The myth of Osiris

Osiris was at times considered the oldest son of the Earth god Geb,^[1] and the sky goddess Nut, as well as being brother and husband of oisis, with horus being considered his posthumously begotten son.^[1] He was also associated with the epithet Khenti-Amentiu, which means "Foremost of the Westerners" — a reference to his kingship in the land of the dead.^[2] As ruler of the dead, Osiris was also sometimes called "king of the living", since the Ancient Egyptians considered the blessed dead "the living ones".^[3]

Osiris is first attested in the middle of the Fifth dynasty of Egypt, although it is likely that he was worshipped much earlier;^[4] the term Khenti-Amentiu dates to at least the first dynasty, also as a pharaonic title. Most information we have on the myths of Osiris is derived from allusions contained in the Pyramid Texts at the end of the Fifth Dynasty, later New Kingdom source documents such as the Shabaka Stone and the Contending of Horus and Set, and, much later, in narrative style from the writings of Greek authors including Plutarch^[5] and Diodorus Siculus.^[6]