The Osireion at Abydos


Karnak


"Who is this that darkens counsel
By words without knowledge?
Now gird up your loins like a man,
And I will ask you, and you instruct Me."
- Job 38:2,3

The Ennead of many Gods

This material is taken verbatim from The Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos by Henry Frankfort. The material in parenthesis has been added to help those unfamiliar with Ancient Egypt, its symbols, and history.

"The texts start near the entrance with a figure of the king offering a statuette of Maat (goddess who personified the physical and moral law of the Universe) to Horus (the sky god, spirit of light):

"Words said by King Merenptah:
I come to thee, son of Osiris, provided with 'Truth'
every day; I offer her to thee.
There is aversion against untruth in my time,
while I am upon the earth.


(Note: Seti I was succeeded by Ramesses II; who was succeeded by King Merenptah. The reliefs were not completed by Seti I.)

"O Ye Gods who are in the Netherworld, first cavern of the West.
Doorkeepers of the Districts of the Land of the Dead. (1)
Ennead (assembly of many Gods) of the Ruler of the West.
Behold. I enter the Darkness.
I open the Gate of Heaven in the West.
Behold. I enter the Land of the West.
Receive me, your arms towards me!
Behold. I know your place in the Netherworld.
Behold I know your names, your caverns, your secrets.
I know from what you live when Duaty (2)
gives command to you that you should live.
Your throat breathes when you hear the words of Osiris

"Now after I have entered the Netherworld and taken the roads of the West
you are pacified, your souls are strong, you are powerful in your caves.
You have heard my words. I have called you by your names.
Said Ra to the gods who are in the first cavern of the Netherworld:
O He-nu-yty serpent (3), who is in its cavern,
one great of fearlessness, first of the Netherworld:
curb your arm, restrain your arm.

"Behold I enter the beautiful West to take care of Osiris,
to greet those who are in him.
I put his enemies in the place of their slaughter.
I command his followers.
I brighten the darkness of the Impassable Place.
O Ne-ha-her serpent (4), who is in its cave,
and to whom those who are in the Netherworld
hand over the souls of the Place of Destruction,
curb your arm, restrain your arm.

O Yonder Sa-ta serpent (5), bent around Rosetau for the Ruler of the Netherworld,
curb your arm, restrain your arm.

O that Ennead of uraei (6) whose flames are upon their mouths
to burn the enemies of Osiris,
curb your arm, restrain your arm.

O Ennead, which is behind the Bull of the West,
curb your arm, restrain your arm.

O Ye gods who are in secrecy. Chiefs of the Netherworld,
behold I have entered the West. I have passed the first cavern.
I have spoken to those who are in it.
Even what I have said they have done. (7)
It is that which I have commanded
on account of which they are pacified.
They have curled their arms and restrained their arms for me.

Behold I have passed by you, (8) you have done likewise.
O Ennead of gods, at peace upon the secret abodes,
lords of great sleeping places, who feel at home in the darkness.
O Ennead of gods, great of silence in the Land of the West
being Guardians of Souls, Masters of the Needs in the West,
who throw forward their faces like dogs
to swallow what is rotten and decayed. (9)
O yonder god great of form,
in whose charge are the secrets of Osiris,
great jaw for the god of the Netherworld
O that goddess of great mystery,
upon whom is the decay of Osiris,
to whom is entrusted the nature of the Ruler of the West.
gods curb your arm and restrain your arm for me.(10)

Behold, I enter the West to take care of Osiris,
to greet those who are in him.
I put his enemies in the place of their slaughter.
I command his followers
I brighten the darkness of the Impassable Place;
you are beings at peace in your abodes,
corpses which are powerful, souls which hear my words.
O behold, I pass by you. (11)
He breaths who sees me, who exults about my being.
O Osiris, Chief of the Netherworld, I am Re.
Give me thine arm.(12)

I am Lord of the souls, powerful of the past,
whose fear is amongst the Westerners.
I take care of the Netherworld inhabitants.
I cause that the souls rest upon their corpses.
Now after I settled on my corpse, the Netherworld is ...
O Ennead of Osiris, judging in the Netherworld of Osiris,
the Chief of the Westerners, whose followers rest in their chapel
Give me your arm.

O Ennead in Osiris,
guide me to the roads of the Netherworld
and of your hidden caves.
I call those who are in the Impassible Place.
I protect them. I take care of them. I brighten them.
I expel their darkness. I cause them to rest in their thrones. (13)
In their thrones, I command thy followers.
I brighten the darkness of the Impassable place.
Thou art a great one, upon his secrets, ...(14)

O great ennead of goddesses ... for the Great One
in the rest of the gods who are in their abodes, (15)
honorable ones who are followers of the Chiefs of the Westerners.
O Isis, O Nephthys, ye two great goddesses of the West,
give ye your arms, join ye your protection.

O ... secret forms of the cavern of Osiris,
thine is the shape of the Chief of the Underworld;
thou hast become him;
He has placed thee in his cavern.
Thine is his corpse.
Give me your arm, receive me,
lead me to the roads of the West
so that I may cause to live the corpses which are there,
and cause that their souls rest upon them
and that they breathe and brighten the darkness. (16)



(1) This line may refer to a grouping of 2nd Dynasty royal enclosures 1 km. west of the Osireion. These include the funerary enclosure of Pharaoh KhaseKhemy and the adjacent Hall of Barques.

(2) Duat is god of the underworld.

(3) He-nu-yty is the Sacred Bark of Henu, god of the dead. May refer to the Hall of Barques in a nearby "cavern" or temple at Abydos, erected by Pharaoh KhaseKhemy.

(4) Nehahra is enemy of the sun god Ra, and is slain daily

(5) Satis is goddess of Elephantine, a sacred island at the First Cataract, considered to be source of the Nile in Egypt

(6) Uraeus is the divine snake of Egypt, a cobra; associated with the goddess of Lower Egypt.

(7) "curb your arm, restrain your arm" are instructions to the reader: start a new paragraph or passage.

(8) "I have passed by you," I've gone way over your head symbolically. It's evidently time to summarize: The dialog to date describes how the Osireion takes waters from origins of the Nile River or "snake" at the First Cataract, via the underworld (water table) to cure the "flames" inflicting the land - scorching heat without rainfall. The Hall of Barks was created by the fearless Pharaoh KhaseKhemy - characteristic of the Prophet Job, going against the status quo - they are ships placed in a sacred "cavern" for posterity, kind of like a modern day time capsule. The water is delivered inland via other underground "snakes" or pipelines.

(9) The climate has changed so much that the aqueduct could not deliver enough fresh water; the purity of water worsened as the volume flow was increased beyond its design. The land dried up. The Osireion had to be disassembled and converted into a Temple to Osiris, dedicated to the god of the underworld and god of blessed waters.

(10) When the land was wasted, the goddess Earth decayed beyond repair. The story of what happened was entrusted to words, and then placed upon the walls of the Osireion.

(11) This place will come to the light of day, some time in the distant future. When it does, may the blessings of Osiris be with you.

(12) Reminiscent of the phrase in Job 40:14, "Then I will also confess to you, that your own right hand can save you." These words were spoken by God to Job; whom we meet again, here at the Osireion.

(13) Again, quoting from Job 38-39, "Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? ... Who sent out the wild donkey free?" God speaks, pleading for the safety of His creations, now at the mercy of man.

(14) The power of science is great; the people are unworthy. The secret of the Osireion will remain hidden, until such time as the people are deemed worthy.

(15) The Great Spirit, the Almighty in the Book of Job who freed him from the wrath of the brothers God and Satan.

(16) Pray thee, to help restore the land to is great plenty and fortitude, as once it was.

Bibliography

Brand, Peter J. The Monuments of Seti I Brill, London

Faulkner, R.O. Book of the Dead University of Texas Press, Austin

Frankfort, Henry The Cenotaph of Seti I at Abydos (p. 36-38) 39th Memoir of the Egypt Exploration Society, Oxford University Press, New York

Mercatante, Anthony S. Who's Who in Egyptian Mythology Metro Books, New York