistants.
In the era of the Middle Kingdom, memorial magical literature in the style of "Pyramid Texts" is rapidly developing. First of all, these are the so-called "Sarcophagus Texts," inscribed on the walls of stone and wooden coffins of the dead of different ranks and positions. These are texts from Saqqara, Asyut, Rife, Beni Hasan, El Bershe, Meir and Thebes. They are rich material for studying the history of Egyptians' ideas about the afterlife.
The tendency of the "Texts of the Pyramids" to guarantee posthumous privileges only to the deceased king extends in the "Texts of Sarcophagi" to all the dead - each deceased is identified with the king of the afterlife Osiris and, by virtue of this, acquires eternal, sovereign being in the afterlife. "Now all people by death were made" right-eyed "by the Osiris, that is, correctly pronouncing magical formulas against afterlife dangers." And everyone sought to be buried in Abju (Abydos), where Osiris himself was allegedly buried. "Everyone now sought to lie down in the Abydos cemetery with his god, or, if impossible, to make a posthumous journey here along the Nile and leave a memorial plaque, or even an entire tomb."
Thus, in the era of the Middle Kingdom, the lord and protector of all the dead is no longer the god Ra, as in the time of the Ancient Kingdom, but Osiris.
It should be emphasized that along with the ideas of otherworldly peace in the eastern part of the sky, next to the boat of Ra and its accompanying gods, the idea of otherworldly peace in the west stubbornly lived. At times, otherworldly peace in the west was identified directly with necropolises located in the west, at times it was considered as a separate area of the dead, where Osiris reigned limitlessly.
The Myth of Osiris and Isis
In no Egyptian monument is there a coherent, consistent presentation of the myth of Osiris. Nevertheless, this myth is well known from the famous work of Plutarch "On Isis and Osiris," written already at the beginning of our era, in the І century. Myth (Ch. 12-21) is provided with a detailed and undoubtedly very interesting comment (Ch. 1-11 and 22-80), in which Plutarch made an attempt to comprehend the Egyptian myth in accordance with the Greek, naturally, ideas of that time in the sections of rationalistic, demonological, physical, astronomical, philosophical (Plato Academy), dualistic and, most interestingly for Egyptology, to interpret Osiris and his son Harpocrates as deities of vegetation.
The exposition of the myth itself takes up relatively little space in the work of Plutarch. The essence of it boils down to the following. The goddess, whom Plutarch calls the Greek name Rhea, had five children from a secret connection with the god, whom he calls the Greek name Kronos. Plutarch calls these children not Greek, but Egyptian names. All of them were born on the last Five days of the year, on days not included in any month. On the first of these additional five days, Osiris was born, and a voice from heaven announced the birth of the lord, on the second day Harur (Choir the Elder) was born, on the third - Typhon (as Plutarch calls the Egyptian god Seth), on the fourth - Isis, on the fifth - Neftida.
Of the five deities born to Rhea and Kronos - brothers and sisters - Isis and Osiris were especially close, having fallen in love with each other in the womb of their mother. Upon ascending the throne, Osiris began to take great care of his people. It was he who introduced the people to culture, charmed and subjugated people with his music. But Osiris cared not only for the Egyptians, he wandered all over the earth, bringing the benefits of cultural life to people, freeing them from the darkness of barbarism. During the wanderings of Osiris, his beloved wife and sister Isis ensured order and tranquility in Egypt. But a secret turmoil against the beneficent and good Osiris still arose; it was headed by Osiris's brother Typhon, who envied his authority and popularity. Once Typhon (Seth) and 72 of his like-minded people arranged a solemn meeting for Osiris, who returned from another journey. It was announced that the magnificent, very valuable work of the chest will go to the one who will have it in height. Those who wanted to receive a gift fell into a chest, but they did not have it in height. But Osiris lay down in it, and, to everyone's amazement, the chest turned out to be specially made for him (the chest was actually made according to the growth of Osiris). Typhon (Seth) and his gang of villains immediately slammed the lid shut, clogged it with nails and lowered a chest of Osiris into the sea down Neil's Tanith sleeve.
The sea threw out a chest on the shore of the Phoenician city of Bibla, and a miracle happened here: a magnificent tree suddenly grew out of the chest, hiding it with its roots. The arriving Isis freed the chest with the remains of Osiris from the roots and delivered it to the Delta, hiding in the swamps near the city of Buto, where Osiris's son Khor was located. But the restless and evil Typhon (Seth) got here too. He extracted from the chest the body of Osiris dissected it into 14 parts, which he scattered throughout Egypt.
The disappointing Isis tracked down all the parts of her husband's body, except for the phallus swallowed by Nile fish. She buried each part of her body where she found her from here many burials of Osiris throughout Egypt. Thus ended the life of the god king Osiris on earth. This happened in the twenty-eighth year of his reign.
However, Osiris returned from the underworld and prepared his son Choir for revenge. The choir began a tireless and prolonged war against Typhon (Seth) and his allies and eventually defeated them all, taking possession of their father's throne. This is the content of the myth, according to Plutarch.
Plutarch's version coincides mainly with the mythological and religious ideas of the Egyptians about Isis and Osiris, reflected in authentic Egyptian texts; true, these texts are much richer, they present a greater variety of mythological episodes and, perhaps, variants of the myth that remained unknown to Plutarch or omitted in his stingy narrative. So, for example, in the story of Plutarch there is not a word that Isis conceived her son "Child Choir" from the already deceased Osiris, there are no details, sometimes very interesting, about the mortal battle between the Choir and Seth, about the revival of the deceased Osiris Isis, about his mummification, etc.
Osiris is the king of the afterlife and the god of vegetation
God Osiris, like the myth of him, is multifaceted.
The interbreeding of the teachings of the priests Jonu (Heliopolis) about Ra, inherited from the time of the Old Kingdom, with the growing teaching of Osiris took place on the basis of Herakleopol in the First Transitional Period. According to the cultopographic list, the right leg of Osiris was buried in the temple in Herakleopol, and some other parts of the body of the murdered god were buried according to one of the texts.
The combination of these two strands of theological thought led to the inclusion of Osiris in the ennead of the god Ra.
The totality of the data reported by Plutarch (the growth of a tree from a chest on the shore at Bibl, a commentary on Osiris as the god of vegetation) and ancient Egyptian texts in which Osiris is likened to grain or bread, undoubtedly indicates that Osiris in the view of the Egyptians associated with the plant world. "The same connection of Osiris with grain is also indicated by very interesting objects found during excavations: this is a canvas stretched over a frame with legs, on which lies a contour image of Osiris made of wood, filled with earth with sown grains. The latter, quickly rising, gave a green silhouette of Osiris. " Osiris "sprouted."
The iconography of Osiris (in most cases he was depicted with some kind of plant) also indicates that Osiris had one of his divine functions the function of the god of vegetation. This is indirectly confirmed by the fact that in a number of texts Osiris is closely related to Neil, and in some cases acts as his personification. So, already in the "Texts of the Pyramids" (Pyr., S 589), Osiris is referred to as "new water" (meaning the overflow of the river).
From the totality of all the data - Egyptian sources and Plutarch - the appearance of Osiris as the king of the underworld, the supreme judge in the afterlife, vividly appears. It is this aspect of Osiris that defines its essence. As M.A. Korostovtsev emphasized, in Egyptian texts Osiris never appears as a symbol of a living, ruling pharaoh. The latter becomes Osiris, merges with this god only after physical death. The ruling pharaoh was the personification of the son of Osiris Choir, who avenged the death of his father and succeeded him to the throne. The deceased Pharaoh was never called the Choir and was not like him. So, every living and ruling pharaoh is the Choir (but not Osiris!), And the deceased pharaoh is Osiris (but not the Choir!). In the texts, these differences are strictly observed.
Mysteries of Osiris
Osiris begins to gain influence in Egyptian religion at the end of the Old Kingdom era. Until this time Heliopolis , notions of the solar god Ra dominated the religious thinking of the Egyptians. But already in the Middle Kingdom, Osiris is not only the god of the afterlife, but also "the ruler of the minds." This is evidenced by the data on the mysteries of Osiris in Abju, which he has. science
Priests act out scenes from the life of Osiris
The plot of these dramatic religious performances composed the "passions" of Osiris - episodes of his life, his suffering death. The actors were priests. Even one pharaoh of the KhІІІ dynasty, named Neferhotep, took part as an actor in the mystery of Osiris, as stated in the inscription compiled by him.
The earliest mention of these mysteries is contained in the stele of a certain Ichernefret, sent by Pharaoh Senusert ІІІ in the nineteenth year of his reign (circa 1859 BC) for the revision of the temple in Abju and the mysteries that took place there. "It can be seen from his autobiography that the mysteries consisted of the following rites.
1) The exit of Vepuat. The idol of the jackal on the pole was carried out of the temple. He pointed the way to Osiris and was his first fighter.
2) Osiris himself left in his barque, hitting enemies. The ship was attacked by 'enemies'; the high priest and retinue reflected them.
3) The mysterious' great exit 'followed, during which Osiris was killed by Seth. Crying followed.
4) God He transported the body of Osiris in a barque.
5) The clergy prepared the body for burial and transported it by barque to the Pecker area, where it was buried.
6) A reprisal was committed against the "enemies" of Osiris at the place of his murder in the area of Nedit.
7) The jubilation and transfer of the idol of the revived Osiris to his temple in Abju.
Often, in the inscriptions in Abju, one can find the wishes of the deceased to see the'beauty of Vepuat at the first exit' or'to bow to Osiris Henti-mentiu ("leader of the West") at his' great exit. " Similar mysteries coped, of course, in Busiris, and in general in many temples; especially in later times, when almost everywhere, in Thebes, Dendera, Edfu, etc., departments were arranged for the cult of Osiris. " Thus, the mysteries of Osiris were popular and undoubtedly had an ideological impact on the audience.
Coronation of the young pharaoh in the presence of the mummy of the deceased pharaoh as Osiris
There were also mysteries of a different type. "The most important document shedding bright light on the significance of the religion of Osiris-Horus in connection with the cult of the deceased and living pharaoh is the papyrus with the text of the coronation mysteries of Senusert. І Along with images illustrating all the main points of the mysteries, the papyrus contains the text of the speeches of the characters, a semblance of stage remarks and a list of the most important accessories.
The central figure of the mysteries is the young pharaoh, who acts as the Mountain and around whom all the action takes place. In contrast to Horus, Osiris does not utter a sound during all the mysteries, which, along with other facts, makes it possible to assume that the mummy of the deceased pharaoh performs the voiceless role of Osiris. The main point of the mysteries is the coronation of the young pharaoh - Horus, while the conclusion is the burial of Osiris.
As M.A. Korostovtsev pointed out, despite the fact that the papyrus dates back to the 20th century BC. e. (this is the so-called dramatic papyrus Ramesseum), the rite of mysteries recorded on it undoubtedly dates back to ancient times, as indicated by the analysis and language of the text and the rite itself. Thus, this papyrus testifies to the fact that already in the deepest antiquity the cult of Osiris was the cult of the deceased king, as well as the cult of Gora - the cult of the king of the living. "
Mysteries of Osiris as the god of vegetation in Greco-Roman time
It should be noted that the "resurrection" of Osiris is very conditional. He does not return to earthly life; on the throne of Egypt, he is replaced by his son Khor. Osiris, "tired of his heart," becomes king in the otherworldly world, judge of the dead. Therefore, calling Osiris a "dying and resurrected" god is more than inaccurate.
The aspect of Osiris as the god of vegetation is manifested in his cult and mysteries much later, mainly in Greco-Roman times. The religious practice of the ancient Egyptians in later, especially Greco-Roman, times was reflected by Plutarch in a commentary on Osiris as the god of vegetation.
So, the character of the mysteries of Osiris is changing, the plant aspect of the god comes to the fore. The figure of the deceased Osiris is built from silt with cereal grains intended for germination, or the wooden contours of the god are filled with earth and sown (in other words, the image of the dead with the basis for "resurrection" laid in it). Such an image of Osiris rested in a special room of the temple. A year later, the image was solemnly replaced by a new one with exclamations "We found it!," And the old one was buried. Hoisting a new figure and burying the old one were the most important moments of a new type of mystery. It is not known, however, why the Egyptians themselves realized and reflected this connection only in the mysteries so late.
Mysteries of a new type gained wide popularity - they were played out with the wide participation of the people. Information about the participation of the Egyptians in the mysteries is reported by Herodotus (ІІ, 3, 47--48, 61, 62, 170-171), Plutarch (About Isis and Osiris, 28, 33, 36, 39), Heliodor (Ethiopia, 260).
A considerable role in the late mysteries of Osiris was played by the cries for Osiris of Isis and Nephthys. The texts of the cries are contained in the Bremner-Rind papyrus (papyrus of the British Museum N 10188) of the time of Alexander, son of Alexander the Great, in the Berlin papyrus N 3008 (ІІ century BC) and in the very late Louvre papyrus "Books of the Dead" (N 3079). The texts of the cries are different, but their general focus, as well as the commonality of the opoeticized sense of deep sorrow and despair, are striking. It follows from the contents of the papyrus texts of the British and Berlin Museums that these were ritual texts performed by two priestesses, on whose shoulders the names of Isis and Nephthys were written.
Ritual texts of the late Osiris mysteries are preserved both on the walls of temples erected in Greco-Roman time and in papyri. Therefore, we know that "it was pronounced and performed at every hour of the day and night at the body of the" Good "(i.e. Osiris), which gods guarded his peace, what formulas hericheb exhorted, what lamentations the priestesses sang, what his sisters and other weeping goddesses. "
As noted above, the character of the mysteries of Osiris changed from the time of the Middle Kingdom to Greco-Roman time inclusive, but their main content remained the same: the expression of hope for a bright future, the steady belief that the "good" Osiris, the great god, the king of the underworld, the supreme judge, will provide eternal life and bliss to any mortal, not excluding the oppressed and exploited. The Osiris Mysteries were played in the last decade of the last month of the spill season (in the second half of November).
Osiris' Afterlife Trial of the Dead
Main article: Afterlife Court
Ushebti - figurines of servants "come to life" in the afterlife to perform works for the deceased for Osiris
The essence of the Egyptian concept of the afterlife in the Middle Kingdom era is that the Egyptian imagines it as the optimal version of earthly life. " The deceased needs housing (i.e. in the tomb), in food and drink, in robes, in the ability to inhale the "sweet whiff of the north wind," in the ability to leave the tomb at his discretion, that is, to live as he wants.
A vivid illustration of this is the 109th chapter of the "Book of the Dead," which borrowed from the "Texts of Sarcophagi" originating from Asyut, a description of the Egyptian paradise ("sehet iaru" - "field of reeds"), where a person's agricultural work was awarded a fabulous harvest.
In this form, the real social shifts that took place in Egyptian society were reflected: an increase in the population, the activation of the masses of the population, mainly peasant, the democratization of the funeral cult, etc. The fabulous harvests of the "field of reeds" were for the Egyptian peasant the best reward in otherworldly life for the difficult earthly work. However, the need to physically work in the afterlife frightened the deceased. Almighty magic also came to the aid of religion: ushebti (otherwise shabti and shaubti) were invented.
In meaning, "ushebti" can mean "which responds," "defendant." "Ushebti" were called small figurines of people found in large numbers in burials since the Middle Kingdom. What role did they play in the Egyptians "ideas about the afterlife? The final and undoubtedly correct solution to the issue was given by R. I. Rubinstein. She proved that ushebti are images of people who, by virtue of magic, could come to life and produce physical work in the afterlife, to which the deceased could be called - by analogy with earthly life. Over ushebti, spells were cast on behalf of the deceased. In support of his observation, R. I. Rubinstein refers to the dictum N 472 from the "Sarcophagus Texts" (preserved in the texts of two sarcophagi of the Middle Kingdom time - the sarcophagus of a certain Network in the Louvre and the sarcophagus N 30839 of the British Museum): "A dictum to make ushebti work for his lord in the afterlife. Look at him, you, gods, spirits, dead, dwelling in heaven and earth. He took possession of his power, he took possession of it... he took possession of his body, created for this by order of the gods. If the name of the rivers is counted (i.e. dead. - M. Korostovtsev) to those working in the afterlife in order to bypass the shores, to pour new fields for the king during his time, - "Here I am" you will say instead of him to every sent person who came to N this. Take your picks, your hoes, your rockers, your buckets in your hands, just as a person does (var. the boy) for his lord.
Oh, ushebti this, made for N this, if they rank this as the performance of his duty, release there N this as a person under his duties. 'Here we are' you will say. If they rank N of this as what they always do to plant new fields, in order to make the fields bloom, in order to transport (across the river) sand from west to east and back, 'Here we are,' you will say about it "(translated by R. I. Rubinstein).
The author summarizes the result of his research as follows: "Ushebti in all historical periods of Egypt retain significance only as magic figures performing duties hated by the Egyptians for the king of the afterlife - Osiris. Above them, the rite of transformation into a living character in the last funeral chamber was always performed in the tomb. There, on behalf of the deceased, the priest pronounced a spell over the figures, the content of which we know from chapters 6 and 151 of the Book of the Dead. "
Osiris' nomination to top pantheon over people's quest for justice in afterlife
Regardless of the process of syncretism, the Egyptian religion itself continued to live and develop in the directions outlined long before the meeting with the Egyptians of the Greek-Macedonians. The most important of these areas was the deepening and expansion of the cult of Osiris, his nomination and his triad to one of the first places in the Egyptian pantheon. The times of hegemony of the ancient deities Pt, Ra, Atum, Amon and others - sank into eternity. The authority and influence of these deities on an all-Egyptian scale were finally supplanted by the authority and influence of Osiris and the associated deities of the goddess Isis, identified with the goddess Hathor and others, and the god Chor in different hypostases.
The reason for the nomination of Osiris is quite understandable, wrote M.A. Korostovtsev. Osiris was one of the gods of the afterlife; with the growth of civilization and the aggravation of the class struggle, the ideology of justice and the afterlife court associated with it more and more impressed the masses. The myth of Osiris was the banner of justice, it was because of this that Osiris gained extreme popularity. God who overcame death became the first deity of the Egyptian pantheon. The "king of the gods" Amun, despite his royal dignity, was a provincial Theban god by origin and with the extinction of Thebes, naturally lost its meaning. The same thing happened to other "great" gods. Osiris appropriated their functions and properties, becoming an "all-god," the ruler of the thoughts and aspirations of all Egyptians, and his wife Isis, "great magic," became an almighty goddess.
Rise of Isis
The "rise" of Osiris was reflected in Isis. This goddess was "native," it seems, from the area that the Egyptians called Per-Hebi, the Greeks and the Romans - Ision and Iseum, respectively. It is currently Behbet el Haggar, located on the west bank of the Damietta Branch of the Nile, in the eastern Delta, near Mansur. Here remained the ruins of the temple of the goddess Isis, which began to be built even before the Lagids and was completed by Ptolemy ІІ Philadelphia. Isis's popularity in this era is clear. The heyday of the cult of the goddess is observed in the area of the first threshold of the Nile.
Isis is already mentioned in the "Texts of the Pyramids" as the loving sister and loyal wife of Osiris, who was killed by Seth, as the caring mother of the Infant Choir. In a word, in these very ancient texts, she appears as the bearer of the high moral principles of the female goddess. This is an extremely important aspect of Isis, which it retains throughout the history of Egyptian culture.
Another aspect of it is the "great sorceress," who owns magic on a par with the god Toth (Isis temporarily revives the dead Osiris and initiates the Choir from him). The ability of Isis, the "great sorceress," to revive the deceased is preserved in the religious ideas of the Egyptians until the sunset of Egyptian culture.
The combination of the qualities of a model wife, mother and "great sorceress," as well as the position of the wife of Osiris, who became more and more popular, ensured the success of Isis: from the local goddess of the settlement of PerPer-Hebi, she turns into the all-Egyptian great mother goddess, whose cult extends far beyond Egypt - in many countries of the ancient world Isis plays the role of the same universal mother goddess.
The Roman writer Apuleius (І century AD) in his famous novel "The Golden Donkey" put into the mouth of the rhetorician Madaurus (Seveonaia Roman Africa), dedicated to the sacraments of Isis, the following words addressed to the goddess: "You are also a holy and eternal savior of the human race." By the way, Apuleius himself, very prone to mysticism, was a fan of Osiris and Isis.
Places of cult of Osiris and Isis
Abju (Abydos) with the burial of the head of Osiris
During the Middle and New Kingdoms, Abju (Abydos), the center of the Osiris cult, flourishes. It was believed that the head of Osiris (part of the necropolis called Pecker) was buried in this city. The tomb of Osiris was considered the tomb of one of the kings of the І Tinis dynasty - Pharaoh Jerome.
In Abju, however, until the ІV century. e. There is a curious relic of the cult of Osiris in the form of an oracle of the god Bes, a dwarf deity from the "retinue" of Osiris, as reported by the Roman historian of that time Ammianus Marcellinus.
Temple of Isis and Osiris on the islands of Filet and Bige in Aswan
At the end of the New Kingdom era, the brilliance of Abju fades and the center of the cults of Osiris and Isis moves further south, to islands near the first threshold of the Nile - Phil and Bige. A wonderful temple of Isis was erected on Fila, Biga began to be considered the burial place of Osiris (his left leg).
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