Osiris and the Egyptian Religion

Although the Osiris story represents only one stream of a complex and multifaceted ancient Egyptian religion, the story is perhaps the Egyptian myth that most permeates later religions, alchemy, and the psychology of Carl Jung.

The cosmology in which Osiris originated was located at Heliopolis. There the followers of the creator god, Ra, first achieved the unification of upper and lower Egypt and set up a capital which remained the major theological and academic center through many dynasties.

The creation of the world in this cosmology began with the masturbation of Ra or Atum. From his seed Shu, the airs, and, his sister, Tefnut, the moisture, were created. They were the first couple. They, in turn, gave birth to Geb, the earth, and his sister, Nut, the sky. Geb and Nut bore Osiris, Isis, Set, and Nephthys. Osiris married his sister, Isis, and his younger brother, Set, their sister, Nephthys.

Osiris and Isis were the parents of Horus. In one version of the myth, Isis and Osiris fell...