I. FROM THE PAPYRUS OF ANI. [Footnote: See _The Chapters of Coming Forth
by Day_, p. 3.]
"Homage to thee, O thou who hast come as Khepera, Khepera the creator
of the gods. Thou risest and thou shinest, and thou makest light to be
in thy mother Nut (_i.e._, the sky); thou art crowned king of the
gods. Thy mother Nut doeth an act of homage unto thee with both her
hands. The laud of Manu (_i.e._, the land where the sun sets)
receiveth thee with satisfaction, and the goddess Ma[=a]t embraceth
thee both, at morn and at eve. [Footnote: _i.e._, Ma[=a]t, the goddess
of law, order, regularity, and the like, maketh the sun to rise each
day in his appointed place and at his appointed time with absolute and
unfailing regularity.] Hail, all ye gods of the Temple of the Soul,
[Footnote: _i.e._, the soul referred to above in the account of the
creation; see p. 24.] who weigh heaven and earth in the balance, and
who provide divine food in abundance! Hail, Tatunen, thou One, thou
Creator of mankind and Maker of the substance of the gods of the south
and of the north, of the west and of the east! O come ye and acclaim
R[=a], the lord of heaven and the Creator of the gods, and adore ye
him in his beautiful form as he cometh in the morning in his divine
bark.
"O R[=a], those who dwell in the heights and those who dwell in the
depths adore thee. The god Thoth and the goddess Ma[=a]t have marked
out for thee [thy course] for each and every day. Thine enemy the
Serpent hath been given over to the fire, the serpent-fiend Sebau hath
fallen down headlong; his arms have been bound in chains, and thou
hast hacked off his legs; and the sons of impotent revolt shall
nevermore rise up against thee. The Temple of the Aged One [Footnote:
_i.e._, R[=a] of Heliopolis.] (_i.e._, R[=a]) keepeth festival, and
the voice of those who rejoice is in the mighty dwelling. The gods
exult when they see thy rising, O R[=a], and when thy beams flood the
world with light. The Majesty of the holy god goeth forth and
advanceth even unto the land of Manu; he maketh brilliant the earth at
his birth each day; he journeyeth on to the place where he was
yesterday."
II. FROM THE PAPYRUS OF HUNEFER. [Footnote: From the Papyrus of Hunefer
(Brit. Mus. No. 9901).]
"Homage to thee, O thou who art R[=a] when thou risest and Temu when
thou settest. Thou risest, thou risest, thou shinest, thou shinest, O
thou who art crowned king of the gods. Thou art the lord of heaven,
thou art the lord of earth; thou art the creator of those who dwell in
the heights, and of those who dwell in the depths. Thou art the One
God who came into being in the beginning of time. Thou didst create
the earth, thou didst fashion man, thou didst make the watery abyss of
the sky, thou didst form Hapi (_i.e._, the Nile), thou didst create
the great deep, and thou dost give life unto all that therein is. Thou
hast knit together the mountains, thou hast made mankind and the
beasts of the field to come into being, thou hast made the heavens and
the earth. Worshipped be thou whom the goddess Maat embraceth at morn
and at eve. Thou dost travel across the sky with thy heart swelling
with joy; the great deep of heaven is content thereat. The
serpent-fiend Nak [Footnote: A name of the Serpent of darkness which
R[=a] slew daily.] hath fallen, and his arms are cut off. The Sektet
[Footnote: The boat in which R[=a] sailed from noon to sunset.] boat
receiveth fair winds, and the heart of him that is in the shrine
thereof rejoiceth.
"Thou art crowned Prince of heaven, and thou art the One [dowered with
all sovereignty] who appearest in the sky. R[=a] is he who is true of
voice. [Footnote: _i.e._, whatsoever R[=a] commandeth taketh place
straightway; see the Chapter on the Judgment of the Dead, p. 110.]
Hail, thou divine youth, thou heir of everlastingness, thou
self-begotten One! Hail, thou who didst give thyself birth! Hail, One,
thou mighty being, of myriad forms and aspects, thou king of the
world, prince of Annu (Heliopolis), lord of eternity, and ruler of
everlastingness! The company of the gods rejoice when thou risest and
dost sail across the sky, O thou who art exalted in the Sektet boat."
"Homage to thee, O Amen-R[=a], [Footnote: On the god Amen, see the
chapter, "The Gods of the Egyptians."] who dost rest upon Maat;
[Footnote: _i.e._, "thy existence, and thy risings and settings are
ordered and defined by fixed, unchanging, and unalterable law."] thou
passest over heaven and every face seeth thee. Thou dost wax great as
thy Majesty doth advance, and thy rays are upon all faces. Thou art
unknown, and no tongue can declare thy likeness; thou thyself alone
[canst do this]. Thou art One... Men praise thee in thy name, and they
swear by thee, for thou art lord over them. Thou hearest with thine
ears, and thou seest with thine eyes. Millions of years have gone over
the world. I cannot tell the number of those through which thou hast
passed. Thy heart hath decreed a day of happiness in thy name of
'Traveller.' Thou dost pass over and dost travel through untold spaces
[requiring] millions and hundreds of thousands of years [to pass
over]; thou passest through them in peace, and thou steerest thy way
across the watery abyss to the place which thou lovest; this thou
doest in one little moment of time, and then thou dost sink down and
dost make an end of the hours."
III. FROM THE PAPYRUS OF ANI. [Footnote: Plate 20.]
The following beautiful composition, part hymn and part prayer, is of
exceptional interest.
"Hail, thou Disk, thou lord of rays, who risest on the horizon day by
day! Shine thou with thy beams of light upon the face of Osiris Ani,
who is true of voice; for he singeth hymns of praise unto thee at
dawn, and he maketh thee to set at eventide with words of adoration,
May the soul of Ani come forth with thee into heaven, may he go forth
in the M[=a]tet boat, may he come into port in the Sektet boat, and
may he cleave his path among the never-resting stars in the heavens.
"Osiris Ani, being in peace and triumph, adoreth his lord, the lord of
eternity, saying, 'Homage to thee, O Heru-Khuti (Harmachis), who art
the god Khepera, the self-created one; when thou risest on the horizon
and sheddest thy beams of light upon the lands of the North and of the
South, thou art beautiful, yea beautiful, and all the gods rejoice
when they behold thee, the king of heaven. The goddess Nebt-Unnut is
stablished upon thy head; and her uraei of the South and of the North
are upon thy brow; she taketh up her place before thee. The god. Thoth
is stablished in the bows of thy boat to destroy utterly all thy foes.
Those who are in the Tuat (underworld) come forth to meet thee, and
they bow low in homage as they come towards thee, to behold thy
beautiful form. And I have come before thee that I may be with thee to
behold thy Disk each day. May I not be shut up [in the tomb], may I
not be turned back, may the limbs of my body be made new again when I
view thy beauties, even as [are those of] all thy favoured ones,
because I am one of those who worshipped thee upon earth. May I come
unto the land of eternity, may I come even unto the everlasting land,
for behold, O my lord, this hast thou ordained for me.'
"'Homage to thee, O thou who risest in thy horizon as R[=a], thou
restest upon Ma[=a]t, [Footnote: _i.e._, unchanging and unalterable
law.] Thou passest over the sky, and every face watcheth thee and thy
course, for thou hast been hidden from their gaze. Thou dost show
thyself at dawn and at eventide day by day. The Sektet boat, wherein,
is thy Majesty, goeth forth with might; thy beams are upon [all]
faces; thy rays of red and yellow cannot be known, and thy bright
beams cannot be told. The lands of the gods and the eastern lands of
Punt [Footnote: _i.e._, the east and west coasts of the Red Sea, and
the north-east coast of Africa.] must be seen ere that which, is
hidden [in thee] may be measured. [Footnote: I am doubtful about the
meaning of this passage.] Alone and by thyself thou, dost manifest
thyself [when] thou comest into being above Nu. May I advance, even as
thou dost advance; may I never cease [to go forward], even as thy
Majesty ceaseth not [to go forward], even though it be for a moment;
for with strides dost thou in one brief moment pass over spaces which
[man] would need hundreds of thousand; yea, millions of years to pass
over; [this] thou doest, and then thou dost sink to rest. Thou puttest
an end to the hours of the night, and thou dost count them, even thou;
thou endest them in thine own appointed season, and the earth,
becometh light, Thou settest thyself before thy handiwork in the
likeness of R[=a]; thou risest in the horizon.'
"Osiris; the scribe Ani, declareth his praise of thee when thou
shinest, and when thou risest at dawn he crieth in his joy at thy
birth, saying:--
"'Thou art crowned with the majesty of thy beauties; thou mouldest thy
limbs as thou dost advance, and thou bringest them forth without
birth-pangs in the form of R[=a], as thou dost rise up in the
celestial height. Grant thou that I may come unto the heaven which is
everlasting, and unto the mountain where dwell thy favoured ones. May
I be joined unto those shining beings, holy and perfect, who are in
the underworld; and may I come forth with them to behold thy beauties
when thou shinest at eventide, and goest to thy mother Nut. Thou dost
place thyself in the west, and my hands adore [thee] when thou settest
as a living being. [Footnote: _i.e._, "because when thou settest thou
dost not die."] Behold, thou art the everlasting creator, and thou art
adored [as such when] thou settest in the heavens. I have given my
heart to thee without wavering, O thou who art mightier than the
gods.'
"A hymn of praise to thee, O thou who risest like unto gold, and who
dost flood the world with light on the day of thy birth. Thy mother
giveth thee birth, and straightway thou dost give light upon the path
of [thy] Disk, O thou great Light who shinest in the heavens. Thou
makest the generations of men to flourish through the Nile-flood, and
thou dost cause gladness to exist in all lands, and in, all cities,
and in all temples. Thou art glorious by reason of thy splendours, and
thou makest strong thy KA (_i.e._ Double) with, divine foods, O thou
mighty one of victories, thou Power of Powers, who dost make strong
thy throne against evil fiends--thou who art glorious in Majesty in
the Sektet boat, and most mighty in the [=A]tet [Footnote: The Sun's
evening and morning boats respectively.] boat!" This selection may be
fittingly closed by a short hymn [Footnote: From the Papyrus of Nekht
(Brit. Mus. No. 10,471).] which, though, of a later date, reproduces
in a brief form all the essentials of the longer hymns of the XVIIIth
dynasty (about B.C. 1700 to 1400).
"Homage to thee, O thou glorious Being, thou who art dowered [with all
sovereignty]. O Temu-Harma-chis, [Footnote: The evening and morning
sun respectively.] when thou risest in the horizon of heaven, a cry of
joy cometh forth, to thee from the mouth of all peoples, O thou
beautiful Being, thou dost renew thyself in thy season in the form of
the Disk within thy mother Hathor; [Footnote: Like Nut, a goddess of
the sky, but particularly of that portion of it in which the sun
rises.] therefore in every place every heart swelleth with joy at thy
rising for ever. The regions of the North and South come to thee with
homage, and send forth, acclamations at thy rising in the horizon of
heaven; thou illuminest the two lands with rays of turquoise light.
Hail, R[=a], thou who art R[=a]-Harmachis, thou divine man-child, heir
of eternity, self-begotten and self-born, king of the earth, prince of
the underworld, governor of the regions of Aukert (_i.e._ the
underworld)! Thou didst come forth, from the water, thou hast sprung
from the god Nu, who cherisheth thee and ordereth thy members. Hail,
god of life, thou lord of love, all men live when thou shinest; thou
art crowned king of the gods. The goddess Nut doeth homage unto thee,
and the goddess Ma[=a]t embraceth thee at all times. Those who are in
thy following sing unto thee with joy and bow down their foreheads to
the earth when they meet thee, thou lord of heaven, thou lord of
earth, thou king of Right and Truth, thou lord of eternity, thou
prince of everlastingness, thou sovereign of all the gods, thou god of
life, thou creator of eternity, thou maker of heaven, wherein thou art
firmly established. The company of the gods rejoice at thy rising, the
earth is glad when it beholdeth thy rays; the peoples that have been
long dead come forth with cries of joy to see thy beauties every day.
Thou goest forth each day over heaven and earth, and art made strong
each day by thy mother Nut. Thou passest through the heights of
heaven, thy heart swelleth with joy; the abyss of the sky is content
thereat. The Serpent-fiend hath fallen, his arms are hewn off, and the
knife hath cut asunder his joints, R[=a] liveth in Ma[=a]t the
beautiful. The Sektet boat draweth on and cometh into port; the South
and the North, the West and the East, turn, to praise thee, O thou
primeval substance of the earth who didst come into being of thine own
accord, Isis and Nephthys salute thee, they sing unto thee songs of
joy at thy rising in the boat, they protect thee with their hands. The
souls of the East follow thee, the souls of the West praise thee. Thou
art the ruler of all the gods, and thou hast joy of heart within thy
shrine; for the Serpent-fiend Nak hath been condemned to the fire, and
thy heart shall be joyful for ever."
From the considerations set forth in the preceding pages, and from the
extracts from religious texts of various periods, and from the hymns
quoted, the reader may himself judge the views which the ancient
Egyptian held concerning God Almighty and his visible type and symbol
R[=a], the Sun-god. Egyptologists differ in their interpretations of
certain passages, but agree as to general facts. In dealing with the
facts it cannot be too clearly understood that the religious ideas of
the prehistoric Egyptian were very different from those of the cultured
priest of Memphis in the IInd dynasty, or those of the worshippers of
Temu or Atum, the god of the setting sun, in the IVth dynasty. The
editors of religious texts of all periods have retained many grossly
superstitious and coarse beliefs, which they knew well to be the
products of the imaginations of their savage, or semi-savage ancestors,
not because they themselves believed in them, or thought that the laity
to whom they ministered would accept them, but because of their
reverence for inherited traditions. The followers of every great
religion in the world have never wholly shaken off all the superstitions
which they have in all generations inherited from their ancestors; and
what is true of the peoples of the past is true, in a degree, of the
peoples of to-day. In the East the older the ideas, and beliefs, and
traditions, are, the more sacred they become; but this has not prevented
men there from developing high moral and spiritual conceptions and
continuing to believe in them, and among such must be counted the One,
self-begotten, and self-existent God whom the Egyptians worshipped.
CHAPTER II.
OSIRIS THE GOD OF THE RESURRECTION.
The Egyptians of every period in which they are known to us believed
that Osiris was of divine origin, that he suffered death and mutilation
at the hands of the powers of evil, that after a great struggle with
these powers he rose again, that he became henceforth the king of the
underworld and judge of the dead, and that because he had conquered
death the righteous also might conquer death; and they raised Osiris to
such an exalted position in heaven that he became the equal and, in
certain cases, the superior of R[=a], the Sun-god, and ascribed to him
the attributes which belong unto God. However far back we go, we find
that these views about Osiris are assumed to be known to the reader of
religious texts and accepted by him, and in the earliest funeral book
the position of Osiris in respect of the other gods is identical with
that which he is made to hold in the latest copies of the Book of the
Dead. The first writers of the ancient hieroglyphic funeral texts and
their later editors have assumed so completely that the history of
Osiris was known unto all men, that none of them, as far as we know,
thought it necessary to write down a connected narrative of the life and
sufferings upon earth of this god, or if they did, it has not come down
to us. Even in the Vth dynasty we find Osiris and the gods of his cycle,
or company, occupying a peculiar and special place in the compositions
written for the benefit of the dead, and the stone and other monuments
which belong to still earlier periods mention ceremonies the performance
of which assumed the substantial accuracy of the history of Osiris as
made known to us by later writers. But we have a connected history of
Osiris which, though not written in Egyptian, contains so much that is
of Egyptian origin that we may be sure that its author drew his
information from Egyptian sources: I refer to the work, _De Iside et
Osiride_, of the Greek writer, Plutarch, who flourished about the middle
of the first century of our era. In it, unfortunately, Plutarch
identifies certain of the Egyptian gods with the gods of the Greeks, and
he adds a number of statements which rest either upon his own
imagination, or are the results of misinformation. The translation
[Footnote: _Plutarchi de Iside et Osirids liber: Graece et Anglice_. By
S. Squire, Cambridge, 1744.] by Squire runs as follows:--
"Rhea, [Footnote: _i.e._, Nut.] say they, having accompanied Saturn
[Footnote: _i.e._, Seb.] by stealth, was discovered by the Sun,
[Footnote: _i.e._, R[=a].] who hereupon denounced a curse upon her,
'that she should not he delivered in any month or year'--Mercury,
however, being likewise in love with the same goddess, in recompense
of the favours which he had received from her, plays at tables with
the Moon, and wins from her the seventieth part of each of her
illuminations; these several parts, mating in the whole five days, he
afterwards joined together, and added to the three hundred and sixty,
of which the year formerly consisted, which days therefore are even
yet called by the Egyptians the Epact or superadded, and observed by
them as the birthdays of their gods. For upon the first of them, say
they, was OSIRIS born, just at whose entrance into the world a voice
was heard, saying, 'The lord of all the earth is born.' There are some
indeed who relate this circumstance in a different manner, as that a
certain person, named Pamyles, as he was fetching water from the
temple of Jupiter at Thebes, heard a voice commanding him to proclaim
aloud that 'the good and great king Osiris was then born'; and that
for this reason Saturn committed the education of the child to him,
and that in memory of this event the Pamylia were afterwards
instituted, a festival much resembling the Phalliphoria or Priapeia of
the Greeks. Upon the second of these days was AROUERIS [Footnote:
_i.e._, Hera-ur, "Horus the Elder."] born, whom some call Apollo, and
others distinguish by the name of the elder Orus. Upon the third Typho
[Footnote: _i.e._, Set.] came into the world, being born neither at
the proper time, nor by the proper place, but forcing his way through
a wound which he had made in his mother's side. ISIS was born upon the
fourth of them in the marshes of Egypt, as NEPTHYS was upon the last,
whom some call Teleute and Aphrodite, and others Nike--Now as to the
fathers of these children, the two first of them are said to have been
begotten by the Sun, Isis by Mercury, Typho and Nepthys by Saturn; and
accordingly, the third of these superadded days, because it was looked
upon as the birthday of Typho, was regarded by the kings as
inauspicious, and consequently they neither transacted any business on
it, or even suffered themselves to take any refreshment until the
evening. They further add, that Typho married Nepthys; and that Isis
and Osiris, having a mutual affection, loved each other in their
mother's womb before they were born, and that from this commerce
sprang Aroueris, whom the Egyptians likewise call the elder Orus, and
the Greeks Apollo.
"Osiris, being now become king of Egypt, applied himself towards
civilizing his countrymen, by turning them from their former indigent
and barbarous course of life; he moreover taught them how to cultivate
and improve the fruits of the earth; he gave them a body of laws to
regulate their conduct by, and instructed them in that reverence and
worship which they were to pay to the gods. With the same good
disposition he afterwards travelled over the rest of the world
inducing the people everywhere to submit to his discipline; not indeed
compelling them by force of arms, but persuading them to yield to the
strength of his reasons, which were conveyed to them in the most
agreeable manner, in hymns and songs, accompanied by instruments of
music: from which last circumstance the Greeks conclude him to have
been the same with their Dionysius or Bacchus--During Osiris' absence
from his kingdom, Typho had no opportunity of making any innovations
in the state, Isis being extremely vigilant in the government, and
always upon her guard. After his return, however, having first
persuaded seventy-two other persons to join with him in the
conspiracy, together with a certain queen of Ethiopia named Aso, who
chanced to be in Egypt at that time, he contrived a proper stratagem
to execute his base designs. For having privily taken the measure of
Osiris' body, he caused a chest to be made exactly of the same size
with it, as beautiful as may be, and set off with all the ornaments of
art. This chest he brought into his banqueting-room; where, after it
had been much admired by all who were present, Typho, as it were in
jest, promised to give it to any one of them whose body upon trial it
might be found to fit. Upon this the whole company one after another,
go into it; but as it did not fit any of them, last of all Osiris lays
himself down in it, upon which the conspirators immediately ran
together, clapped the cover upon it, and then fastened it down on the
outside with nails, pouring likewise melted lead over it. After this
they carried it away to the river side, and conveyed it to the sea by
the Tanaitic mouth of the Nile; which, for this reason, is still held
in the utmost abomination by the Egyptians, and never named by them
but with proper marks of detestation. These things, say they, were
thus executed upon the 17th [Footnote: In the Egyptian calendar this
day was marked triply unlucky.] day of the month Athyr, when the sun
was in Scorpio, in the 28th year of Osiris' reign; though there are
others who tell us that he was no more than 28 years old at this time.
"The first who knew the accident which had befallen their king were
the Pans and Satyrs who inhabited the country about Chemmis
(Panopolis); and they immediately acquainting the people with the news
gave the first occasion to the name Panic Terrors, which has ever
since been made use of to signify any sudden affright or amazement of
a multitude. As to Isis, as soon as the report reached her she
immediately cut off one of the locks of her hair, [Footnote: The hair
cut off as a sign of mourning was usually laid in the tomb of the
dead.] and put on mourning apparel upon the very spot where she then
happened to be, which accordingly from this accident has ever since
been called Koptis, or _the city of mourning_, though some are of
opinion that this word rather signifies _deprivation_. After this she
wandered everywhere about the country full of disquietude and
perplexity in search, of the chest, inquiring of every person she met
with, even, of some children whom she chanced to see, whether they
knew what was become of it. Now it happened that these children had
seen what Typho's accomplices had done with the body, and accordingly
acquainted her by what mouth of the Nile it had been conveyed into the
sea--For this reason therefore the Egyptians look upon children as
endued with a kind of faculty of divining, and in consequence of this
notion are very curious in observing the accidental prattle which they
have with one another whilst they are at play (especially if it be in
a sacred place), forming omens and presages from it--Isis, during this
interval, having been informed that Osiris, deceived by her sister
Nepthys who was in love with him, had unwittingly united with her
instead of herself, as she concluded from the melilot-garland,
[Footnote: _i.e._, a wreath of clover.] which he had left with her,
made it her business likewise to search out the child, the fruit of
this unlawful commerce (for her sister, dreading the anger of her
husband Typho, had exposed it as soon as it was born), and
accordingly, after much pains and difficulty, by means of some dogs
that conducted her to the place where it was, she found it and bred it
up; so that in process of time it became her constant guard and
attendant, and from hence obtained the name of Anubis, being thought
to watch and guard the gods, as dogs do mankind.
"At length she receives more particular news of the chest, that it had
been carried by the waves of the sea to the coast of Byblos,
[Footnote: Not the Byblos of Syria (Jebel) but the papyrus swamps of
the Delta.] and there gently lodged in the branches of a bush of
Tamarisk, which, in a short time, had shot up into a large and
beautiful tree, growing round the chest and enclosing it on every
side, so that it was not to be seen; and farther, that the king of the
country, amazed at its unusual size, had cut the tree down, and made
that part of the trunk wherein the chest was concealed, a pillar to
support; the roof of his house. These things, say they, being made
known to Isis in an extraordinary manner by the report of Demons, sue
immediately went to Byblos; where, setting herself down by the side of
a fountain, she refused to speak to anybody, excepting only to the
queen's women who chanced to be there; these indeed she saluted and
caressed in the kindest manner possible, plaiting their hair for them,
and transmitting into them part of that wonderfully grateful odour
which issued from her own body. This raised a great desire in the
queen their mistress to see the stranger who had this admirable
faculty of transfusing so fragrant a smell from herself into the hair
and skin of other people. She therefore sent for her to court, and,
after a further acquaintance with her, made her nurse to one of her
sons. Now the name of the king who reigned at this time at Byblos, was
Meloarthus, as that of his queen was Astarte, or, according to others,
Saosis, though some call her Nemanoun, which answers to the Greek name
Athenais.
"Isis fed the child by giving it her finger to suck instead of the
breast; she likewise put him every night into the fire in order to
consume his mortal part, whilst transforming herself into a swallow,
she hovered round the pillar and bemoaned her sad fate. Thus continued
she to do for some time, till the queen, who stood watching her,
observing the child to be all in a flame, cryed out, and thereby
deprived him of that immortality which would otherwise have been
conferred upon him. The Goddess upon this, discovering herself,
requested that the pillar, which supported the roof, might be given
her; which she accordingly took down, and then easily cutting it open,
after she had taken, out what she wanted, she wrapped up the remainder
of the trunk in fine linnen, and pouring perfumed oil upon it,
delivered it again into the hands of the king and queen (which piece
of wood is to this day preserved in the temple of Isis, and worshipped
by the people of Byblos). When this was done, she threw herself upon
the chest, making at the same time such a loud and terrible
lamentation over it, as frightened the younger of the king's sons, who
heard her, out of his life. But the elder of them she took with, her
and set sail with the chest for Egypt; and it being now about morning,
the river Phaedrus sending forth a rough and sharp air, she in her
anger dried up its current.
"No sooner was she arrived at a desart place, where she imagined
herself to be alone, but she presently opened the chest, and laying
her face upon her dead husband's, embraced his corpse, and wept
bitterly; but, perceiving that the little boy had silently stolen
behind her, and found out the occasion of her grief, she turned
herself about on the sudden, and in her anger gave him so fierce and
stern a look that he immediately died of the affright. Others indeed
say that his death did not happen in this manner, but, as was hinted
above, that he fell into the sea, and afterwards received the greatest
honours on account of the Goddess; for that the Maneros, [Footnote: A
son of the first Egyptian king, who died in his early youth; see
Herodotus, ii. 79.] whom the Egyptians so frequently call upon in
their banquets, is none other than this very boy. This relation is
again contradicted by such as tell us that the true name of the child
was Palaestinus, or Pelusius, and that the city of this name was built
by the Goddess in memory of him; adding farther, that the Maneros
above mentioned is thus honoured by the Egyptians at their feasts,
because he was the first who invented music. There are others, again,
who affirm that Maneros is not the name of any particular person, but
a mere customary form, and complimental manner of greeting made use of
by the Egyptians one towards another at their more solemn feasts and
banquets, meaning no more by it, than to wish, that what they were
then about might prove fortunate and happy to them, for that this is
the true import of the word. In like manner, say they, the human
skeleton, which at these times of jollity is carried about in a box,
and shewn to all the guests, is not designed, as some imagine, to
represent the particular misfortunes of Osiris, but rather to remind
them of their mortality, and thereby to excite them freely to make use
of and to enjoy the good things which are set before them, seeing they
must quickly become such as they there saw; and that this is the true
reason of introducing it at their banquets--but to proceed in the
narration.
"Isis intending a visit to her son Orus, who was brought up at Butus,
deposited the chest in the meanwhile in a remote and unfrequented
place: Typho however, as he was one night hunting by the light of the
moon, accidentally met with it; and knowing the body which was
enclosed in it, tore it into several pieces, fourteen, in all,
dispersing them up and down, in different parts of the country--Upon
being made acquainted with this event, Isis once more sets out in
search of the scattered fragments of her husband's body, making use of
a boat made of the reed Papyrus in order the more easily to pass thro'
the lower and fenny parts of the country--For which, reason, say they,
the crocodile never touches any persons, who sail in this sort of
vessels, as either fearing the anger of the goddess, or else
respecting it on account of its having once carried her. To this
occasion therefore is it to be imputed, that there are so many
different sepulchres of Osiris shewn, in Egypt; for we are told, that
wherever Isis met with any of the scattered limbs of her husband, she
there buried it. There are others however who contradict this
relation, and tell us, that this variety of Sepulchres was owing
rather to the policy of the queen, who, instead of the real body, as
was pretended, presented these several cities with the image only of
her husband: and that she did this, not only to render the honours,
which would by this means be paid to his memory, more extensive, but
likewise that she might hereby elude the malicious search of Typho;
who, if he got the better of Orus in the war wherein they were going
to be engaged, distracted by this multiplicity of Sepulchres, might
despair of being able to find the true one--we are told moreover, that
notwithstanding all her search, Isis was never able to recover the
member of Osiris, which having been thrown into the Nile immediately
upon its separation from the rest of the body, had been devoured by
the Lepidotus, the Phagrus, and the Oxyrynchus, fish which of all
others, for this reason, the Egyptians have in more especial
avoidance. In order however to make some amends for the loss, Isis
consecrated the Phallus made in imitation of it, and instituted a
solemn festival to its memory, which is even, to this day observed by
the Egyptians.
"After these things, Osiris returning from the other world, appeared
to his son Orus, encouraged him to the battle, and at the same time
instructed him in the exercise of arms. He then asked him, 'what he
thought was the moat glorious action a man could perform?' to which
Orua replied, 'to revenge the injuries offered to his father and
mother.' He then asked him, 'what animal he thought most serviceable
to a soldier?' and being answered 'a horse'; this raised the wonder of
Osiris, so that he farther questioned him, 'why he preferred a horse
before a lion?' because, adds Orus, 'tho' the lion be the more
serviceable creature to one who stands in need of help, yet is the
horse [Footnote: The horse does not appear to have been known in Egypt
before the XVIIIth dynasty; this portion of Plutarch's version of the
history of Osiris must, then, be later than B.C. 1500.] more useful in
overtaking and cutting off a flying adversary.' These replies much
rejoiced Osiris, as they showed him that his son was sufficiently
prepared for his enemy--We are moreover told, that among the great
numbers who were continually deserting from Typho's party was his
concubine Thueris, and that a serpent pursuing her as she was coming
over to Orus, was slain by her soldiers--the memory of which action,
say they, is still preserved in that cord which is thrown into the
midst of their assemblies, and then chopt into pieces--Afterwards it
came to a battle between, them which lasted many days; but victory at
length inclined to Orus, Typho himself being taken prisoner. Isis
however, to whose custody he was committed, was so far from putting
him to death, that she even loosed his bonds and set him at liberty.
This action of his mother so extremely incensed Orus, that he laid
hands upon her, and pulled off the ensign of royalty which she wore on
her head; and instead thereof Hermes clapt on an helmet made in the
shape of an oxe's head--After this, Typho publicly accused Orus of
bastardy; but by the assistance of Hermes (Thoth) his legitimacy was
fully established by the judgment of the Gods themselves--After this;
there were two other battles fought between them, in both of which
Typho had the worst. Furthermore, Isis is said to have accompanied
with Osiris after his death, and in consequence hereof to have brought
forth Harpocrates, who came into the world before his time, and lame
in his lower limbs."
When we examine this story by the light of the results of hieroglyphic
decipherment, we find that a large portion of it is substantiated by
Egyptian texts: _e.g._, Osiris was the son of Seb and Nut; the Epact is
known in the Calendars as "the five additional days of the year"; the
five gods, Osiris, Horus, Set, Isis, and Nephthys, were born on the days
mentioned by Plutarch; the 17th day of Athyr (Hathor) is marked as
triply unlucky in the Calendars; the wanderings and troubles of Isis are
described, and "lamentations" which she is supposed to have uttered are
found in the texts; lists of the shrines of Osiris are preserved in
several inscriptions; the avenging of his father by Horus is referred to
frequently in papyri and other documents; the conflict between Set and
Horus is described fully in a papyrus in the British Museum (No.
10,184); a hymn in the papyrus of Hunefer relates all that Thoth
performed for Osiris; and the begetting of Horus by Osiris after death
is mentioned in a hymn to Osiris dating from the XVIIIth dynasty in the
following passage:--
"Thy sister put forth her protecting power for thee, she scattered
abroad those who were her enemies, she drove away evil hap, she
pronounced mighty words of power, she made cunning her tongue, and her
words failed not. The glorious Isis was perfect in command and in
speech, and she avenged her brother. She sought him without ceasing,
she wandered round and round the earth uttering cries of pain, and she
rested (_or_ alighted) not until she had found him. She overshadowed
him with her feathers, she made air (_or_ wind) with her wings, and
she uttered cries at the burial of her brother. She raised up the
prostrate form of him whose heart was still, she took from him of his
essence, she conceived and brought forth a child, she suckled it in
secret, and none knew the place thereof; and the arm of the child hath
waxed strong in the great house of Seb. The company of the gods
rejoice, and are glad at the coming of Osiris's son Horus, and firm of
heart and triumphant is the son of Isis, the heir of Osiris."
[Footnote: This remarkable hymn was first made known by Chabas, who
published a translation of it, with notes, in _Revue Archeologique_,
Paris, 1857, t. xiv. p. 65 ff.]
[Illustration: 1. Isis suckling her child Horus in the papyrus swamps.
2. Thoth giving the emblem of magical protection to Isis. 3. Amen-R[=a]
presenting the symbol of "life" to Isis. 4. The goddess Nekhebet
presenting years, and life, stability, power, and sovereignty to the son
of Osiris. 5. The goddess Sati presenting periods of years, and life,
stability, power, and sovereignty to the son of Osiris.]
What form the details of the history of Osiris took in the early
dynasties it is impossible to say, and we know not whether Osiris was
the god of the resurrection to the predynastic or prehistoric Egyptians,
or whether that _role_ was attributed to him after Mena began to rule in
Egypt. There is, however, good reason for assuming that in the earliest
dynastic times he occupied the position of god and judge of those who
had risen from the dead by his help, for already in the IVth dynasty,
about B.C. 3800, king Mea-kau-R[=a] (the Mycerinus of the Greeks) is
identified with him, and on his coffin not only is he called "Osiris,
King of the South and North, Men-kau-R[=a], living for ever," but the
genealogy of Osiris is attributed to him, and he is declared to be "born
of heaven, offspring of Nut, flesh and bone of Seb." It is evident that
the priests of Heliopolis "edited" the religious texts copied and
multiplied in the College to suit their own views, but in the early
times when they began their work, the worship of Osiris was so
widespread, and the belief in him as the god of the resurrection so
deeply ingrained in the hearts of the Egyptians, that even in the
Heliopolitan system of theology Osiris and his cycle, or company of
gods, were made to hold a very prominent position. He represented to men
the idea of a man who was both god and man, and he typified to the
Egyptians in all ages the being who by reason of his sufferings and
death as a man could sympathize with them in their own sickness and
death. The idea of his human personality also satisfied their cravings
and yearnings for intercourse with a being who, though he was partly
divine, yet had much in common with themselves. Originally they looked
upon Osiris as a man who lived on the earth as they lived, who ate and
drank, who suffered a cruel death, who by the help of certain gods
triumphed over death, and attained unto everlasting life. But what
Osiris did they could do, and what the gods did for Osiris they must
also do for them, and as the gods brought about his resurrection so they
must bring about theirs, and as they made him the ruler of the
underworld so they must make them to enter his kingdom and to live there
as long as the god himself lived. Osiris, in some of his aspects, was
identified with the Nile, and with R[=a], and with several other "gods"
known to the Egyptians, but it was in his aspect as god of the
resurrection and of eternal life that he appealed to men in the valley
of the Nile; and for thousands of years men and women died believing
that, inasmuch as all that was done for Osiris would be done for them
symbolically, they like him would rise again, and inherit life
everlasting. However far back we trace religious ideas in Egypt, we
never approach a time when it can be said that there did not exist a
belief in the Resurrection, for everywhere it is assumed that Osiris
rose from the dead; sceptics must have existed, and they probably asked
their priests what the Corinthians asked Saint Paul, "How are the dead
raised up? and with what body do they come?" But beyond doubt the belief
in the Resurrection was accepted by the dominant classes in Egypt. The
ceremonies which the Egyptians performed with the view of assisting the
deceased to pass the ordeal of the judgment, and to overcome his enemies
in the next world, will be described elsewhere, as also will be the form
in which the dead were raised up; we therefore return to the theological
history of Osiris.
The centre and home of the worship of Osiris in Egypt under the early
dynasties was Abydos, where the head of the god was said to be buried.
It spread north and south in the course of time, and several large
cities claimed to possess one or other of the limbs of his body. The
various episodes in the life of the god were made the subject of solemn
representations in the temple, and little by little the performance of
the obligatory and non-obligatory services in connection with them
occupied, in certain temples, the greater part of the time of the
priests. The original ideas concerning the god were forgotten and new
ones grew up; from being the _example_ of a man who had risen from the
dead and had attained unto life everlasting, he became the _cause_ of
the resurrection of the dead; and the power to bestow eternal life upon
mortals was transferred from the gods to him. The alleged dismemberment
of Osiris was forgotten in the fact that he dwelt in a perfect body in
the underworld, and that, whether dismembered or not, he had become
after his death the father of Horus by Isis. As early as the XIIth
dynasty, about B.C. 2500, the worship of this god had become almost
universal, and a thousand years later Osiris had become a sort of
national god. The attributes of the great cosmic gods were ascribed to
him, and he appeared to man not only as the god and judge of the dead,
but also as the creator of the world and of all things in it. He who was
the son of R[=a] became the equal of his father, and he took his place
side by side with him in heaven.
We have an interesting proof of the identification of Osiris with R[=a]
in Chapter XVII. of the Book of the Dead. It will be remembered that
this Chapter consists of a series of what might almost be called
articles of faith, each of which is followed by one or more explanations
which represent one or more quite different opinions; the Chapter also
is accompanied by a series of Vignettes. In line 110 it is said, "I am
the soul which dwelleth in the two _tchafi_, [Footnote: _i.e._, the
souls of Osiris and R[=a].] What is this then? It is Osiris when he
goeth into Tattu (_i.e._, Busiris) and findeth there the soul of R[=a];
there the one god embraceth the other, and souls spring into being
within the two _tchafi_." In the Vignette which illustrates this passage
the souls of R[=a] and Osiris are seen in the forms of hawks standing on
a pylon, and facing each other in Tattu; the former has upon his head a
disk, and the latter, who is human-headed, the white crown. It is a
noticeable fact that even at his meeting with R[=a] the soul of Osiris
preserves the human face, the sign of his kinship with man.
Now Osiris became not only the equal of R[=a], but, in many respects, a
greater god than he. It is said, that from the nostrils of the head of
Osiris, which was buried at Abydos, came forth the scarabaeus [Footnote:
See von Berginaun in _Aeg Zeitschrift_, 1880, p. 88 ff.] which was at
once the emblem and type of the god Khepera, who caused all things to
come into being, and of the resurrection. In this manner Osiris became
the source and origin of gods, men, and things, and [Illustration: The
soul of R[=a] (1) meeting the soul of Osiris (2) in Tattu. The cat
(_i.e._, R[=a]) by the Persea tree (3) cutting off the head of the
serpent which typified night.] the manhood of the god was forgotten. The
next step was to ascribe to him the attributes of God, and in the
XVIIIth and XIXth dynasties he seems to have disputed the sovereignty of
the three companies of gods, that is to say of the trinity of trinities
of trinities, [Footnote: Each company of the gods contained three
trinities or triads.] with Amen-R[=a], who by this time was usually
called the "king of the gods." The ideas held concerning Osiris at this
period will best be judged by the following extracts from contemporary
hymns:--
"Glory [Footnote: See _Chapters of Coming Forth by Day_ (translation),
p. 11.] be to thee, O Osiris, Un-nefer, the great god within Abtu
(Abydos), king of eternity, lord of everlastingness, who passest
through millions of years in thy existence. The eldest son of the womb
of Nut, engendered by Seb the Ancestor [of the gods], lord of the
crowns of the South and of the North, lord of the lofty white crown;
as prince of gods and men he hath received the crook and the whip, and
the dignity of his divine fathers. Let thy heart, which dwelleth in
the mountain of Ament, be content, for thy son Horus is stablished
upon thy throne. Thou art crowned lord of Tattu (Busiris) and ruler in
Abydos."
"Praise [Footnote: _Ibid._, p. 34.] be unto thee, O Osiris, lord of
eternity, Un-nefer, Heru-Khuti (Harmachis) whose forms are manifold,
and whose attributes are great, who art Ptah-Seker-Tem in Annu
(Heliopolis), the lord of the hidden place, and the creator of
Het-ka-Ptah (Memphis) and of the gods [therein], the guide of the
underworld, whom [the gods] glorify when thou settest in Nut. Isis
embraceth thee in peace, and she driveth away the fiends from the
mouth of thy paths. Thou turnest thy face upon Amentet, and thou
makest the earth to shine as with refined copper. The dead rise up to
see thee, they breathe the air and they look upon thy face when the
disk riseth on its horizon; their hearts are at peace, inasmuch as
they behold thee, O thou who art eternity and everlastingness."
In the latter extract Osiris is identified with the great gods of
Heliopolis and Memphis, where shrines of the Sun-god existed in almost
pre-dynastic times, and finally is himself declared to be "eternity and
everlastingness"; thus the ideas of resurrection and immortality are
united in the same divine being. In the following Litany the process of
identification with the gods is continued:--
1. "Homage to thee, O thou who art the starry deities in Annu, and the
heavenly beings in Kher-aba; [Footnote: A district near Memphis.] thou
god Unti, [Footnote: A god who walks before the boat of the god, Af,
holding a star in each hand.] who art more glorious than the gods who
are hidden in Annu. O grant thou unto me a path whereon I may pass in
peace, for I am just and true; I have not spoken lies wittingly, nor
have I done aught with deceit."
2. "Homage to thee, O An in Antes, Harmachis; thou stridest over
heaven with, long strides, O Harmachis. O grant thou unto me a path,"
etc. [Footnote: This petition is only written once, but it is intended
to be repeated after each of the nine sections of the Litany.]
3. "Homage to thee, O soul of everlastingness, thou Soul who dwellest
in Tattu, Un-nefer, son of Nut; thou art lord of Akert (_i.e._, the
underworld). O grant thou unto me a path," etc.
4. "Homage to thee in thy dominion over Tattu; the Ureret crown is
stablished upon thy head; thou art the One who maketh the strength
which protecteth himself, and thou dwellest in peace in Tattu. O grant
thou unto me a path," etc.
5. "Homage to thee, O lord of the Acacia [Footnote: This tree was in
Heliopolis, and the Cat, _i.e._, the Sun, sat near it. (See p. 63).]
tree, the Seker boat [Footnote: The ceremony of setting the Seker boat
on its sledge was performed at dawn.] is set upon its sledge; thou
turnest back the Fiend, the worker of Evil, and thou causest the
Utchat (_i.e._, the Eye of Horus or R[=a]), to rest upon its seat. O
grant thou unto me a path," etc.
6. "Homage to thee, O thou who art mighty in thine hour, thou great
and mighty Prince, dweller in An-rut-f, [Footnote: The place where
nothing grows--the underworld.] lord of eternity and creator of
everlastingness, thou art the lord of Suten-henen _(_i.e._,
Heracleopolis Magna). O grant," etc.
7. "Homage to thee, O thou who restest upon Right and Truth, thou art
lord of Abydos, and thy limbs are joined unto Ta-tchesert (_i.e._, the
Holy Land, the underworld); thou art he to whom fraud and guile are
hateful. O grant," etc.
8. "Homage to thee, O thou who art within thy boat; thou bringest
H[=a]pi (_i.e._, the Nile) forth from his source; the light shineth
upon thy body, and thou art the dweller in Nekhen. O grant," etc.
9. "Homage to thee, O creator of the gods, thou king of the South and
of the North, O Osiris, victorious one, ruler of the world in thy
gracious seasons; thou art the lord of the celestial world. O grant,"
etc.
And, again: "R[=a] setteth as Osiris with all the diadems of the divine
spirits and of the gods of Amentet. He is the one divine form, the
hidden one of the Tuat, the holy Soul at the head of Amentet, Un-nefer,
whose duration of life is for ever and ever." [Footnote: See _Chapters
of Coming Forth by Day_, p. 334.] We have already referred to the help
which Thoth gave to Isis when he provided her with the words which
caused her dead husband to live again, but the best summary of the good
deeds which this god wrought for Osiris is contained in a hymn in the
_Papyrus of Hunefer_, [Footnote: _Ibid_., p. 343.] where the deceased
is made to say:-- |
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