Isis And Osiris Religion

In ancient Egyptian civilisation, religion was heavily embedded in ritualistic performances.

There have been numerous amounts of archaeological discoveries that suggest, the ordinary life of an ancient Egyptian was in parallel of a belief, that there was a life after death they should thrive for. Isis and Osiris originated as a myth and although there is no exact timeline where we can pin point its beginning, there have been some fragments of the tale written in the Pyramid of Teti and walls of burial tombs which date back sometime around the Old

Kingdom of Egypt (Dynasties III- VI) circa 2778-2300 B.C. It revisits once again around the

Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI-XIII) circa 2065-1785 B.C., in the Ramesseum Dramatic

Papyrus (Egyptian Passion

Perhaps the mentioned afterlife of Osiris in the Pyramids of Teti they may have come across, had been something the kings felt reassuring, as they had hoped the importance of their status in the physical world wouldn’t just decay in a tomb, but instead they could achieve an eternal life where the soul would keep governing the underworld. As previously mentioned, the Pyramids of Teti were one source, where the tale had been publicly displayed with carvings, regarding the afterlife and it was once a temple dedicated to Anubis, God of the dead before passing the title to Osiris. Ritual performances during this period were mainly consisted of funerary nature practice. The time and resources that had been gone into finding specific materials for the rituals, with some of the supplies being gold to be buried in the tomb alongside the corpse, we understand that we also have at our disposal, a collection of “some Egyptian paintings have been found to represent scantily clad girls who danced to music played by seated musicians” (A short history of ancient theatre, 2016) that shows us the types of preparations that had taken place. If the ritual was performed how the carvings of the play had been instructed, then the soul of

During the New Kingdom, the

Book of the Dead which was “a collection of spells which enable the soul of the deceased to navigate the afterlife. They were created specifically for each individual who could afford to purchase one as a kind of manual to help them after death.” (Ancient History Encyclopedia,

2016) Since Osiris had taken a major role in the soul’s after life, in the Book of the Dead, Spell

125 is the examination of the soul’s actions in the Hall of Truth by Osiris, and “it was vital that the soul pass the test of the weighing of the heart in order to gain paradise, knowing what to say and how to act before Osiris” (Ancient History Encyclopedia, 2016). Although Amun, King of the Gods, became the pantheon of ancient Egypt during this era and he “is described as the primeval creator in the Pyramid Texts which depict him as a primeval deity and a symbol of creative force. However, he rose to prominence during the Eleventh dynasty when he replaced the Theban war god, Montu, as the principle deity of the city” (Gods of