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Osiris: He is one of the most well known and enduring gods of ancient Egypt. It appears that his cult followed him from the Old Kingdom period through the Greco-Roman Period. One of the first times that he appears was as Asari, a man-headed god of agriculture. It appears that he may have been part of the Heliopolitan pantheon and is mentioned in the Pyramid Texts. He had a cult at Abydos and also at Busiris and was said to have been buried at Abydos. At some point he is addressed as the “Beautiful One.” He is depicted as a mummified god with the atef crown of plant stems and ostrich feathers. Most likely he was a god of harvest and fertility and as such an opposite of Seth, his adversary. Osiris represented the cultivated land and he stood for a well-ordered world. The constant battle between Seth and Osiris was most likely the basis for the Egyptian account of creation. But this also brought on the death of Osiris. Eventually he was revived in the next world by Isis and Nephthys and thus his successor Horus was created. Horus continued his fight with Seth in this world. Osiris represented justice and order in the next world and with this he was also given the insignia of royalty and ruler. He represented cosmic harmony and symbolized eternal bliss. Many festivals were held in his honor and one especially held in November (according to our modern calendar) was to celebrate his beauty.

He was also well known in the mortuary rituals and he became the judge of the non-royal Egyptians who had to stand before him and his 42 judges. His role is more clearly accounted for in the Book of the Dead and thus offers various accounts such as the weighing of the hearts and other typical ceremonies, etc. Those that died yearned to be buried close to this god; however, if this wasn’t possible, his relatives would place a mortuary Stela in Abydos so that they could be part of the Osiris ecstasy.