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From ancient times to the Roman Empire, the sect of Osiris, the god of the afterlife, dominated Egyptian religious thinking. In many ways Osiris was a cultic improvement, transforming moral behavior and expanding religious experience.

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Transcript

Lead: From ancient times to the Roman Empire, the sect of Osiris, the god of the afterlife, dominated Egyptian religious thinking. In many ways Osiris was a cultic improvement, transforming moral behavior and expanding religious experience.

Intro.: A Moment in Time with Dan Roberts.

Content: Osiris is the Greek word for the Egyptian god Wsjr. He may have been an Egyptian ruler in the Old Kingdom which is measured from about 2700 BCE to 2200 BCE. The cultic lore described his transformation into a god after his brother, Seth, murdered him. Isis, the sister-wife of Osiris, tried to hide the body so that Seth could not find it and mutilate it. Seth found it anyway and hacked it to pieces throwing the severed remains into the Nile. Isis recovered the various parts of Osiris’ body and, with the help of Osiris’ other sister Nephthys and other gods, tried to sew it back together. This revivification failed and Osiris was banished to the underworld and became the god of the afterlife, and the Osiris cult was born.

Prior to this time only the wealthy and highborn had access to the afterlife by means of devotion to the sun-god Ra. Osiris offered burial and passage to all, wealthy and poor; thus his cult grew in popularity and began to transform Egyptian cultic life. The leaders of this cult, speaking for Osiris, proscribed a strict moral code which offered to the obedient the promise of eternal life.

Osiris was the gatekeeper, and to meet him the penitent would have to be mummified. His or her body had to be placed in a tomb with the name inscribed on it and with various burial equipment and materials, which included food and drink for the journey into death. After these preparations, the deceased would proceed to the Hall of Judgment where, under Osiris’ supervision, a panel of judges would evaluate the person’s life and his or her heart--preserved outside the mummy--would be weighed. If it were the same weight as an ostrich feather, the deceased would be admitted to perpetual happiness.

Research by Peggy Arthur-Christmas, at the University of Richmond, this is Dan Roberts.

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