Osiris

𓊨𓁹𓀭

Egyptian king of the dead, lord of resurrection and the Nile's green renewal

Osiris, called Wesir or Asar by modern Kemetic practitioners, is the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, the afterlife and resurrection. Egyptians remembered him as a king who taught his people to grow grain. After his brother Seth killed him, his sister-wife Isis and her sister Nephthys gave him new life, and he became lord of the underworld and judge of souls.

Devotees turned to him for hope beyond death, and for the renewing flood of the Nile and the grain it fed. At death the king became Osiris, while the living king was identified with Horus. His main cult centres were Abydos and Busiris, and today he is still honoured by Kemetic practitioners, including those of Kemetic Orthodoxy.

See the gallery

The Sacred Books and Early Literature of the East, vol. 2, pg. 64-65, Osiris, published 1917. Wikimedia Commons (CC0), Unknown author

How to recognise Osiris

Green skinHis face and hands are green, the colour of new barley, regeneration and fresh life; some images use black for the dark silt of the Nile floodplain, and both colours are symbolic.
Mummy wrappingHe is wrapped in white linen like a mummy, with only his hands and face left free, showing his rule over the dead.
Atef crownLook for the tall white bulb-shaped crown of Upper Egypt with a curling ostrich feather at each side.
False beardA long, narrow pharaoh's beard hangs from his chin, marking him as king.
Crook and flailHe holds the crook, thought to show him as shepherd and king, and the flail, whose meaning is debated.
Djed pillarThis pillar, sometimes called his backbone, may stand beside him as a sign of stability.
Calm frontal poseHe appears upright and still, standing or enthroned, with his head in profile in the ancient Egyptian manner; Isis and Nephthys sometimes attend him.

Names and titles

The Mighty OneA traditional rendering of his name's sense: powerful, mighty
Lord of the Silent LandKemetic practitioners honour Wesir as lord of the silent land of the dead
Judge of the DeadHe presided over the divine tribunal that judged the righteousness of the dead
Shepherd and KingThe crook marks him as a shepherd and king; he was also worshipped as the shepherd god
The Grain That Rises AgainAt the Khoiak rites small mummiform figures of Osiris and grain beds stood for death and rebirth