Text/Mu Jos
Editor/Mujos
preface
As an important part of ancient Egyptian culture, the belief in the god Osiris has been widely valued by Chinese and foreign academic circles, but the current research on the belief of Osiris mainly revolves around the issue of the Pharaonic dynasty.
Over the past half-century, the scope of Egyptologists' study of ancient Egyptian culture has expanded, including the Greco-Roman era in the field of Egyptologists.
The traditional religion of Egypt is one of the most dynamic in ancient Egyptian culture, and its state of existence has become the focus of scholars' attention.
With the determination of the theme and dating of the "shroud head" funeral painting by Osiris, the Osiris faith has regained academic attention.
This painting is a precious treasure left by devout Egyptians, and it opens a window to Egyptian writing for us modern people.
The shroud was an indispensable material for the ancient Egyptians, and in the early days of Egyptian civilization, this material was wrapped in a dry corpse with a thin and thin hemp rope, which could prevent both decay and moisture.
In the new royal era, people painted funeral rites from shrouds and carved words on them, which was the development of shroud art.
The William Gallery of Swansea exhibits 8 funerary mummies that are not only the finest mummies preserved during the Roman dynasty's rule over Egypt, but also a testament to the belief in the god Osiris of that era.
On this basis, the article explores how ancient Egyptian culture had a great impact on Roman culture and even Christian culture from two aspects: the belief in the god Osiris and the reason for the continuation of the belief in the god Osiris.
Osiris was the ruler of the Egyptians' lives after death according to ancient Egyptian beliefs.
Because the Egyptians' faith in the future did not change much, the belief in the god Osiris would continue forever.
From the exclusive faith of the royal family in ancient times, to the faith of the commoners in the Middle Ages, to the faith of modern society, and finally the faith of the new era.
The Greeks, after the Macedonian occupation of Egypt, united the god Osiris and the Apis, recognizing it as the god Serapis.
The Serapisian faith was a subtle belief of Osiris during this period, which, combined with the formal monarchical beliefs of Ptolemy, played an important role in consolidating the entire country.
Thirty years BC, Rome conquered Egypt and began the unification of the Egyptian dynasty.
Because the Roman-Egyptian provinces were Rome's rich grain producers, the Roman rulers valued them so much that they imposed political oppression on the Egyptian provinces and economic plundering of Egypt to secure Egypt's source of income.
But there is a moderate attitude towards traditional Egyptian beliefs.
So during this time, the ancient Egyptians still retained considerable religious freedom.
At the same time, the traditional religion of Egypt, centered on the reverence of Osiris and gradually adopted by the Romans, as Engels pointed out about the relationship between conquerors and vanquished.
Over time, the more primitive conquerors, in order to meet the relatively high "economic conditions" required by the vanquished, were often absorbed by the conquerors and were mostly forced to use the script used by the vanquished. ”
After the Roman occupation of Egypt, the Romans were impressed by the ancient Egyptians' worship of funerals, although the Romans did not identify with the civilization of the ancient Egyptians.
As a result, the indigenous Egyptians still worshipped the god Osiris and deeply influenced Rome.
Cult of Osiris during the Roman rule of Egypt
Under Roman control of Egypt, Egyptian funerals did not change much from the 30th century BC to the 4th century AD. The indigenous Egyptians preserved both the original funeral customs and the belief in the god Osiris.
The Romans, on the other hand, scrambled to imitate the burial habits of the Egyptians, which were manifested through shrouds depicting mummies.
This custom of painting and writing in coffins dates back to the mid-8th century AD, where the combination of pictures and pictures is the essence of the 125 chapters of the Book of the Dead.
However, before the Ptolemaic era and the Roman Empire was occupied, this kind of corpse-wrapped art was already used extensively, and in that era it became one of the most important paintings in Egyptian funerals.
Its most emblematic heritage is 8 funeral paintings woven from linen, in Fayoum, Assiute and now in the Swansea William Museum, which depict the judgment of the god Osiris on the dead.
In fact, another reason for the continued popularity of the Osiris faith in this funeral painting is its continuation in time and space.
Four centuries ago, with the growing belief in Isis, people began to build the temple of Isis in places such as Piraeus, Rhodes, Delos, Cyprus and Ephesus in Asia Minor.
In Rome, the Isis faith first appeared in Sicily, then in Italy, especially in Pompeii, and then in Gaul (now France), the Netherlands, northwestern England, Hungary, and even Spain.
The Temple of Isis on Philae, the final fortress of ancient Egyptian civilization, remained unsealed until the 4th century.
The "god Osiris", who was saved by Isis, became the main theme of this temple.
It can be seen that Osiris's faith has expanded and expanded in time and space.
Moreover, during the Roman conquests, Osiris combined with Zeus, the main god in Greek legend - or the main god in Roman legend, thus making Osiris the god of creation, and Jupiter is the god of creation in Roman legend.
During this period, Osiris was often known as a Greek god with the same face as Zeus, but he wore an Egyptian crown on his head, indicating that he was a combination of Zeus and Osiris.
Jupiter, the main god of Rome, was revered by the Romans and placed in a temple.
Similarly, the god Osiris, Jupiter, has a seat among the gods.
The reason for the worship of Osiris during the period of Roman rule in Egypt
From the Roman conquest of Egypt until Christian monotheism became the state religion of the Roman Empire, ancient Egyptian civilization was a multipolar process.
"People have their own nationalities, their own religions and customs, and this is a good example in Egypt in the Greek and Roman times.
In fact, before the Hyksos invaded Egypt (circa 1,650-1,550 BC), the Hyksos from Asia had already incorporated foreign cultures into Egyptian culture, and the Hyksos brought the "Bao God" to Egypt and was believed by the Egyptians.
In other words, despite Egypt's isolation, Egyptians showed no aversion to foreign civilizations, especially foreign beliefs.
The moderate relaxation of the religious beliefs of the Egyptians by the Roman rulers in order to achieve the purpose of plundering the Egyptians was consistent with the general opinion of the Egyptians, which objectively provided a good social condition for people to worship the god Osiris for a long time.
It was not until the Roman rulers accepted and honored Christianity that Christianity spread among Christianity, and it was not until 395 AD, when the Osiris faith was officially established as the Roman Church, that the religion began to slowly decline.
The influence of the cult of Osiris during the Roman rule of Egypt
In the time of Ptolemaic, the "god of Osiris" and the "god of the bull" merged to form the official religious belief "god Serapis".
The combination of Serapis' faith and Ptolemy's "monarchical faith" enabled Ptolemy to rule Egypt for more than 300 years. This phenomenon had a profound impact on the rulers of Rome, and the rulers of Rome also began to "worship the monarch".
This phenomenon stems from the imitation of Ptolemy's "monarchism" in Egypt and from the admiration of Osirism.
During the reign of the ancient Egyptian gods, the god Osiris was a king who was killed by his brother Seth, and became the ruler of Hades.
His son Horus, also known as his son, is now the king.
The Osiris faith played a large role not only in the Roman regime, but also in Roman society.
With the popularization of the belief in "Osiris-Isis", the legend of "Osiris" and "Isis" also spread among the Romans, which can be seen from the fact that the Romans often participated in the rituals of the god Osiris.
Sacrifice is one of the most important religious activities in Roman society, and Osiris's "festival play" ("mystery play") is mainly distributed in the two temples of Osiris and Isis in Rome, and this sacrifice method has also become a major festival in the entire Roman society.
Another great significance of the Osiris faith lies in its role in Christianity.
Osiris and Isis were clear symbols of ancient Egyptian culture, and this belief continued during the Christian period until Theodosius I issued a decree banning pagan beliefs in 380 AD.
After the temple of Isis on Philae Island was completely closed, the religion and civilization of Egypt began to decline, and the Osiris faith came to an end.
Christianity, however, absorbed Osiris' religious ideas such as "judgment in the afterlife," "resurrection and rebirth," and "eternal justice."
In Christian mythology, Isis and the infant Horus are based on "Mary" and "Jesus."
As Bella puts it, "A new religion is conquered or created, and then born in the form of the Reformation."
And this new religion will not contradict existing beliefs and customs, and this belief and custom will always be true.
Only in this world will this belief and custom gradually disappear, and this belief and custom is also one of the most important factors in this world. ”
From the practice of modern Egypt, we may see that it began hundreds or even thousands of years ago, before the emergence of Judaism and Christianity.
This paper argues that the influence of the Osiris faith on early Christianity is mainly manifested as follows: First, there is a certain connection between the spread of the Osiris faith in the early stage and the emergence of early Christianity.
The second is the faith of Osiris, which has a potential role in the construction of Christian faith. Third, the central tenet of the Osiris faith, "resurrection and eternity," would have some influence on Christian teaching.
epilogue
The faith of Osiris continued throughout Egyptian history, and its funeral function was again emphasized during the Roman-Egyptian period.
On the one hand, because the indigenous Egyptians insisted on the funeral of Osiris, and on the other hand, because many Romans wanted to be like Osiris, and receive eternal life after death.
The elaborate drawings on the shroud of this era testify to their belief in the god Osiris.
The god Serapis, the reincarnation of Osiris, was still pursued by the Romans in the time of Ptolemaic, in the time of Egypt, as another reaction to the continued prosperity of the Osiris faith in this era.
In addition, because Isis, the wife of the god Osiris, was the object of love and worship of the Romans, the belief of Osiris was widely spread on the Roman continent.
The Osiris faith had a profound impact on Roman society, which was embodied in the fact that the Osiris faith inspired the "monarchical faith" of the Romans and promoted the implementation of "monarchical faith" and "monarchical faith" by the Romans.
The belief in "Osiris" also had a profound impact on the folk life of Roman society, and the belief of the Roman people in the festival of "Osiris" is inextricably linked to the belief in "Osiris" and "Isis", and is also due to the role of this belief.
Osiris' religious beliefs also played a role in the establishment of Christianity, and his system of religious beliefs was the source of the central ideas of Christianity.
It was not until the emergence and spread of Christianity, and eventually became the main denomination of the Roman Church, the exclusion of other religions by the Unitarian Church, that Osiris and his religious beliefs gradually disappeared.
However, the core of religious ethics contained in the belief in Osiris in ancient Egypt has been precipitated in Christian culture and, together with Christianity, has gradually formed a spiritual pillar that accompanies it.
The Osiris faith is a clear symbol of ancient Egyptian culture, and through a subtle force, it has had a profound impact on Western society that continues to this day.
Bibliography:
1. Nan Shuhua and Guo Dantong, "The Worship of the God Osiris in the Ptolemaic Period", Northern Discussion Series, No. 5, 2016
2. Jin Shoufu, Eternal Splendor - Ancient Egyptian Civilization, Shanghai: Fudan University Press, 2003, p. 12.
3. On the spread of ancient Egyptian religion during the Roman Empire