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Osiris and the Egyptian Resurrection, Vol. 1 (Volume 1)
Osiris the king, was slain by his brother Set, dismembered, scattered, then gathered up and reconstituted by his wife Isis and finally placed in the underworld as lord and judge of the dead. He was worshipped in Egypt from archaic, pre-dynastic times right through the 4000-year span of classical Egyptian civilization up until the Christian era, and even today folkloristic elements of his worship survive among the Egyptian fellaheen. In this book E. A. Wallis Budge, one of the world's foremost Egyptologists, focuses on Osiris as the single most important Egyptian deity.
This is the most thorough explanation ever offered of Osirism. With rigorous scholarship, going directly to numerous Egyptian texts, making use of the writings of Herodotus, Diodorus, Plutarch and other classical writers, and of more recent ethnographic research in the Sudan and other parts of Africa, Wallis Budge examines every detail of the cult of Osiris. At the same time he establishes a link between Osiris worship and African religions. He systematically investigates such topics the meaning of the name "Osiris" (in Egyptian, Asar ); the iconography associated with him; the heaven of Osiris as conceived in the VIth dynasty; Osiris's relationship to cannibalism, human sacrifice and dancing; Osiris as ancestral spirit, judge of the dead, moon-god and bull-god; the general African belief in god; ideas of sin and purity in Osiris worship; the shrines, miracle play and mysteries of Osiris; "The Book of Making the Spirit of Osiris" and other liturgical texts; funeral and burial practices of the Egyptians and Africans; the idea of the Ka, spirit-body and shadow; magical practices relating to Osiris; and the worship of Osiris and Isis in foreign lands.
Throughout there are admirable translations of pyramid texts (often with the original hierogyphics printed directly above) and additional lengthy texts are included in the appendices. There are also a great many reproductions of classical Egyptian art, showing each phase of the Osiris story and other images bearing upon his worship. The great wealth of detail, primary informatioin, and original interpretation in this book will make it indispensable to Egyptologists, students of classical civilization and students of comparative religion. Since Osiris seems to have been the earliest death and resurrection god, whose worship both caused and influenced later dieties, the cult of Osiris is highly important to all concerned with the development of human culture.
This is the most thorough explanation ever offered of Osirism. With rigorous scholarship, going directly to numerous Egyptian texts, making use of the writings of Herodotus, Diodorus, Plutarch and other classical writers, and of more recent ethnographic research in the Sudan and other parts of Africa, Wallis Budge examines every detail of the cult of Osiris. At the same time he establishes a link between Osiris worship and African religions. He systematically investigates such topics the meaning of the name "Osiris" (in Egyptian, Asar ); the iconography associated with him; the heaven of Osiris as conceived in the VIth dynasty; Osiris's relationship to cannibalism, human sacrifice and dancing; Osiris as ancestral spirit, judge of the dead, moon-god and bull-god; the general African belief in god; ideas of sin and purity in Osiris worship; the shrines, miracle play and mysteries of Osiris; "The Book of Making the Spirit of Osiris" and other liturgical texts; funeral and burial practices of the Egyptians and Africans; the idea of the Ka, spirit-body and shadow; magical practices relating to Osiris; and the worship of Osiris and Isis in foreign lands.
Throughout there are admirable translations of pyramid texts (often with the original hierogyphics printed directly above) and additional lengthy texts are included in the appendices. There are also a great many reproductions of classical Egyptian art, showing each phase of the Osiris story and other images bearing upon his worship. The great wealth of detail, primary informatioin, and original interpretation in this book will make it indispensable to Egyptologists, students of classical civilization and students of comparative religion. Since Osiris seems to have been the earliest death and resurrection god, whose worship both caused and influenced later dieties, the cult of Osiris is highly important to all concerned with the development of human culture.
464 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1973
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About the author
E.A. Wallis Budge
1,348 books157 followersSir Ernest Alfred Thompson Wallis Budge was an English Egyptologist, Orientalist, and philologist who worked for the British Museum and published numerous works on the ancient Near East.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
February 13, 2016
Once again I really enjoyed Budge's observations and insights. A little out of date of course with some of his speculations but that's only to be expected considering when it was written.
July 3, 2022
A good follow on from volume 1
March 22, 2012
A must read for any Christian and especially someone who is considering becoming a Christian. It documents that Christianity is a fraud!
November 25, 2023
This book was published in 1911, and it shows. I rarely use the one-star rating, because I reserve it for books that contain so much misinformation that you're better off not reading them at all. The books on ancient Egypt that fit that requirement are usually advocating wild fringe theories, which I'm not eager to review. Budge certainly wasn't a fringe theorist, and the other books by him that I've reviewed describe enough of the bare, obvious facts of Egyptian religion to give a general picture of what it was like, even if the author's interpretations of those facts are badly outdated. This one is different.
Budge spends a great deal of time comparing elements of Egyptian religion to the customs of various African peoples in his own time, believing them to be ultimately related to each other. He often cites peoples in Sudan, whose customs might be related to those of ancient Egypt, but he also wanders as far afield as Uganda, the Congo, and West Africa. As pointed out in Ancient Egypt in Africa, which actually cites this book as an example of the problem, that kind of comparison treats African societies as though they changed little in 5,000 years, and as though they are stereotypically similar to each other despite living thousands of miles apart. The worst part is when Budge ties together Diodorus Siculus's claim that the god Osiris abolished cannibalism with a variety of Egyptian sacrifices and executions, the symbolic Cannibal Hymn from the Pyramid Texts, and 19th-century reports of cannibalism in Africa (many of which may have been exaggerated based on European stereotypes of the "African savage"). Budge concludes that a penchant for cannibalism is widespread in Africa and that "the cult of Osiris set a curb on the cannibalistic tendencies of Egyptians, but it did not eradicate them, any more than it put a stop to human sacrifices and funeral murders." I don't have space here to examine all the wrongness in that sentence.
In several places the descriptions of African customs wander away from ancient Egypt completely. The chapter devoted to the moral judgment of the dead by Osiris is more on topic. However, Budge already covered that subject in Egyptian Religion, and it can be found in any modern overview of Egyptian funerary traditions, like Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt or Journey Through the Afterlife. Another chapter lays out Budge's arguments for the existence of a fundamental monotheism behind Egyptian polytheism. In both this chapter and the one on the judgment of the dead, Budge discusses, as in his earlier books, the two elements of Egyptian religion that he likes best because they resemble Christianity. The difference this time is that he says these concepts also existed across Africa. Although the Egyptians and other Africans express morality and monotheism using "primitive" imagery, they deserve credit for having these concepts at all. Budge thus sees the stereotypical African culture as backward and often distasteful, but with some important admirable features. As Edwardian racism goes, his attitude could be worse, but this isn't a book to rely on in the 21st century.
Budge spends a great deal of time comparing elements of Egyptian religion to the customs of various African peoples in his own time, believing them to be ultimately related to each other. He often cites peoples in Sudan, whose customs might be related to those of ancient Egypt, but he also wanders as far afield as Uganda, the Congo, and West Africa. As pointed out in Ancient Egypt in Africa, which actually cites this book as an example of the problem, that kind of comparison treats African societies as though they changed little in 5,000 years, and as though they are stereotypically similar to each other despite living thousands of miles apart. The worst part is when Budge ties together Diodorus Siculus's claim that the god Osiris abolished cannibalism with a variety of Egyptian sacrifices and executions, the symbolic Cannibal Hymn from the Pyramid Texts, and 19th-century reports of cannibalism in Africa (many of which may have been exaggerated based on European stereotypes of the "African savage"). Budge concludes that a penchant for cannibalism is widespread in Africa and that "the cult of Osiris set a curb on the cannibalistic tendencies of Egyptians, but it did not eradicate them, any more than it put a stop to human sacrifices and funeral murders." I don't have space here to examine all the wrongness in that sentence.
In several places the descriptions of African customs wander away from ancient Egypt completely. The chapter devoted to the moral judgment of the dead by Osiris is more on topic. However, Budge already covered that subject in Egyptian Religion, and it can be found in any modern overview of Egyptian funerary traditions, like Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt or Journey Through the Afterlife. Another chapter lays out Budge's arguments for the existence of a fundamental monotheism behind Egyptian polytheism. In both this chapter and the one on the judgment of the dead, Budge discusses, as in his earlier books, the two elements of Egyptian religion that he likes best because they resemble Christianity. The difference this time is that he says these concepts also existed across Africa. Although the Egyptians and other Africans express morality and monotheism using "primitive" imagery, they deserve credit for having these concepts at all. Budge thus sees the stereotypical African culture as backward and often distasteful, but with some important admirable features. As Edwardian racism goes, his attitude could be worse, but this isn't a book to rely on in the 21st century.
May 23, 2023
This took me an absolute age to trudge through and I most definitely won't be looking for the second volume. If you have to read this text (i.e. for study) then you don't really have a choice but if you're reading for other reasons (e.g. general interest in ancient Egypt) then I'd advise looking for alternatives.
As a lay-person (i.e. not an Egyptologist) I presume that I am not the target audience for this book.
However, even if I was I think I'd say that this book might potentially be historically important but really isn't good as a book qua book.
In the first place, this print is more like a transcription insofar that there is no sign of an editor (there are footnotes but many things and phrases are not explained). Also there is a rather old-fashioned form of quotation; which isn't itself so bad except that at some points it isn't applied consistently and so you have a merging of text and quotation.
The writing itself is OK insofar that it isn't awkward but it is rather dry. Also, it really isn't engaging and that themes the authors wanted to convey and threads are not drawn nearly well enough.
Content-wise I can't comment too much since I am not a student in the field. However, the author uses the word "proof" in a way that is very different to the way that we use it today. Some of the quotations in the book from other sources can on occasion be rather 'antiquated', in terms of the way value-judgements are expressed about some tribal or ancient people's.
That said, pretty much all books do that on way or the other. The only real issue as a lay-person was the theme brought in pretty deep into the book where the author tries to draw ought the idea that all the multitude of tribal/indigenous gods can be traced back to the idea of a single creator god which is to be identified with the Christian God. In some ways this is actually very progressive because his purpose is to show that, spiritually at least, these more 'primitive cultures' are either equal or, at least, then worthy of respect. The problem is that while it's a rather noble sentiment the evidence given doesn't really support it (at least in my view). That said, it's a very interesting part to read about.
As a lay-person (i.e. not an Egyptologist) I presume that I am not the target audience for this book.
However, even if I was I think I'd say that this book might potentially be historically important but really isn't good as a book qua book.
In the first place, this print is more like a transcription insofar that there is no sign of an editor (there are footnotes but many things and phrases are not explained). Also there is a rather old-fashioned form of quotation; which isn't itself so bad except that at some points it isn't applied consistently and so you have a merging of text and quotation.
The writing itself is OK insofar that it isn't awkward but it is rather dry. Also, it really isn't engaging and that themes the authors wanted to convey and threads are not drawn nearly well enough.
Content-wise I can't comment too much since I am not a student in the field. However, the author uses the word "proof" in a way that is very different to the way that we use it today. Some of the quotations in the book from other sources can on occasion be rather 'antiquated', in terms of the way value-judgements are expressed about some tribal or ancient people's.
That said, pretty much all books do that on way or the other. The only real issue as a lay-person was the theme brought in pretty deep into the book where the author tries to draw ought the idea that all the multitude of tribal/indigenous gods can be traced back to the idea of a single creator god which is to be identified with the Christian God. In some ways this is actually very progressive because his purpose is to show that, spiritually at least, these more 'primitive cultures' are either equal or, at least, then worthy of respect. The problem is that while it's a rather noble sentiment the evidence given doesn't really support it (at least in my view). That said, it's a very interesting part to read about.
July 22, 2021
Very interesting interpretation of Egyptian culture through the lens of 'projections from Ancient Egypt into common day Africa 1911' (not sure how to say that any better). The goal in this book beyond discussing Osiris in depth appears to be using the culture of Africa today to piece together Egyptian culture from yesterday. It makes sense and I do enjoy this idea, as much of the 1911 African culture does appear similar in many regards or at least with the focus of Budge in defining the similarities - it should not be uncommon knowledge that if you want to find something, you can (with the right amount of focus and so on). Nonetheless, this book appears to withstand the test of time. I found it very helpful in my research and interesting otherwise. On to Volume 2.
June 3, 2010
Very Interesting.
February 21, 2010
A great book, I've learned so much from it, looking forward to read the second volume.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews