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Upon an ancient marble at Capua , she is styled " The Goddess Isis , Thou who art all things ; " and in the city of Sais , the capital of Lower Egypt , situated on the Delta of the Nile , near the spot where Osiris was bnried , the following inscription was to be seen , according to Plutarch , on the pavement of a celebrated temple dedicated to Minerva , i . e . Isis : — "I am everything that has been , that is , and that will be ; and no one amongst mortals has hitherto taken off my
veil ;"—an expression clearly proving the existence and antiquity of a mysterious religion . The mode in which Isis was represented confirms the foregoing statement , as she had a crescent on her head , and between the horns of this crescent , a globe , denoting the world . In a similar manner from Osiris , were derived Jupiter , Apollo or the God of the Sun , Bacchus , and all the other heathen divinities ; as also Adonis , whose life was moreover terminated by violence . It
is said that , having accomplished a reform m -hgypt , Osiris went to civilize the other parts of the earth . He left his kingdom to the care of his wife Isis , and of her faithful minister Hermes , or Mercury , and passed through Ethiopia , Arabia , Asia , and Europe . On his return he found his brother Typhon had raised a sedition . He invited Osiris to an entertainment , at which were present many of the conspirators who were aware of his intentions . When the repast was concluded , Typhon showed to his guests a chest of the most ingenious
construction , which he offered to give to any one ot them who , by lying in the inside , would prove that his body would exactly fit the interior . Osiris , on its coming to his turn , placed himself in the chest , without any distrust , on which the conspirators closed the chest , and he was thus suffocated . It was then thrown into the Nile , and , in consequence of the inquiries made , was afterwards discovered on the coast of Phoenicia , where it had been conveyed by the waves ; but in its passage to Memphis it was stolen by Typhon , who divided the body of
Osiris between the conspirators . This atrocious act incensed Isis , who , aided by her son Horns , defeated Typhon and his party . She thus recovered some remains of her husband ' s body , and , assembling the priests of the different sects in her dominions , she gave them each a statue of wax , which contained a piece of the flesh of the dead monarch , and bound them by a solemn oath to establish a form of worship in honour of their prince , and to pay him divine adoration .
Those parts of the body which had not been recovered , she ordered should be treated with greater attention , and that they should be distinguished by rites more solemn , and at the same time more mysterious . These ceremonies were afterwards imitated by the Greeks , and more particularly in the festivals of Bacchus .
Prom Isis and Osiris having taught the Egyptians the cultivation of the land , arose the worship of the ox , into which animal tho soul of Osiris was said to have passed . Hence , under the name of A pis or Sorapis ( which terms refer to Osiris himself ) , an ox : was kept as an object of worship , if it had certain marks on its skin , one of which was a white spot on tho right side resembling the crescent of the moon . Solemn festivals were held in his honour , and if ho
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Untitled Article
Upon an ancient marble at Capua , she is styled " The Goddess Isis , Thou who art all things ; " and in the city of Sais , the capital of Lower Egypt , situated on the Delta of the Nile , near the spot where Osiris was bnried , the following inscription was to be seen , according to Plutarch , on the pavement of a celebrated temple dedicated to Minerva , i . e . Isis : — "I am everything that has been , that is , and that will be ; and no one amongst mortals has hitherto taken off my
veil ;"—an expression clearly proving the existence and antiquity of a mysterious religion . The mode in which Isis was represented confirms the foregoing statement , as she had a crescent on her head , and between the horns of this crescent , a globe , denoting the world . In a similar manner from Osiris , were derived Jupiter , Apollo or the God of the Sun , Bacchus , and all the other heathen divinities ; as also Adonis , whose life was moreover terminated by violence . It
is said that , having accomplished a reform m -hgypt , Osiris went to civilize the other parts of the earth . He left his kingdom to the care of his wife Isis , and of her faithful minister Hermes , or Mercury , and passed through Ethiopia , Arabia , Asia , and Europe . On his return he found his brother Typhon had raised a sedition . He invited Osiris to an entertainment , at which were present many of the conspirators who were aware of his intentions . When the repast was concluded , Typhon showed to his guests a chest of the most ingenious
construction , which he offered to give to any one ot them who , by lying in the inside , would prove that his body would exactly fit the interior . Osiris , on its coming to his turn , placed himself in the chest , without any distrust , on which the conspirators closed the chest , and he was thus suffocated . It was then thrown into the Nile , and , in consequence of the inquiries made , was afterwards discovered on the coast of Phoenicia , where it had been conveyed by the waves ; but in its passage to Memphis it was stolen by Typhon , who divided the body of
Osiris between the conspirators . This atrocious act incensed Isis , who , aided by her son Horns , defeated Typhon and his party . She thus recovered some remains of her husband ' s body , and , assembling the priests of the different sects in her dominions , she gave them each a statue of wax , which contained a piece of the flesh of the dead monarch , and bound them by a solemn oath to establish a form of worship in honour of their prince , and to pay him divine adoration .
Those parts of the body which had not been recovered , she ordered should be treated with greater attention , and that they should be distinguished by rites more solemn , and at the same time more mysterious . These ceremonies were afterwards imitated by the Greeks , and more particularly in the festivals of Bacchus .
Prom Isis and Osiris having taught the Egyptians the cultivation of the land , arose the worship of the ox , into which animal tho soul of Osiris was said to have passed . Hence , under the name of A pis or Sorapis ( which terms refer to Osiris himself ) , an ox : was kept as an object of worship , if it had certain marks on its skin , one of which was a white spot on tho right side resembling the crescent of the moon . Solemn festivals were held in his honour , and if ho