Osiris was believed to have been the god of the afterlife. Osiris was the king of Egypt but he
The Egyptian beliefs on the afterlife and burial rituals derived from the story of Osiris, the god of the underworld. In this story Osiris was killed by his brother Seth out of jealousy. Seth cut Osiris into pieces and scattered them across the land. Osiris’s sister gathered his body parts and brought him back to life, but Osiris was incomplete. He was missing a body part. Because of this Osiris could no longer rule on Earth so he was cast to the underworld. This story became deeply rooted in the Egyptian culture. This brought about some of the earlier gods and their central belief on there being a life after death. They also then believed that you could only have immortality, if your body was whole and you were buried with every part of your body.
Osiris (shown above) the god of the afterlife, or underworld, Osiris was the King of Egypt, murdered by his brother Seth and then resurrected by his sister/ wife Isis as the king of the dead, a king from which every Egyptian hoped to join in the afterlife. Osiris was a god originally connected with fertility, he is known primarily through the story of his death, murdered by his brother Seth over the jealousy of his throne, and
Ptah was also a creator god who built the boats that carried the souls of the dead into the Underworld. Osiris was the ruler of the Underworld and husband to Isis, the goddess of fertility and the ideal wife. Isis’ song, Horus, was the god of the sky and depicted with a hawk-like head often portrayed with a double crown. These deities were worshipped daily by the Egyptians in temples built by the ruling pharaoh and his priests. The pharaoh was viewed as the intermediary between the deities and his people. Through his kingship and divine power, he was expected to maintain universal peace and order. Egyptians also underwent extensive and excessive processes to preserve their souls after death through tombs, mummification, and offerings to the gods for preservation of the deceased bodies (“Ancient Egyptian Religion”). The concept of life after death is rooted in ancient Egyptian religion where funerary processes and burial rituals were fundamental and crucial to an afterlife.
The ancient Egyptians relied heavily on their religion. In addition to their religion, the Osiris myth was famous among the people because it implied that any deceased individual can get to the afterlife. The deceased would endure a ritual of mummification. Their organs
Moreover, talking specifically about the Gods, Osiris was the one determining the good and bad, judging the everyday morality to determine if the person deserved an everlasting life (McKay, A History of Western Society, p. 23, Egyptian Religion.’’). The confessions were performed in proper funeral rituals and as a consequence Osiris was assisted by Anubis, the God of the of mummification, since the human body needed to be mummified for the
Cult is said to have started or begun after their brother Seth had killed Osiris. It is said that Seth tricked Osiris to go into a golden coffin and closed it. Seth then through the coffin into the Nile river to float away. Osiris was found dead at the in Byblos were it had been carried by river
They created great rituals that would support their beliefs through mummification and the journey to the underworld. In time, the Egyptian way may not have lived on but it brought a history to refer to, and in this paper, I have explained to the best of my knowledge about the Ancient Egyptian way of preparing for a good afterlife, with the techniques of mummification and rituals taken part in the
The unique culture of ancient Egypt has attracted a great deal of attention in recent times due in no small part to the discovery of written documentation found entombed within the pyramids. Piecing together the elements of Egyptian myth, like reuniting the parts of Osiris’ scattered body, has proven an ambitious undertaking for scholars, historians and theologians alike. The Egyptian Book of the Dead is the best and most comprehensive volume of funerary texts available for present study. It is known to include and expound upon essential knowledge found in the Pyramid Texts, the “oldest epigraphic source of knowledge of the religion of dynastic Egypt”
Geb’s son, Osiris, was the god of afterlife. He was murdered by his own brother Seth, which they think was the cause of the droughts, but his miraculous rebirth caused the flooding of the Nile valley. He was married to his sister Isis and had a son named Horus. Osiris also had another sister, Nephthys. It was said that Osiris was the one who brought civilization to the ancient Egyptian. He left and showed the Egyptians many things, but while he was gone Seth planned to kill him. His plan worked, he killed Osiris and threw him into the Nile River, but Isis found his body only to let Seth rip it into 14 pieces. Isis and Nephthys worked together and found every piece except one, which was eaten by the Nile fish. Isis recovered him just long enough to have Horus, which would be the future king of Egypt.
Owners could be recognized by the artwork and inscriptions carved around their tomb entrance (Harpur, 1987:1). Lastly, the changes made to the tombs styles can be clearly shown over time throughout the years. In Egypt, life and religion were so intertwined that it would have been impossible not to believe in a life after death (Brewer, 1999: 98). Hence religion basically defined Egyptian way of life and their customs.
In these civilizations, there were many worshipping and sacrificial places that were in place because of their belief in the gods and the afterlife. All around the world were temples and places to pray to the gods, but the religion in these civilizations was exceptionally strong. In Egypt, the Pyramids were everlasting tombs for the dead. The Pyramids are located on the Nile and was the most north and most sacred of all the temples. The belief in the afterlife was crucial in their religion. Egyptians treated the dead better than they treated the living. While your physical life on earth was short, they thought your soul could survive forever in the afterlife. These pyramids held important pharaohs and priests, that were placed in the tombs with gifts that they could take with them after they died.
In Greek and Egyptian mythologies, there is a supreme God. In Greek tradition this was Zeus, “Zeus was now King of all the gods and lived on Mount Olympus.” (Corsar, Reid Rooney, and Smith 9) In Egyptian mythology, this position was first held by Osiris, and the other deities herald him by saying “He lives, the King of Upper and Lower Egypt, beloved of Ra, living forever! Heir of Geb, Osiris, beloved of the gods, Osiris, given life, endurance, joy, health, all happiness, like Ra!” (Kaster 81) After being murdered by Set, he became ruler of the Netherworld, and was replaced as King of Upper and Lower Egypt, by his son, Horus. The idea of a supreme deity is common in both Greek and Egyptian traditions.
Before humans had any knowledge to base their beliefs on, they would find many extreme ways to demonstrate their love for their gods. Many different society's and cultures had a variety of different ways in which they proceeded in doing this. The significance of these acts, is the notorious impact that it has made, today, on our everyday lives. Through worshipping, sacrifices, labor, and preparations for the afterlife, these civilizations set a defined precedent for the way we live our life.
Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece both believed in life after death, though the process in which they follow that belief differ greatly. The Greeks believed that at the moment of death the spirit leaves the body in the form of a little gust of wind or a puff of breath. The Greeks believed in proper burial rights that were performed in three parts, and the relatives mostly women are the ones that conduct these rituals for the deceased. Much like the modern world these rituals consist of the first step; laying out the body to be dressed, the second funeral procession, and the third step was the cremation of the body. Unlike the Greeks the Egyptians developed a process in which they prepared and preserved the dead for the afterlife, known as mummification. This process is believed to have been the purpose of the Egyptians famous pyramids, believed to be the stairs that would lead the Pharaohs to their kingdom in the afterlife. Artifacts are buried in their tombs such as gold, wine, and sculptures to accompany the dead in life after death.