Ancient Egypt in Focus: Revelation of the Mysteries of Osiris
Revelation of the Mysteries of Osiris, Lord of Abydos, the secret rituals of reviving a murdered god
By Bryan Kraemer, Research Egyptologist at the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art, California State University, San Bernardino; Ph.D. candidate in Egyptology at the University of Chicago
The ancient mysteries celebrated to revive the god Osiris during festivals held at his tomb in Abydos were a secret kept by the priests of Ancient Egypt for almost 2000 years. And yet a wish to participate in these mysteries in life or after death appears among Ancient Egyptian texts so frequently that it must be one of the most talked about secrets ever. Although we have been aware of how parts of the festivals at Abydos worked for almost a century, the most secret mysteries have so far been unknown to scholars. How did the Egyptians perform the rituals to revive the murdered god?
Kraemer’s ongoing research into the festivals at Abydos has revealed many of the secret mysteries. By examining unpublished or little understood texts and archaeological data, by reconstructing the ancient landscape of Abydos, and by relating it to astronomical phenomena, he has been able to reconstruct a step-by-step itinerary of the festivals of Osiris as well as an understanding of the ritual procedures at each stage as the festival was performed during the late New Kingdom to Late Period of Egyptian history. This includes the most secret steps that were privately conducted by only a select number of priests. Come to this lecture and learn about one of the best kept secrets of Ancient Egyptian religion! Learn how they miraculously recreated the body of Osiris which had been lost in the Nile, how they magically transplanted Osiris’s decapitated head onto the new body and resuscitated it, why they stimulated Osiris post mortem with gustatory and sexually enticement, and why they malicious threatened and tortured figures representing his brother Seth, his murderer. These were the most secretive aspects of the Ancient Egyptian rituals of Osiris, lord of Abydos, the god who triumphed over death.
How was Osiris's body "reclaimed" from the Nile? How was his severed head re-attached and resuscitated? Why did priests stimulate Osiris post mortem with gustatory and sexual enticement? Why did they maliciously threaten and torture figures representing his brother Seth, his murderer. Inquiring minds want to know, so join us on a fascinating journey through ancient Egyptian culture and religion, discovering the "secrets" that everyone in ancient Egypt talked about…
In this research, Bryan Kraemer has been looking at a period of significant changes to Egyptian religion through the microcosm of one ancient site that was at the heart of the religion of Osiris for nearly three thousand years. He has been studying Abydos and the cult of Osiris for the last fifteen years, having participated in several archaeological missions and undertaken his own independent research projects there. Apart from his research on Abydos and Egyptian religion specifically, Bryan has worked extensively on the topic of cultural landscapes of Ancient Egypt: how cultural phenomena such as religion and administration are organized in space. He is also a co-director for the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition to the Eastern Desert.