Osiris is universally known as the god of the dead. He was murdered by his brother Set, then brought back to life by his sister and wife Isis, with the help of funerary rites that became, for every ancient Egyptian, the instructions for post-mortem survival. Nevertheless, Osiris also played an increasingly important role in divine sanctuaries from the New Kingdom through to the Greco-Roman period. This lecture explores the ways in which the cult of Osiris spread throughout Egypt, detaching itself from its preferred funerary context.
After a general presentation of Osiris' position in the Egyptian pantheon, different approaches are successively considered to identify the link established between Osiris and the living. What do the names of the god, regularly referred to as " master of life ", " sovereign of the living ", tell us about his power over both the dead and " those on earth " ? How are the places of contact between Osiris and the living organized throughout the territory, and how is Osiris' position in the afterlife and the possibility of access to it conceived? And, from the point of view of cult spaces, what are they and how are they configured to enable this interaction ?
While our questioning is intended to encompass a broad chronological perspective, we will also fix our attention on a more limited object, namely a chapel at Karnak dating from the XXVth dynasty and dedicated to Osiris " master of life ", who also bears the name " he who rescues the unfortunate " or " the saviour ". We will be able to draw on new data recently obtained from the work of the Karnak Osirian Sanctuary Mission.