Well, in order to end this series on creation,
and after putting some lights or sheds on the interlink with Religion, Myth and
Science.. It would be useful to mention the mythology of Esis and Osiris...
Why?
Because this could be a perfect Mythical example that is directly related to the concept of Creation, what is meant.... What are the causes.... What are the procedures...
How it is inter-related to Science and Religion....
With Life and Death.....
With Good and Evil....
ESIS - OSIRIS
The story in brief is about Esis who is an Egyptian
Goddess, who was worshiped by Egypt as well as by the Greco-Roman worlds.
She was the Goddess of Motherhood, Fertility and Magic.
Her link to Magic is in her hair knot which became a symbol of Esis and called
the Knot or Buckle or Blood of Esis, which later resembles Eternal Life or
Resurrection.
She became associated with the harvest of wheat
and grain, consequently with Fertility.
She was a friend to good and bad people at the same time.
Her parents were the God of Earth and Goddess of Sky.
She was a friend to good and bad people at the same time.
Her parents were the God of Earth and Goddess of Sky.
ESIS ARTS
Her brother Osiris became her husband..
From him she conceived Horus... who was also her father and the ultimate God who had different forms in history.
From him she conceived Horus... who was also her father and the ultimate God who had different forms in history.
HORUS
It is suggested by some scholars that he name is also linked with the Arabian
Goddess Al Ozza which was worshiped by Arabs before Islam.
The story tells that Set another brother of Esis, conspired against his brother Osiris by locking him in a coffin box and threw it in the sea... So he could marry his sister Esis.
The story tells that Set another brother of Esis, conspired against his brother Osiris by locking him in a coffin box and threw it in the sea... So he could marry his sister Esis.
Esis went to look for the coffin of Osiris and found him in a tree in
Phoenician city Byblos and brought it back to Egypt..
Set found the coffin and chopped the body of Osiris to thirteen pieces and
scattered them all over Egypt.
Each part represented one of the 13 full moons (each year has 12 or 13 full moons
Esis found only twelve pieces and made the thirteen's out of Magic
Each part represented one of the 13 full moons (each year has 12 or 13 full moons
Esis found only twelve pieces and made the thirteen's out of Magic
Osiris was resurrected and became Lord of Dead
and Afterlife .
Esis conceived from him Horus.
Alternatively, Nephthys the sister of Esis, shift-shaped as Esis and seduced Osiris, who thought she was Esis and conceived from him Anubis, God of the Underworld whose name was associated with mummification and afterlife.
Esis conceived from him Horus.
Alternatively, Nephthys the sister of Esis, shift-shaped as Esis and seduced Osiris, who thought she was Esis and conceived from him Anubis, God of the Underworld whose name was associated with mummification and afterlife.
Nephthys later convinced Esis to adopt Anubis.
As a Death and Resurrection legend, in which evil seeks to destroy a deity, thus bringing darkness, she was associated with the Lunar Cycle, in which the moon appears to be destroyed by darkness, and then brought back to life.
As a Life-Death-Rebirth deity, Horus AND Osiris became a reflection of the annual Cycle of Crop harvesting as well as reflecting people's desires for a successful afterlife.
As a Death and Resurrection legend, in which evil seeks to destroy a deity, thus bringing darkness, she was associated with the Lunar Cycle, in which the moon appears to be destroyed by darkness, and then brought back to life.
As a Life-Death-Rebirth deity, Horus AND Osiris became a reflection of the annual Cycle of Crop harvesting as well as reflecting people's desires for a successful afterlife.
And so the legend became extremely important,
outstripping all others.
The legend's ventures into both Life and Afterlife meant that religious rites associated with the legend eventually began to take on aspects of a mystery religion. Where initiates were said to be able to partake in Horus/Osiris' Resurrection, purging themselves of past ills, and entering a new life.
This is why Esis is also known as the Goddess of simplicity, protector of the dead and Goddess of children from whom all beginnings arose.
The Ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile River flooded every year because of her tears of sorrow for her dead husband, Osiris.
Esis was associated with the star Sept (Sirius).
The appearance of the star signified the advent of a new year and Esis was likewise considered the Goddess of rebirth and reincarnation, and as a protector of the dead.
The legend's ventures into both Life and Afterlife meant that religious rites associated with the legend eventually began to take on aspects of a mystery religion. Where initiates were said to be able to partake in Horus/Osiris' Resurrection, purging themselves of past ills, and entering a new life.
This is why Esis is also known as the Goddess of simplicity, protector of the dead and Goddess of children from whom all beginnings arose.
The Ancient Egyptians believed that the Nile River flooded every year because of her tears of sorrow for her dead husband, Osiris.
Esis was associated with the star Sept (Sirius).
The appearance of the star signified the advent of a new year and Esis was likewise considered the Goddess of rebirth and reincarnation, and as a protector of the dead.
BOOK OF THE DEAD
The Book of the Dead outlines a particular ritual that would protect the dead, enabling travel anywhere in the underworld,
In the Book of the Dead, the dead were taken into the presence of the god Osiris, who was confined to the subterranean Duat.
It also depicts the dead living on in the 'Field of Reeds', a paradisiac likeness of the real world.
The path to the afterlife as laid out in the Book of the Dead was a difficult one.
The deceased was required to pass a series of gates, caverns and mounds guarded by supernatural creatures
Then the dead person's heart was weighed on a pair of scales, against the goddess Maat, who embodied truth and justice.
At this point, there was a risk that the deceased's heart would bear witness, owning up to sins committed in life.
If the scales balanced, this meant the deceased had led a good life. Anubis would take them to Osiris and they would find their place in the afterlife.
If the heart was out of balance with Maat, then another fearsome beast called Ammit, the Devourer, stood ready to eat it and put the dead person's afterlife to an early and unpleasant end.
The judgement of the dead and the Negative Confession were a representation of the conventional moral code which governed Egyptian society.
In this story we can see the full cycle of life being repeated again and again in various forms and shapes but always with the same fixed elements... Sun, moon, Earth, Sky, Sea, Nature, Darkness,Light, Fertility, motherhood, Death.. Etc...
But most importantly the Good and Evil who are in continuous struggle to overcome the worlds...
Same like what Religions tell us.....
And same like the Actual Facts are telling us
Sami Cherkaoui
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