THE DEITIES OSIRIS (god) - Osiris is one of the earliest Egyptian gods. He was the god of the dead and the afterlife with re-birth/resurrection and fertility. Osiris was usually depicted as a mummy, with his hands poking through the wrappings to enable him to hold the crook and flail. On his head he wore the "atef-crown" which is made up of the tall "white crown", with two plumes, one on either side. he was also sometimes depicted with horns of a ram. His skin could be shown as three different colours;green which represented fertility and resurrection, black representing the rich, fertile black Nile silt or white, the colour of the mummy wrappings. An illustration of Osiris. Courtesy of NEFERCHICHI`S TOMB at http://www.neferchichi.com In his oldest form Osiris was seen as a fertility god who ensured that the crops grew well. He was also linked with the "inundation" of the Nile", which was essential for any crops to grow. An emblem closely related to Osiris is the "djed-pillar", which is a symbol of stability. It was thought to represent Osiris`s backbone. This symbol was particularly associated with one of Osiris`s cult centres, Busiris (ancient Djedu) in the Delta region. Abydos (ancient Abdjw) was his main southern cult centre. here Osiris was worshipped along with his sister-wife, the goddess Isis and their son, Horus. During the "New Kingdom" (c 1550 - 1069 BC) it was claimed that Osiris was buried at Abydos, in a tomb which is now known to be that of the 1st Dynasty King Djer (c 3000 BC). Abydos became the centre for pilgrims to visit.There is a chapel dedicated to Osiris in Sety I `s temple (1294 - 1279 BC) and another temple known as the "Osireion" built by Merenptah (c 1213 - 1203 BC) at Abydos. Osiris was known by a number of titles or epithets. One of these is, "Wennefer" which means "eternally good" or "eternally incorruptible". He was not thought to suffer any decay in death. Osiris was also called, "chief of the westerners", a title originally owned by an earlier god of the dead from Abydos, the jackal headed Khentimentiu. Osiris also held the title, "he who dwells in Heliopolis", which linked him to the sun-god Ra. Osiris was named as one of the original nine gods of the Heliopolitan creation myth. This relationship was first seen in the fifth dynasty Pyramid Texts (funerary texts written on the inside walls of some pyramids). He was also assimilated with two other funerary deities from Memphis, the creator-god Ptah and the hawk-headed god Sokar. Together they formed the funerary god, Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. The deceased king of Egypt became identified with Osiris by the 5th dynasty (c 2494 - 2345 BC) and his successor, the living king was associated with Osiris`s son, Horus. During the First Intermediate Period (c 2181 - 2055 BC) a democratization of funerary beliefs has occured and all deceased began to be associated with Osiris, not only the king. Osiris was sometimes thought of as the "ba" of the sun-god, Ra and was then the "night-sun" or the "moon". The goddesses Isis and Nephthys were then thought to greet the newborn sun each morning, representing the resurrection of the god. There are many myths associated with Osiris throughout the course of egyptian history. From the "Old Kingdom" it was believed that Osiris had been drowned and his sister-wife, Isis had recovered his body. By the "Middle Kingdom" it was said that Osiris`s death was at the hand of his wicked brother, Seth. The deceased were closely linked with Osiris by the "New Kingdom" in many funerary texts. Inside the temple of Sety I at Abydos are illustrations of various aspects of the life and myths of Osiris. The conception of Isis by Osiris is depicted leading to the birth of their son, Horus and the events of Horus`s life in his attempts to avenge his father`s death. Picture of a statue of Osiris. With kind permission from Kings Royal Imports at http://www.kingsroyalimports.com/ An annual festival took place at Abydos involving a procession of Osiris`s barque (neshmet) which followed the jackal-god, Wepwawet. Throughout the procession various scenes od Osiris`s life and his triumphs over evil were enacted. the god would then return to his sanctuary at the temple. The Greek historian Plutarch wrote an account of the legend of Osiris. Some of the information has been confirmed from Egyptian sources, although not all. Plutarch said that Osiris was a good earthly king who was a fair ruler. His brother, Seth, became jealous of Osiris and had a wonderful casket made that would perfectly fit his brother, Osiris. Seth then organized a feast to which Osiris was invited along with many of Seth`s accomplices. The casket was brought into the room during the feat and Seth said that whoever it fitted perfectly could have it as a gift. When Osiris got into the coffin he was locked inside it and the lid sealed. The coffin containing Osiris`s body was then thrown into the Nile, where it drifted to Byblos and became stuck by a cedar tree. The casket was eventually found by Isis who rescued it and returned to Egypt. She is then said to have hidden it in the marshes before she could give Osiris a proper burial. According to Plutarch`s account, her son Horus was already born at this time, and it was while Isis was caring for her son that Seth found the casket. He cut Osiris`s body into pieces and scattered them throughout Egypt. Different accounts mention different figures ranging from 14 to 42 pieces into which Osiris was cut. Isis is then said to have looked for all of these pieces and buried each piece where it was found. Osiris`s phallus had been eaten by a Nile Carp (Lepidotus), the Phagrus and the Oxyrynchus fish, so an artificial penis was made. However in other Egyptian versions of the story, the different parts of Osiris`s body were collected by Isis and put together to form the first mummy and she then magically conceived their son, Horus. Later Horus avenged his father`s death throughout a number of contests fought with his uncle Seth. These are known as the "Contendings of Horus and Seth". This struggle is said to have gone on for 80 years, when eventually Osiris was named the ruler of the underworld and Horus was the ruler of the living. Seth was left to rule over the deserts and became known as the god of chaos and evil. PTAH (god) - Ptah was seen as a creator god and was the chief deity of Memphis. He was depicted as a mummy, with his hands outside of the wrappings, allowing him to hold a staff that combined the "was"-sceptre of power, the "djed"-pillar of stability and the "ankh"-sign for life. He had a shaven head and wore a skullcap, with his ears uncovered. He began to be shown with a straight beard from the Middle Kingdom (2686 - 2181 BC) onwards. Illustration of Ptah, courtesy of Lyn at IMMORTAL EGYPT at:- http://www.geocities.com/lin_hensby/Index.html Ptah was worshipped as part of a triad at Memphis, with his consort Sekhmet, the lioness-goddess and the lotus god, Nefertem. The deified architect of Djoser`s Step Pyramid complex at Saqqara, later became regarded as the son of Ptah, but was not a member of the Memphite triad. Ptah was seen as the patron god of craftsmen and was especially revered at Deir el-Medina, the village where the craftsmen who built the tombs in the Valley of the Kings lived. The High Priest of the cult of Ptah at Memphis held the title, "wer kherep hemw" which means "great over-seer" or "supreme leader" of craftsmen. Ptah is said to have created the world by thoughts from his heart and words from his tongue. He was also believed to have created the "opening of the mouth ceremony". According to Memphite theology Ptah gave birth to the sun-god, Ra. During the Old Kingdom (c 2686 - 2181 BC) Ptah merged with another Memphite deity, the hawk-god Sokar. This created the funerary god, Ptak-Sokar. This combined deity was later merged with Osiris, the god of the dead, creating Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. Wooden, mummiform, hawk-headed figures of this deity were often included in the funerary equipment of private people during the Late Period. Throughout Pharaonic Egypt the temple at Memphis was continually expanded and other temples at Karnak, Abu Simbel and Gerf Husein were built dedicated to Ptah. RA / RE (god) - Ra was the Heliopolitan sun-god. His main cult centre was at Heliopolis (ancient Iunu), which is now covered by northern Cairo. In the 4th dynasty (c 2613 - 2494 BC) the king Djedefra (c 2566 - 2558 BC) included the title / epithet, "sa RA" ("son of Ra") as one of the king`s five names. A particular type of obelisk called a "benben" was the focal point of Ra`s cult. In the 5th dynasty many sun temples were built dedicated to Ra which included these benben stones. Ra was depicted as a human with a hawk`s head or ram`s head, wearing a sun-disc headdress. Ra was believed to travel across the sky during the day and in his solar-barque through the underworld in the hours of darkness. In a different myth, Ra is thought to be swallowed by the goddess Nut each night and is reborn in the morning. Illustration of Ra, courtesy of Lyn at IMMORTAL EGYPT at:- http://www.geocities.com/lin_hensby/Index.html Ra was merged with many other deities during Pharaonic times. He merged with Amun, becoming Amun-Ra, and with Horus he merged to become Ra-Horakhty ("Horus of the two horizons"). When Ra merged with Montu they became Montu-Ra. When Ra joined with Atum, they created the deity Atum-Ra. During the New Kingdom (c 1550 - 1069 BC) a text called the "Litany of Ra" was inscribed on the walls of some of the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings. In this text Ra is identified with Osiris, the god of the underworld. The sun-god in the form of the sun-disc, Aten, became the primary god worshipped by the king Akhenaten (1352 - 1336 BC) replacing Ra-Horakhty and Amun-Ra. RENENUTET (goddess) - She was depicted as either a cobra or a woman with a cobra`s head. She was also sometimes shown nursing a child. Her name means, "the nourishing snake". She was believed to be the protector of the king and a goddess of fertility. Illustration of Renenutet, courtesy of Lyn at IMMORTAL EGYPT at:- http://www.geocities.com/lin_hensby/Index.html During the Old Kingdom (c 2686 - 2181 BC) Renenutet merged with Wadjyt to form a fire-breathing cobra who protected the king in the underworld. Renenutet was also thought to be the protectress of the linen clothing that the king wore, which was believed to send fear to his enemies in the afterlife. She has also been linked with mummy bandages. Renenutet was thought responsible for ensuring a good harvest. She was known as the "lady of the fertile fields" and "lady of granaries". Her main cult centre was at Dja, (Medinet Maadi) in the Fayum. She was linked with the gods Sobek and Horus too. Renenutet was also linked with a young Osiris. In the Book of the Dead, she is thought to be the mother of Horus, whose father was then said to be Atum.