Osiris, originally known as Ausar, is one of the most significant deities in ancient Egyptian mythology, embodying themes of resurrection, fertility, and the afterlife. His origins are deeply intertwined with both Egyptian and Nubian cultures and associated with the emergence of kingship. The narrative surrounding Ausar's life, death, and resurrection not only established him as a divine ruler but also set the theological foundation for the concept of kingship itself. As the first king and a god, Ausar's story illustrates the belief that rulers were earthly manifestations of divine authority, with their legitimacy derived from their connection to the divine realm.
In this context, the role of kingship is represented as a two-stage process involving multiple deities, with Ausar as a central figure. Following his death at the hands of Set, it was his son Heru who avenged him and became the rightful king of both Upper and Lower Egypt. This mythological narrative illustrates the transition of power and the divine endorsement necessary for kingship. The kings of Egypt, therefore, were seen as the living Heru, embodying the legacy of Ausar and inheriting the mantle of kingship from him.
The legend of Ausar begins in the lands south of Egypt. Ausar's relationship with Mount Jebel Barkal is deeply significant in both Egyptian and Nubian mythology, as this mountain is often regarded as a sacred site associated with the god. Jebel Barkal, characterized by its striking pinnacle that resembles a colossal statue, was interpreted by ancient people as a manifestation of Ausar himself. The pinnacle's form is believed to symbolize the divine aspects of Ausar, such as fertility and resurrection. Jebel Barkal, located in modern-day Sudan, was a major religious center for the Kushite Kingdom and closely linked to the worship of Amun, who was regarded as the supreme god by both the Egyptians and the Kushites.
However, Osiris, as the god of the underworld and resurrection, had a connection to the site through its funerary and royal symbolism. The Kushites, particularly during the Napatan period (circa 750–300 BCE), incorporated Osirian elements into their religious practices, associating their kings with Osiris and Amun to legitimize their rule. This connection was reinforced by the belief that Kushite rulers were divine and would undergo an Osirian resurrection after death. So while Amun was the primary deity worshiped at Jebel Barkal, Osiris was part of the broader religious framework that emphasized kingship, afterlife, and divine rulership.
Diodorus of Sicily, a Hellenistic historian, provides valuable insight into the origins of Osiris through the accounts of Kushite ambassadors in the first century BC. He recorded a tradition stating that Ausar was a native of Kush, described as "Aethiopian," who migrated north into Egypt at the dawn of time. This migration was significant as Ausar is credited with bringing "Egyptian" civilization to the region, which explains the shared customs and beliefs between Kush and Egypt. They also indicated that the reason both Egyptian and Kushite rulers donned "tall pointed felt hats with a knob on top," similar to Osiris, could be attributed to their origins at Jebel Barkal. This observation is intriguing and implies that the narrative surrounding this headwear may have stemmed from the striking resemblance of the White Crown to the pinnacle of Jebel Barkal, where the crown's form was prominently visible. Diodorus states:
“They say also that the Egyptians are colonists sent out by the Ethiopians, Osiris having been the leader of the colony… And the larger part of the customs of the Egyptians are, they hold, Ethiopian, the colonists still preserving their ancient manners…Furthermore, the orders of the priests, they maintain, have much the same position among both peoples; for all are clean who are engaged in the service of the gods, keeping themselves shaven, like the Egyptian priests, and having the same dress and form of staff, which is shaped like a plough and is carried by their kings, who wear high felt hats which end in a knob at the top and are circled by the serpents which they call asps.”
Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History, Vol II, Book III: https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/3A*.html
In their book “Sudan’s Holy Mountain: Jebel Barkal and Its Temples, A Visitor’s Guide. Archaeological Studies Series published in 2022, Timothy Kendall and El-Hassan Ahmed Mohamed discuss these statements made by Diodorus Siculus and theorize the origins of this story may have been the Holy Mountain of Jebel Barkal.
“This surprising comment suggests that the source of the story may very well have originated at Jebel Barkal, where the form of the White Crown appeared so perfectly in the pinnacle summit...Surviving sources indicate that both Nubian and Egyptian kings were wearing the White Crown as early as the latter fourth millennium BC…All of them, presumably, would have made rival claims both to the crown and to their descent from the god, which in time would have led to conflicts for ever-wider control of the southern lands.
Kendall, Timothy, and El-Hassan Ahmed Mohamed.
Sudan’s Holy Mountain: Jebel Barkal and Its Temples, A Visitor’s Guide. Archaeological Studies Series (1), 2022: https://www.history.org.uk/primary/resource/10816/sudan-holy-mountain-jebel-barkal-and-its-temples
These conflicts and claim to the crown are explored by Dr. Shomarka Keita, Research Affiliate in the Department of Anthropology at the Smithsonian Institution, and A. J. Boyce of the Institute of Biological Anthropology and St. John's College Oxford University:
“There was some shared iconography in the kingdoms that emerged in Nubia and upper Egypt around 3300 BCE (Williams 1986)...Nubian and upper Egyptian proximity and on some level, shared culture, Nubia’s possible participation in Egyptian state-building, and later partial political absorption in Dynasty I, would have reinforced biological overlap. Interactions between Nubia and Egypt occurred in the period between 4000 and 3000 BCE...Dynasty I brought the political conquest of the A-Group Nubian kingdom Ta Seti by Egyptian kings (Wilkinson 1999). Lower Nubia seems to have become largely “depopulated,” based on archeological evidence, but this more likely means that Nubians were partially bio-culturally assimilated into southern Egypt.”
Genetics, Egypt, and History: Interpreting Geographical Patterns of Y Chromosome Variation: https://muse.jhu.edu/article/187884
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Famed Egyptologist Gerald Massey speaks on the southernly origins of much of ancient Egyptian culture and indirectly references what ancient Egyptians referred to as “Ta-Nejer” which translates to “Land of the Gods”. This region has historically been associated with the Lands south of Egypt, particularly with the Land of Punt and the Great Lakes region further south.
"The Egyptian record when correctly read will tell us plainly that the human birthplace was a land of the papyrus reed, the crocodile, and hippopotamus; a land of the great lakes in Karua, the Koloe of Ptolemy, or in Apta at the horn point of the earth — that is, in Equatoria, from whence the sacred river ran to brim the valley of the Nile with plenty. The track of civilization with cities springing in its footprints is seaward from the south, not upward from Lower Egypt, which was a swamp when Upper Egypt was already the African home of civilization. The Egyptians always gave priority to the south over the delta in the north. Also the south was and is the natural habitat of the oldest fauna and most peculiar of the sacred zootypes."
Gerald Massey, Ancient Egypt Light Of The World, Volume 1, pg. 50-70
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The origins of Ausar reflect a rich tapestry of cultural interconnections between ancient Egypt and Nubia. Nubia has historically been overshadowed by Ancient Egypt, but thanks to the dedicated work of todays great academics and archeologists, we are uncovering the profound and intricate relationships that defined these two civilizations as well as the connections ancient Egypt historically had with the rest of the continent.
Egyptian born Egyptologist, Professor Fekri Hassan expresses this sentiment beautifully in the following statement:
Egypt is situated where African cultural developments conjoin, mingle, and blend with those of neighboring cultures of southwest Asia and the Mediterranean. Yet, Egyptology, through its Euro-centered perspectives, has generally been lax in exploring and valorizing Egypt’s African origins.
This not only leads to theoretical shortcomings but also to serious ethical ramifications undermining efforts for a new world of justice, equity, and fraternity. Keeping with the way our world is changing and given our role as socially responsible scholars, Egyptologists need to engage in emphasizing the grounding of Egypt in African cultures and its interaction throughout its history with African cultures. https://nilevalleycollective.org
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Title: Statue of Osiris
Location: Department of Egyptian Antiquities of the Louvre
Medium: Bronze and gold inlay
Date: 664-332 BCE
Dynasty: Ptolemaic Dynasty
Period: Third Intermediate Period
Dimensions: 17cm
Collections: Egyptian, Classical, Ancient Near Eastern Art
Accession Number: E3751
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