The Emergence of the Osiris Cult in the Italian Peninsula and Its Main Features

A Reassessment

Bibliographic Data

ID3532983
AuthorsMaria Diletta Pubblico (University of Naples - L'Orientale, corresponding author)
Year2023
Volume14
Issue4
Pages484
Publication date2023-04-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligions (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2077-1444 • E-ISSN: 2077-1444
PublisherMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/rel14040484
OpenAlexW4362557883
LanguageEN
References cited44

In the Roman period, the cult of Osiris, together with other Egyptian deities, reached the Italian peninsula through the sea trade. Here, his watery nature was especially stressed. Following ancient Egyptian beliefs, Osiris was identified with the yearly flooding of the Nile, which renewed nature and fertilized the fields, and was used in lustration rituals to bring the dead to life as well as to satiate the deceased's thirst. Since Osiris was embodied in this vital fluid, he was perceived as a bearer of life. Far from aiming to collect all the evidence of the cult of Osiris found in the Italian peninsula, the goal of this work is to provide an overview of which forms of Osiris were mainly worshipped there, and what role he held in funerary contexts and beyond, through the analysis of some of the most relevant sources related to his cult and the examinations of the contexts in which he was worshipped

Ancient history · Archaeology · Cult · Osiris · Peninsula · Ancient Egypt and Archaeology · Classical Antiquity Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History