Reflection of the Myth of Osiris in Ancient Egyptian Funerary Ceremonies

Myth in Ancient World 1
Myth in Ancient World
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Myth in Ancient World 2
Myth in Ancient World
Reflection of the Myth of Osiris in Ancient Egyptian Funerary Ceremonies
Osiris was a king in ancient Egypt. A person known as Seth killed him and assumed
kinship. After killing Osiris, he disassembled his part of the body and put them in various
regions of Egypt (Johnston, 2008). The wife of Osiris, found the different parts of his
husband’s body and buried them. Due to this, the ancient Egyptians believed that the dead
king, Osiris, had been given another chance to live. After his burial, ancient Egyptians treated
him as the god of the underground. As a god of the underground, Osiris would judge people
after death. The judgement would be based on the deeds that one made while still alive. If
Osiris judged a person as righteous, they would have another chance to live in the
underground. It was worth noting that the phrase ‘giving another chance to live’ was not used
to mean resurrection. Even Osiris did not resurrect. It is used to mean that one will continue
living in the underground. After the death of Osiris, his son Horus fought with the throne of
Seth and assumed kingship (Faulkner, 1985). As evidenced by ancient texts from the
Egyptian pyramids, both kings and other people desired to have a death like that of Osiris so
that they can be restored back to life after death (Campbell, 2018).
Ancient Egyptian believed that they could emulate Osiris and receive restoration after
death by involving the myth of Osiris in their funerary rites (Goddio and Masson 2016). This
would happen by such practices as worshipping him and treating him as the most important
afterlife deity. The myth also influenced the belief that it is only righteous people will reach
the afterlife. Just as Horus and Osiris were judged to be in the right, the soul of the deceased
person had to be judged as righteous so that their death can be undone. As observed above,
undoing death does not mean resurrection but another chance to live in the underground after
the physical death. Since he died as a righteous person, he would judge the people who were

Myth in Ancient World 3
righteous to have the same fate as his. This fate is to live eternally in the underground. Osiris
therefore greatly shape the funerary ceremonies in the ancient Egypt. The myth made many
people aspire to be righteous so that they can receive the same fate as Osiris. In addition to
this, people would worship Osiris with the belief that such an act would increase their
chances of receiving the same fate as Osiris.
Evidence that Egyptians Believed That They Were Judged After Death
The ancient Egyptians held numerous beliefs when it comes to funerary ceremonies
and afterlife beliefs. Ancients texts reveal that the attitude that Egyptians had towards death
was influenced by the belief in immortality after life. They did not regard death as complete
loss of life. They regarded it as a temporary transition into afterlife. The journey to afterlife
was considered a tough one. One would pass through the underworld where there were
serpents with long knives and horrifying reptiles. After travelling through this region
successfully, the deceased would then come to the throne of judgement. To reach the judge,
one would pass through a total of seven gates. At each of these gates, the deceased would
have to cite a certain magic spell. If they were successful, they would come to the place of
judgement which was headed by Osiris.
After reaching the hall of judgement a ceremony known as weighing of the heart
would be carried out by the gods of the dead (Pinch, 2018). The ceremony would involve
judging the earthly deeds of the person to determine whether they were righteous or
otherwise. 42 gods would listen the case of the deceased who claimed to be innocent of any
crime against the gods and human order while they were on earth (Taylor, Antoine and
Vandenbeusch, 2014). The heart of the person was then weighed against a feather. If the
weight of the heart was equal to that of the feather, the person was justified by the goddess of