The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 06 of 12)Frazer, James George
Religion
The Golden Bough: A Study in Magic and Religion (Third Edition, Vol. 06 of 12)
Frazer, James George
Magic; Mythology; Religion; Superstition
(M9) Such is the myth or legend of Osiris, as told by Greek writers and
eked out by more or less fragmentary notices or allusions in native
Egyptian literature. A long inscription in the temple at Denderah has
preserved a list of the god’s graves, and other texts mention the parts of
his body which were treasured as holy relics in each of the sanctuaries.
Thus his heart was at Athribis, his backbone at Busiris, his neck at
Letopolis, and his head at Memphis. As often happens in such cases, some
of his divine limbs were miraculously multiplied. His head, for example,
was at Abydos as well as at Memphis, and his legs, which were remarkably
numerous, would have sufficed for several ordinary mortals.(15) In this
respect, however, Osiris was nothing to St. Denys, of whom no less than
seven heads, all equally genuine, are extant.(16)
(M10) According to native Egyptian accounts, which supplement that of
Plutarch, when Isis had found the corpse of her husband Osiris, she and
her sister Nephthys sat down beside it and uttered a lament which in after
ages became the type of all Egyptian lamentations for the dead. “Come to
thy house,” they wailed, “Come to thy house. O god On! come to thy house,
thou who hast no foes. O fair youth, come to thy house, that thou mayest
see me. I am thy sister, whom thou lovest; thou shalt not part from me. O
fair boy, come to thy house.... I see thee not, yet doth my heart yearn
after thee and mine eyes desire thee. Come to her who loves thee, who
loves thee, Unnefer, thou blessed one! Come to thy sister, come to thy
wife, to thy wife, thou whose heart stands still. Come to thy housewife. I
am thy sister by the same mother, thou shalt not be far from me. Gods and
men have turned their faces towards thee and weep for thee together.... I
call after thee and weep, so that my cry is heard to heaven, but thou
hearest not my voice; yet am I thy sister, whom thou didst love on earth;
thou didst love none but me, my brother! my brother!”(17) This lament for
the fair youth cut off in his prime reminds us of the laments for Adonis.
The title of Unnefer or “the Good Being” bestowed on him marks the
beneficence which tradition universally ascribed to Osiris; it was at once
his commonest title and one of his names as king.(18)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account