The Egyptians are one of the most advanced and significant civilizations of antiquity. It may seem strange, but in fact, there is much more in common between Ancient Egypt and the modern world than it might seem at first glance. The most interesting coincidences are found in religious art. By and large, it was here that the first icons were born.
The ancient state holds so many secrets that the scientific world has been unable to comprehend even a tiny part for centuries. What secret hides the most mysterious and ancient artifact of Egypt, the ancestor of icons.
The mystery of an ancient artifact
If there was an ancient civilization that used artistic icons, it was the Egyptian one. The schematic characteristics of the style developed there left several for future generations, such as the Uraeus (an upright cobra that represented the goddess Wadjet), the Ankh (cross of eternal life), the Udyat (Eye of Horus), the protective amulet, and many others.
Perhaps the most mysterious and ancient of all is a pillar made of overlapping sheaves of wheat. This pillar symbolized stability and was associated with the myth of Osiris’s resurrection. It played a fundamental role in several ritual celebrations and was called DJed.
The bond between Djed and Osiris was so close that it represented his spine. That was the most critical part of the anatomy at that time because he ascended to heaven, using the spine of his mother Chickpeas as a ladder. An amulet of this shape was always placed in sarcophagi under the back of the mummy to ensure stability for the deceased in eternity.
In addition, the Tuyet or Knot of Isis was wrapped around the neck, a symbol of resurrection, so there would be a male and a female principle, an allegory of the duality of life. There was a prayer in the Book of the Dead: “Arise, Osiris! You have a foundation even though your heart is no longer beating.; You have vertebrae, someone whose heart is no longer beating. Please turn on your side; let me put water under you! I will bring you a Painted column made of gold. May you be happy for this”.
Interestingly, this artifact was associated with another ancient god before becoming a symbol of Osiris. It was a Memphis deity named Ptah. He wore a scepter decorated with an Ankh. Memphis is the capital of the Ancient Kingdom. It was once the center of a ceremony honoring this deity and Sakkar, a funerary god in the form of a mummified falcon who personified decadence.
The ceremony consisted of raising a Djed, which was supposed to ensure a calm and stable reign for the Pharaoh. Later, the ritual evolved to involve Osiris in the myth. The gods formed a trinity and were very close to the modern perception of religious worship.
Osiris, Pharaoh, and prosperity
The myth of Osiris was an essential part of ancient Egyptian culture. The promise of an eternal afterlife made him popular. The oldest versions of the myth are found in the Pyramid Texts. They say that the god of death and the ruler of Egypt, Osiris, was treacherously killed by his younger brother, Seth.
The latter was the lord of chaos and the god of drought. His wife, Nephthys, cheated on him with Osiris. After the murder, Seth threw the body in a coffin into the waters of the Nile River. The current carried him to the shore of Lebanon. Visit. A F R I N I K . C O M. For the full article. The coffin got stuck in a nearby tree and grew into it. After some time, the king of that land ordered him to cut down a tree and put it in his palace, utterly unaware of what was inside it.
Meanwhile, Isis, wife of Osiris and sister of Nephthys, desperately searched for her husband with the help of Anubis and finally discovered his whereabouts. She convinced the king to give her the pillar. Then, Isis revived her husband and returned with him to Egypt. During the New Kingdom, the myth underwent some changes.
According to them, Seth brought the sarcophagus, but before that, he scattered his brother’s remains in the Nile Valley. Isis and Nephthys had to collect them before mummifying the body. Osiris and Isis subsequently had a son, Horus. Seth cut Osiris into exactly forty-two parts, according to the number of nomes (provinces) of Egypt. Osiris, therefore, came to represent the kingdom.
The most ancient symbol
Later, there were other innovations besides the Ptah-Sokar-Osiris. The pillar became anthropomorphic, taking on human features. This is noticeable on the reliefs of the temple of Dendera, in the temples of Amenhotep III, the temple of Luxor, or the temples of Mennonius Abydos, the funerary temple of Seti I. There is a Jed in the form of the resurrected Osiris, decorated with two udyats and wearing various crowns.
At one time, a ritual with a Jed was held in the latter city. The Egyptians tried to unite Upper and Lower Egypt with this symbol of stability and prosperity. This pillar played a vital role in the great religious holidays. So far, scientists have not been able to recreate his role accurately. One can only guess from some of the images.
The various processions followed one another. The revival ceremonies were conducted personally by the Pharaoh. The action ended with raising the column, identifying Osiris’s resurrection with the king’s resurrection. The event was crowned by the final launching of arrows to the four cardinal points. This served as a prototype for protecting the state’s borders from enemies.
The pillar was an amulet. He was often depicted in frescoes and reliefs. This symbol is deeply rooted in Egyptian culture. Egyptologists are sure that it is much older than is commonly believed. In their opinion, it is connected with prehistoric agricultural rituals and rituals. This symbol was found in the most ancient artifacts discovered in Egypt.
Some researchers believe that the Jed was an object associated with fertility, perhaps a totem. After all, his image contains sheaves of cereals or reeds. Others believe that the myth was based on a tree. In the story of Osiris, a coffin with his body grew into it. The king of the lands where Phoenicia and Syria were located supplied Egypt with timber. After all, in this country, which is mostly deserted, there are almost no trees.
The tree is precisely the element that connects Jed with the hypothesis put forward a century ago, in 1922. In the same year, Tutankhamun’s tomb was discovered. Jed has certain parallels with Assyrian sacred trees. Assur, the god whom the Assyrians, having reached their imperial apogee, turned into the lord of war, was previously the lord of life. It is associated with the Tree of Life. This concept is familiar to many religions.
Another recent hypothesis, proposed by Andrew Hunt Gordon and Calvin W. Schwabe, states that the symbols Anj, Usa, and Dyed originate not so much in the world of plants as in the world of animals. The Egyptians believed that the seed is formed from the bone marrow. The city of Mendes has its version of the myth, which says that the spine of Osiris and his phallus were kept here. It was the only part of Osiris’ body that Isis did not find, and she had to make it out of clay to conceive Horus.
Interestingly, in Hindu Tantrism, kundalini, the primordial energy from which the world’s consciousness arises, is located in the Muladhara. This is one of the seven primary chakras located at the base of the spine, where, according to this philosophy, cerebrospinal fluid, spinal cord, and sperm are formed. Now, experts are debating whether this implies a connection between the two ancient cultures.
