Osiris, god of Egypt

Who was Osiris?
Osiris was the Egyptian god of death, the Underworld and Rebirth. He was the consort of Isis, who was also his sister. His famous sons were Horus by Isis and Anubis by his other sister, Nephthys. Osiris is one of the most iconic and easily recognised of all the ancient Egyptian gods. He was depicted as a 'human' god without the head of an animal. His image also included an “osird” or “the divine beard, a false plaited beard that was tightly knotted, plaited and hooked behind the ears.

Facts about Osiris
The following facts and profile provides a fast overview of Osiris:

The Divine Osiris
Throughout their history the ancient Egyptians all believed that Osiris was of divine origin. The ancient Egyptians believed that Osiris suffered death and mutilation at the hands of the powers of evil (Apep), and that after a great struggle with these powers of evil he rose again and became the king of the underworld and the judge of the dead. Osiris was placed in an exalted position amongst the gods and was equal to and, in certain cases, the superior of the Sun-god Ra.

Osiris in Egyptian Mythology
Osiris, the Egyptian god of death, featured in the stories, myths and legends in Egyptian Mythology. The most famous legend about Osiris relates to his death at the hands of his rival and brother Set. Osiris was the oldest son of Geb and Nut who were the first king and queen of Egypt. Osiris succeeded Geb as pharaoh and he married his sister Isis. Set was always jealous of Osiris and of his position of king of Egypt. The evil Set tricked Osiris inducing him to lie in a magnificent coffin as part of a game and murdered him. Set cut the body to pieces, and threw the coffin into the Nile. It travelled down the Nile and across the sea to the Phoenician coast, where it was deposited at the foot of a tamarisk tree. As the tree grew it enclosed Osiris and the coffin within its trunk. The tree was later cut down by the king of Byblos and used as a pillar in his palace. Isis retrieved the pillar, and the body it contained, to Egypt. Anubis, the son of Osiris, helped Isis and her sister Nephthys to rebuild his body and Anubis presided over the first mummification. This ancient Egyptian mythology explains why Osiris adopted the role as a god of the dead and ruler of the Egyptian underworld. The 'Raising the Djed Pillar' ceremony symbolized the rebirth of Osiris. The god of the dead is also associated with the myths relating to the Tree of Life.

Depictions of Osiris
The Atef crown was worn by the god Osiris. It is made up of the tall, conical, white crown of Upper Egypt with ostrich feathers on each side. The red feathers symbolized Busiris, the cult center of Osiris in the Delta. He was depicted as a man with green skin,  a pharaoh's beard, partially mummy-wrapped at the legs, holding a symbolic crook and flail and wearing an “osird” or “the divine beard” that was distinguished with an upward pointed curl.

Egyptian gods - Isis, Osiris, Atum and Horus