Featured God: Osiris
The Pagan Gamer
9
This issue’s featured God is Osiris, the Egyptian God of the underworld. Osiris is one of four children of Geb and Nut, the Egyptian God of the Earth and Goddess of skies, respectively. He is also the great-grandson of Ra, one of the most popular deities in the Egyptian pantheon. As the first born of Geb and Nut, Osiris was next in line to take the throne of Egypt when he was born by birthright. Osiris married his sister, Isis, and his brother Seth married their sister, Nephthys. Some legends speak of Osiris being the son of Ra instead of being born to Geb and Nut, so it really depends on which mythos you believe on his lineage.
The story how Osiris became the God of the underworld is very interesting, if not convoluted. His sister Nephthys took on Isis’s appearance, seducing Osiris and becoming pregnant with Anubis. Seth developed a deep seated hatred against his brother and swore to kill him, perhaps in part because Osiris had impregnated his wife. Another reason could have been envy of Osiris’s birthright to the throne. Seth tricked his brother into a coffin and drowned him in the Nile. The flooding of the Nile every year is said to commemorate this event. The coffin was said to have stopped and become enclosed in a tamarisk tree.
After the slaying of Osiris, Isis recovered his body from the coffin. During a short time away, Seth stole his body from Isis, cutting him into pieces and spreading them throughout the desert. Isis’s connection to her husband was so strong though that she spent several years finding all of the pieces of him save for one and used her magic to restore Osiris’s body. There are many versions of this story at this point, and the only agreeing detail is that Isis became with child that day, later giving birth to Horus. Some stories say that Osiris was returned to life and Isis was filled with passion, making love to him right there. Others say Osiris wasn’t quite alive at the time when she took his seed. Either way, the end result is the same so whichever account is true is irrelevant.
It is said Osiris took on many duties while he was there in the underworld. He rightfully took the position of God of the underworld since he was the first God to die. Even though he was revived for a short time, it became Osiris’s job to judge the souls of the dead.
To this day, he remains a popular God regardless of his status of “God of the Underworld.” He is often portrayed in funeral bandages covering half his body, a representation of his death and resurrection, and sometimes with blue skin to represent that he was drowned in the Nile. He symbolizes creative forces of nature by spreading knowledge and life among humans, and an imperishability of life. He is also called “the benefactor of humanity” because he taught humans about agriculture and civilization. He has a scary side like all gods, but all things considered, Osiris is a pretty awesome god in all aspects.
I purposely left parts out of Osiris’s life to give readers a chance to search out more of his life and things that he has done. Research is the key to all pagan’s paths. So feel free to research Osiris and his legends and become a bit more acquainted with this God of the underworld.