Akhet - The Horizon

Fading Power

The powers that built the solar temples of the 5th dynasty and the pyramids of the 6th dynasty weakened towards the end of the Old Kingdom, perhaps as a result of eroding economics, leaving the King less than divine. The power passed over into the hands of the nobles whose tombs now were larger and more elaborately decorated than the royalty's. The state cult was that of the sun-god Re at Heliopolis, whose priesthood and temples became more and more wealthy and powerful. When, by the end of the 6th dynasty, Egypt was threatened by external forces, the decline was inevitable.

When the divinity of the king was disputed due to the collapse of royal authority, a gradual process of democratization of religious and funerary beliefs began. The nobles now claimed to have the right to individual immortality, something which hitherto had been the king's prerogative. In time everyone hoped for 'Eternal Life'. This coincided with, or gave cause for, the rise of the cult of Osiris, something which seemed to have begun in the 6th Dynasty. After that there seem to have been a period of great inner turmoil, which was only broken by a line of princes from Waset (Thebes). sourecs from this period are scant and difficult to interprete but when Mentuhotep I managed to reunite Egypt again, after a period of weak rulers, the country moved towards a new era.

The Middle Kingdom

During the dynasties 10, 11 and 12, unity and order was slowly reinstated and temples which had been destroyed due to neglect were restored and improved. At this time the state cult of Re was replaced with not only the cult of Osiris but also other deities important to the new kings:

At Thebes in dynasty 11 the falcon-headed Montu became a main deity, although his cult center and origin probably was at Hermonthis.

During the 12th dynasty the local deity Amun became the state god in Thebes under the reign of Amenemhet I and the temple to Amun at Karnak began to be developed into one of the greatest religious centers in Egypt. It is believed that at the same time the temple to Amun´s consort Mut was founded. This too was the work of Amenemhet I whose son Senwosret I built an exquisite shrine at Karnak, (the White Chapel), intended for the bark of Amun to rest at during festivals and processions. Other temples which were built or elaborated on were the temple of Ptah at Memphis, Hathor at Dendera, Re-Atum at Heliopolis, Min at Koptos and Osiris at Abydos.

The Cult of Osiris

When the Old Kingdom collapsed and ordinary man could no longer rely on the state and the divinity of the king, they began to look elsewhere for security in life and ways to immortality. And an obvious choice was Osiris, whom hitherto had been a target of worship only for the king.

Origins

The name Osiris is the Greek form of the hieroglyph 'Wesir' or Wsr', which is thought to mean 'He who is strong', but no definite conclusion has been reached. It is also thought to mean 'the place of the eye'. His origins are unclear, what seems certain is that he was a fertility god from the beginning, personifying the regrowth of vegetation. Besides being the ruler of the underworld, in his capacity as a vegetation god he was also regarded a corn-deity, with association to an early corn-god Neper and connects to other Near Eastern deities like Adonis, Dionysos, Tammus, but a common origin has not been proven.

The Myth

There exits no written account of his myth, so it is surmised it was handed down by oral tradition. The earliest and most complete version is by Plutharch and thus it is Greek in style and of a much later period in history. It seems however that his role can be traced in the Pyramid Texts (Old Kingdom) and New Kingdom or Graeco-Roman inscriptions and reliefs on some temple walls refers to rites held at annual festivals held to Osiris.

In later days this myth tells of him as a king who ruled Egypt at an early period, who brought civilization and agriculture to the people before he was brutally murdered by his brother Seth and later resurrected by his spouse the faithful Isis. He was depicted in mummiform, wearing the crown of Upper Egypt and carrying the royal insignia.

Abydos

From Dynasty 12 onwards the annual Mystery Plays were enacted by priests at the cult center of Osiris at Abydos. In these were acted out the events in the life and death of Osiris, it was an occasion of great rejoicing, not only for the priests but also for pilgrims who used to travel from many miles around to participate. Some of the rites were held outside of the temple precinct while others, the most sacred ones, were enacted in the most secluded parts of the temple.

At this point Abydos held a unique position as a center of pilgrimage. Many people arranged to be buried there, or to have their mummies transported there before being taken back to be entombed. It was also common to have a stele set up there. As it was believed that this was the burial place of Osiris, it was desirable to associate oneself with Abydos in some way, to ensure resurrection.

But the exact location of the first cult place of Osiris is yet uncertain. Right behind the 19th Dynasty temple built by Sethi I at Abydos lies a large and unexplained building, which is called the 'Osireion'. This was thought to be the burial place of Osiris.

In the temple of Sethi I, which was almost certainly built upon some earlier temples, there is a row of chambers set in line with the Osireion. The reliefs on the walls depict the rites which culminate in the raising of the djed pillar, which probably marked the height of the festivities, at which point the god was believed to come to life again.

Eternity for everyone

What was begun at Abydos during the 11th Dynasty, perhaps as a counterweight to the sun-cult at Heliopolis, continued and developed into the most important religious center of all of Egypt. By the Ptolemaic times the festivities of the resurrection of Osiris lasted for about eighteen days and were held not only at Abydos, but at every other major town in Egypt. By dramatizing the life and death and resurrection of Osiris, the priests sought to ensure that the inundation and the regrowth of the crops would be returning to Egypt.