Arguably the singularly most culturally significant and adored of all the Egyptian dieties, Osiris performed two vital and yet equally polar functions within the realm of Egyptian spirituality. Osiris was the god responsible for farming, and so homage and religious sacrifice was offered up to him in an attempt to appease him, thereby ensuring that the River Nile would flood the low plains with its water, thereby allowing for crops to grow. Given the arid nature of Egypt, where a fraction of the land is actually suitable for crop growth, the Nile and thus the god that regulated it, Osiris truly represented the very heart of the Egyptian people. Unlike the Greek gods who were invariably depicted as capricious creatures with regrettably, all too human qualities such as spite, lust, envy and greed, Osiris was in his own way, a gently benign figure who earned the respect of his followers through compassion rather than extorting it by threats of harm and abuse.

Any icon or graphical depiction of Osiris is invariably black or green, and this is intended to serve as a reflection of the dual purpose he served although perhaps not in the order that most people would expect! The colour green was intended to be symbolic of the rebirth process, a key and fundamental concept within Egyptian spirituality, whilst the colour black was a symbol of the fertile soil or “silt” that accumulated across the banks of the river Nile.

There has been a great deal of controversy with the comparison of Osiris with the Christian Messiah Jesus Christ. The parallels are intriguing, especially given the following tale that is typically attributed to Osiris.

Osiris’s brother, the god Set, felt resentful towards his brother and so he cultivated a plan that culminated in him holding a feast in his brother’s honour, only for him to trick his brother into laying in a box. Set then proceeded to shut the box firmly, and then pour molten lead into it, finally throwing the box into the river Nile with the view of disposing his brother forever. the Wife of Osiris, upon hearing of her husbands disapperance, then set out to look for him, and eventually found him, bringing his body back to Egypt.

Set was enraged to discover that his carefully made plans were for naught and so decided to up the ante by ensuring that his brother’s body was severed into different pieces with each part then scattered across the lands of Egypt. As she found each body part, she gave it a proper burial and then ensured that a shrine was built at the spot in order to ensure that proper homage was paid.