Osiris was one of the most important Egyptian gods. A coherent version of his myth can be found only in the writings of Plutarch (46 - after 119 A.D.), and so some of the motifs may be later additions or interpretations. According to Plutarch, Osiris was the ruler of Egypt who taught humans agriculture and piety. His brother Seth lured him into a trap, killed him and threw his coffin into the river. The current carried Osiris to Byblos, where his wife Isis found him and brought his body back to Egypt for burial. Then Seth dismembered Osiris's body and scattered the parts across the country. Isis collected the pieces and with the aid of magic revived her husband for a life in the underworld. In the swamps of the Nile Delta, Isis brought up their son Horus who took vengeance on Seth and became the new ruler of Egypt. The ancient, truly Egyptian versions of the myth are far more contradictory due to their diverse origins. The Osiris story was of great significance as it explained the mortality of the ruler. Without this explanation his divinity, upon which the ideology of Egypt was to a large extent founded, would have been open to doubt. The ruling king was identified with Horus; after death he became Osiris, while his son and successor became Horus, and so on ad infinitum. Gradually not only the dead ruler, but any dead person came to be identified with Osiris and it was with this deity that people associated their hopes of eternal life. The deceased would have to stand before Osiris and list 42 sins that he had not committed. The truth of his confession was evaluated by weighing his heart in a balance, with a feather - the symbol of maat or the world order - being placed in the other pan. If the verdict was favourable, the deceased would be granted eternal life and himself become Osiris; if found to be sinful, however, he would be swallowed by the monster called Amamet, after which his existence ceased completely.

Osiris's wife Isis appears in the role of a great magician who by her magical powers resurrects her husband and protects her son. Notions of her were always of major significance, although it would seem that practically to the end of the pharaonic period she had no cult of her own. However, in Greek, and especially in Roman times, worship of her spread far beyond the bounds of Egypt. She became popular in Rome, and her temples can be found across the entire empire as far afield as Britain, Germany and Hungary. Isis was depicted as a woman with cow's horns and a solar disk on her head. Numerous statuettes show her suckling the infant Horus and these no doubt contributed to the image of the Virgin and Child in Christian art.

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