| Osiris | |
|---|---|
 | |
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Other Names |
Osiris, Asar, Ausar, Ausir, Wesir, Usir, or Usire |
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First Appearance |
Egyptian Myth |
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Created by |
Egyptian Myth |
Origin[]
Osiris is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was classically depicted as a green-skinned deity with a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, wearing a distinctive atef crown, and holding a symbolic crook and flail. He was one of the first to be associated with the mummy wrap. When his brother Set cut him up into pieces after killing him, Osiris' wife Isis found all the pieces and wrapped his body up, enabling him to return to life.
Osiris was at times considered the eldest son of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut, as well as being brother and husband of Isis, and brother of Set, Nephthys, and Horus the Elder, with Horus the Younger being considered his posthumously begotten son. Through syncretism with Iah, he was also a god of the Moon.
Osiris was the judge and lord of the dead and the underworld, the "Lord of Silence" and Khenti-Amentiu, meaning "Foremost of the Westerners". In the Old Kingdom (2686–2181 BC) the pharaoh was considered a son of the sun god Ra who, after his death, ascended to join Ra in the sky. After the spread of the Osiris cult, however, the kings of Egypt were associated with Osiris in death – as Osiris rose from the dead, they would unite with him and inherit eternal life through imitative magic.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All appearances of Osiris published before Jan. 1, 1929 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- The Contendings of Horus and Seth
- Pyramid Texts
- Legends of the Gods (1912)
- A History of Art in Ancient Egypt, Vol. 1-2 (1883)
- Myths and Legends of Ancient Egypt by Lewis Spence (1915)
- The Gods of the Egyptians; or, Studies in Egyptian Mythology (1904)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Web of Mystery #3: In the story The Persevering Mummy, a mummy comes alive in an American museum. Dramid cheated Egyptian death-god Osiris for 5.500 years and walks the earth again. Police cannot stop him. A mysterious stranger comes to help, disrobes and reveals himself to be Osiris - claiming Dramid for the realm of the dead.
- The Beyond #28: Reprints the story The Persevering Mummy from Web of Mystery #3.
- Whiz Comics #16: After the villainous sorcerer Trug summoned a storm demon to kill Ibis and Thalia, Ibis summons the Egyptian god Osiris to stop the storm demon.
- Kid Eternity #4: Featured a Text Story entitled the Grotto of Osiris.