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The Refreshing Water of Osiris

Author(s): Diana DeliaReviewed work(s):Source: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 29 (1992), pp. 181-190Published by: American Research Center in EgyptStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40000492.

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The Refreshing Water of OsirisDiana Delia

Among believers,rite is a symbolicact accom-plished by means of gestures and words. In acurious sepulchral inscription that attractedmyattention at the Graeco-RomanMuseumin Al-exandria, reference to a particularrite is made:Ei3\|/i3xiTaXaziaveLK8Aoi ooi6 "Oaeipic;

TO \|A)XpOVi)5cop3The deceased, Galatianos,is exhorted to be ofgood cheer and the wish is expressed that Osiriswill offer him vj/uxpov5o)p, ool water. Seven-teen parallelshave been published; six of theselikewise came from Alexandria, thirteen fromother sites in Egypt,Carthage,and Italy.4The

formula appears on sepulchral stelae of malesand females, ten to thirty-fiveyearsof age, pos-sessing Egyptian,Greek,and Romannames.Allof the inscriptions date within the first threecenturies of the Roman Principate.5Rohde suggested that the formula 5oir|ooi 6"Ooeipic;o \|/DXp6v)5cop"mayOsirisoffer youcool water")developed among Greeks in Ro-man Egypt pursuantto earlier Greektraditions,particularly the so-called "Orphic" lamellae.Those who would favor Greek origin, however,ignore the Egyptian evidence that establishesbeyond all reasonable doubt that this formuladerives from ancient Egyptian religious ritualand belief. Indeed the number and scatteredprovenance of these cool water inscriptionsdemonstrate that, well into the Roman Princi-pate, Egyptianreligious customs continued tothrive not only among Egyptians but alsoamong Greeks and Romans residing in Egyptand abroad. Accordingly, this evidence chal-lenges the proclivity of ancient historians toview culturalsyncretism n the Hellenistic worldas being essentially one-dimensional by focus-ing on the Hellenization of indigenous popula-tions while ignoring the impact that the latterhad on their Greek and Roman conquerors.

1 Earlierversions of this paperwere deliveredat a Sym-posium on Religion in ClassicalAntiquityhosted by TexasA&MUniversityon 20 October 1987, at the 1989 annualmeeting of the American Society of Papyrologists andAmericanPhilologicalAssociation n Baltimore,MD,and atthe 1991 annualmeeting of the American ResearchCenterin Egypt n Boston, MA. I am grateful to Jan Quaegebeur,who read it in draft and offered many helpful commentsthereon, and to Lorelei H. Corcoranfor her collaborationconcerning the Fayummummyportraits.See, for example, J. Ries, "Les rites d'initiation etsacre," n Les ritesd'initiation,Actes du Colloque de Liegeet de Louvain-la-Neuve,20-21 novembre 1984 (Louvain,1986), 32.3 Funerarystele, ed. E. Breccia, Catalogue eneraldes an-tiquitesEgyptiennesau Museed'Alexandrie,nos. 1-568: iscrizionigreche latine(Cairo, 1911), no. 341 (Alexandria:Minet el-Bassel),see fig. 1. I am gratefulto Mme.DoreyaSaid,Direc-tor of the Graeco-RomanMuseumat Alexandria,for thisphoto and permissionto publishit herein.For the convenience of readers, these are listed in anappendix that follows thispaper.

5 Cf. the prayer inscribed on a late Ptolemaic statue:"mayyou receive the cold water:"H. de Meulenaere andB. V. Bothmer, "Une statue thebaine de la fin de l'epoqueptolemaique,"ZAS101 (1974), 110 and pl. 4.Psyche:The Cult of Souls and Belief in ImmortalityAmongthe GreeksNew York, 1966), II 576 n. 152. Conversely,I.Levybelieved that the prayerderived from relatively ecentdemotic or aramaic prototypes: "Les inscriptionsarameennes de Memphis et l'epigraphie funeraire del'Egyptegreco-romaine," ournalAsiatique 11 (1927), 305.For the most recent editions of the Carpentrasstele (CIS141) on which Levy's hesis wasbased, see P. Grelot,Docu-ments rameens'EgypteParis,1972),no. 86, and E. Lipinski,"North-west emitic nscriptions,"OLPS(1977), 112-17.

181

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182 JARCEXXIX (1992)

Fig. 1.Funerary telafromMinetel-Bassel,Alexandria.

Clearly the unilateral nature of such a socialperspectiveremains its most serious flaw.By the time that the earliest Old KingdomPyramidTextswere carved on the pyramid ofUnas, last pharaoh of DynastyV, the deceasedEgyptian king was identified with the deityOsiris. For the Egyptiansbelieved that Osiris,who had ruled Egypt as king, was slain by hisbrother, Seth. Upon attainingmanhood, Osiris'son, Horus, avenged the murder of his fatherand secured the throne of Egyptfor himself.8

Thereafter, during their lifetimes, Egyptianpharaohs identified with Horus; upon deaththey identified with his father, Osiris, in whoseresurrectionafter death they hoped thereby toshare.Osiris first appeared as ruler of the nether-world and judge of the dead by the MiddleKingdom.It wasalso during this period that thePyramidTextspells, hitherto exclusive to royalburials, began to be written on the coffins ofaffluent Egyptiansin what has been describedas a "democratizationof the hereafter."9Dur-ing the New Kingdom,similarspells were writ-ten on papyri,known as the Bookof theDead.From the end of the second millennium B.C.down through the Roman period, Osiris func-tioned as the central figure of Egyptianfuner-ary belief and practices by virtue of his dyingand reviving capacitiesas well as his position asjudge and ruler in netherworld.The former aredescribed at length by Plutarch in his treatise,On his and Osiris,composed during the earlysecond century a.d., in which it is stated thatEgyptiansequated Osiriswith the Nile river,es-pecially its fructifyingand regenerative dTC7iopr|(efflux).10 Since Egyptians tended to expressabstractconcepts in concrete form, regenera-tion was symbolizednot only by Osirisbut alsoby the Nile. Moreover,viewing the universe ascomposed of interchangeable elements, at oneand the same time Egyptiansmight refer to theNile as H'apyor Osiris,whom they worshippedas distinctyet associateddivinities.11In severalof the Old KingdomPyramidTexts,the Osirian dead king is offered a libation ofcool (kbhw)or fresh (rnpy)water. The purpose

7 ThePyramidof Unas, ed. and tr. A. Piankoff (Princeton,1968) and ed. R. O. Faulkner, TheAncient EgyptianPyramidTexts translated into English (Oxford, 1969): utt. 271 spell388, utt. 317 spells 507-8. See also J. Cerny, AncientEgyptianReligion(London, 1952), 85; H. Bonnet, Reallexikonderdgyp-tischenReligionsgeschichte2Berlin, 1971), 620-23.8 P. ChesterBeattyI recto (Thebes, reign of Ramses V), tr.M. Lichtheim, AncientEgyptianLiterature, I: TheNewKingdom(Univ. California:Berkeley, 1976), 215-23; Plutarch, Mor.

366c-67b, ed. with commentaryby J. GwynGriffiths,Dehide et OsirideCambridge,1970).y The proliferation of Coffin Texts was succinctly ex-plainedbyJ. Wilsonas follows:"anymanwho wasprominentenough and rich enough to afford an inscribedcoffin andpriestlyservicesat his funeralhad magicand religion work-ing for his deificationat death. He would become an Osirison entry into the next world."The Culture f AncientEgypt(Chicago,1951),116.See also,Cerny,87-88, and S.Morenz,EgyptianReligion,r.A. E. Keep(Ithaca,1973)220.1UNeiJiov ivai xov"Oaipiv:Mor.364A-366D.11Plutarch,Mor.355 B-C. See also Bonnet, 527-28; W.Helck, "Osiris," ESupp.IX (Stuttgart,1962),499-500; andJ. A. Wilson,"Egypt:he Functionof the State,"n H. Frank-fort et al., Before hilosophyHammondsworth, 949),72-73.

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THE REFRESHINGWATEROF OSIRIS 183of this funeral libation was lustral, to revitalizethe dead king, causing him to become youth-ful (rnp) again.12 The dead king is thus ad-dressed, "Raiseyourself, o king . . . wash [yourhands in this] fresh [water]which your fatherOsiris has given to you."13The fresh water isthe Nile efflux, rdw;t is both the Nile flood andthe life force of the Nile deity, Osiris.14This li-bation wasnot intended to assuagethe thirstofthe dead in the manner of funerary offeringsbut was sacramental in nature. Lustration inNile water purified the dead king's body andritually consecrated it. By absorbing the vitalfluid of Osiris, the deceased might partake ofthe god's immortality. This ablution, like all

Egyptianfunerary practices, was performed inimitation of rites associated with the burial ofOsiris. Indeed, the PyramidTextsand similarspells may actually have been recited by mor-tuary priests wearing masks of the appropriatedivinities as they prepared a corpse for inter-ment; perhaps it wasbelieved that proper reci-tation of the formulae and discharge of ritualwould cause the real deities to perform thesame services on behalf of the spirit of the de-ceased in the realm of the dead.Likewise, n the MiddleKingdomCoffinTexts,the deceased, once bathed in the fresh or coolwater that issued from Osiris, is identified withhim.18The deceased claims:

I am this great soul of Osiris whom thegods commanded to copulate with him. ... Ihave remade Osirisfrom the effluxwhichwasin his flesh, from the seed which issued from

12Pyr. Textsutt. 32 spell 22: "This cold water of yours, OOsiris, this cold water of yours, O King. . . . Take the effluxwhich issued from you . . . cold water and two pellets of na-tron." See also Pyr. Texts utt. 33 spells 24-25, utt. 357 spell589, utt. 423 spell 765, utt. 482 spell 1002, and utt. 676 spell2010. On rnpy, see R. O. Faulkner, A ConciseDictionary ofMiddle Egyptian (Oxford, 1962), 150 and A. Erman andH. Grapow, edd., Worterbucher aegyptischenSprache Berlin,repr. 1971, henceforth cited as Wb.) I 443, 25. For kbhw, eeFaulkner, Diet. 211 and Wb.V 22 and 26-28. For the lustral

purposes of cool water that was identified with Osiris andthe Nile, see J. Maspero, "La table d'offerandes des tom-beaux egyptiens," Etudes de mythologieet d'archeologieegypti-ennesd, Bibl. Eg. 28 (Paris, 1912), 331 and 337; Bonnet, 571;and J. Gwyn Griffiths, The Origins of Osiris, MAS 9 (Berlin,1966), 100.13Pyr. Texts utt. 619 spells 1747-48; see also Pyr. Textsutt. 436 spells 788-89: "You have your water, you have yourflood, the flood which issued from the god, the exudationwhich issued from Osiris. Your hands have been washed,your ears have opened. This mighty one has been made aspirit for the benefit of (?) his soul. Wash yourself so thatyour double may wash himself. ..."14Pyr. Textsutt. 460 spell 868: "O king, your cold water isthe great flood which issued from you." However, cf. Pyr.Texts utt. 85 spell 2063-68. On rdw, see Faulkner, Diet. 156and Wb. I 469.15Pyr. Texts utt. 213 spell 134: "O King, you have not de-parted dead, you have departed alive; sit on the throne ofOsiris, your scepter in your hand, that you may give ordersto the living;" Pyr. Textsutt. 422 spell 754: "O King, go thatyou may be a spirit and have power as a god, as the succes-sor of Osiris." See also Pyr. Texts utt. 537 spell 1298 and utt.667A spell 1944 as well as A. M. Blackman, "The Signifi-cance of Incense and Libations in Funerary and TempleRitual," ZAS 50 (1912), 71 and 73; idem, "Sacramental Ideasand Usages in Ancient Egypt," Recueil de Trav. 39 (1921),59-60, and "Osiris and the Sun God," JEA 11 (1925), 208;J. Jequier, Considerations ur les religionsegyptiennes Neucha-tel, 1946), 54-56; and Morenz (1973), 39.

16Herodotus (2.85-86) relates that the lustral washing ofthe corpse took place after its removal from the natron bathand prior to being annointed and wrapped. The lustralwashing of Osiris by Horus is recalled in Pyr. Texts,utt. 670spells 1978-80. See also Blackman (1921), 49-50; Cerny,105; and Griffiths (1966), 48. On the parallelism betweenOsiris and the deceased, see also S. Morenz, "Das Problemdes Werdens zu Osiris in der griechisch-romischen ZeitsAgyptens," in P. Derchain, ed., Religions en Egyptehellenis-tique et romaine, Colloque de Strasbourg 16-18 mai 1967(Paris, 1969), 75-91, and J. Quaegebeur, "La stele Brooklyn71.37.3 reconsideree," GM119 (1990), 73-89.A. M. Blackman, "Sacramental Ideas and Usages inAncient Egypt," PSBA40 (1918), 66; idem, "Some Notes onthe Ancient Egyptian Practice of Washing the Dead,"yEA 5(1918), 117-18; "Purification" Hastings Encyclopaediaof Reli-gion and Ethics 10 (New York, 1919), 478-79; and (1921),49-50 and 57.18 The Ancient Egyptian Coffin Texts, ed. and tr. R. O.Faulkner, 3 vols. (Warminster, 1973-78): Identification withOsiris: CT spell 94, II 67-69; spell 190, III 98; spell 317, IV110; spells 318-20, IV 136-46; spell 330, IV 68; spell 660,VI 251; spell 664, VI 265; spell 766, VI 396; and spell 1119,VI 452.Lustration: CTspell 149, II 253; spell 61, II 257; spell 62,

II 269; spell 74, II 307; spell 74, II 311; spell 235, II 302;spell 327, IV 163; spell 345, IV 369 = spell 346, IV 377; spell523, VI 115-16; spell 547, VI 143; spell 598, VI 215; spell754, VI 318; spell 840, VII 45; spell 856, VII 59; spell 895,VII 104-5; spell 936, VII 137. See also TheAncient EgyptianBookof Two Ways,ed. L. H. Lesko (Berkeley, 1972) spell 356(p. 88): "Ihave come to you, Osiris, that I may worship you,that I may be clean through your effluvium, which I haveraised."

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184 JARCEXXIX (1992)his phallus at the going out into the day thathe might copulate with it. I am the son ofOsiris,his heir within his rank, I am the soulwithin his blood. ...

It is in the CoffinTexts hat the first mention ofthe thirstingdead occurs: "Iwill not be thirsty,my lipswill not be dry,I havequenched mythirstwith thatgreatefflux of myfather Osiris.' Thedesire to avoid dehydrationwas doubtlesslyin-spired bydesertburialpractice.Nevertheless,bythe Middle Kingdom, conflation of traditionalspells for food offerings with sacramental asso-ciation with Osirisby means of ritual lustrationhad occurred.21 Although provision of Nilewater as a libation for the thirsting dead doesnot figure prominently in the CoffinTexts, tsoccurrence at this time marksa significantvaria-tion on the original lustraltheme.During the New Kingdom and Late periods,Osiris continued to be identified with the Nileand the deceased with Osiris. Lustration con-

tinued to be practiced in connection with fu-nerary and temple rituals. At the temple ofOsiris at Abydos, Horus and Thoth are repre-sented pouring water over deified King Setyfrom a libation vessel. The water is depicted asstreams of ankh and was signs, conferring lifeand divine power, respectively.24Likewise,an-other scene representsHorus purifyingOsirianSety with water;Horus says: "Thy purificationsare the purificationsof Horus and vice versa."Above Horus are the words, "Pure s KingMen-ma'atre,given life; he has censed himself withhis bodily eye and his flesh is pure and hisimage is divine." Clearly, ancient Egyptiansassociated water with life, and the ritual act oflustration with Nile watersignified rejuvenationand immortality. Perhapsas earlyas the reignof Ramses III, purification rites of Osiris werecelebrated every autumn during the month ofChoiak, as soon as the Nile inundation beganto recede, in order to revitalizethe god's limbs;these rites continued to be celebrated down

19CTspell 94, 1167-69.^ CTspell 362,V 17-22: "Iwillnot be thirsty,my lipswillnot be dry,I havequenched mythirstwith thatgreat effluxof my father Osiris."However,cf. CTspell 359, V 10-11:"Menbring to him for the meeting (?) of his needs, menapproach for the quenching (?) of his thirst. Ho, N!Your . . are opened by Neper, water s measuredout to youby the Nile-god, Neith will come to you with her atten-dants,"which distinguishes thirst proper from lustrationwith Nile water. See also CT spell 30, I 88-90; spell 34,I 117-19; spell 36, I 137-38; and spell 37, I 149-50: "Theyoung god is born of the beautifulWest,havingcome herefrom the land of the living;he hasgot rid of his dust,he hasfilled his bodywith magic, he has quenched his thirst withit "CTspell 226, III257-58; CTspell 358, V 10-11 andCTspell644,VI265.J1Food offerings: CTspell 240, II 326; spell 239, II 321;spell 179, III66-71; spell 604, VI218;spell 725,VI 335.Spells for powerover waterin the realm of the dead: CTspell 356, V 8 and spell 359, V 12. Cf. Griffiths'commentson the Egyptianpracticeof burial n the desert:(1970)96.TheAncientEgyptianBookof theDead,ed. and tr. R. O.Faulkner London, 1985):Spellsfor food offerings:spells58 and 110.Spellsfor powerover water: pells57 and 62.Lustration: pells45, 182, and 183;see also spell 152.For identification of Osiriswith the Nile, see P. Louvre3079.94-97, ed. J. C.Goyon,"Leceremonialde glorificationd'Osirisdu papyrusde Louvre 3079,"BIFAO651967), 101;The Bookof theDead,spell 69; "Hymnto Osiris"(reign ofRamsesIV),ed. K. A. Kitchen, Ramessidens. VI.1 (Oxford,

1969), 20-25; "Hymn o Osiris" reign of RamsesIX), ed.A. Erman,"Gebete ines ungerechtVerfolgtenund anderenOstrakaaus den Konigsbrabern," AS38 (1900), 32, trans,idem, TheAncientEgyptians: SourcebookftheirWritingsNewYork,1927);E. Naville, TheFestivalHall of OserkonI in theGreatTemplefBubastis, ESMemoir 10 (London, 1892),24,pl. XI.Second hypostylewall,Westwall,right and leftjambs:A. R. David,A Guide o ReligiousRitual at AbydosWarmin-ster, 1981), 32 and figure on p. 33. Cf. Eastwall, door lEb:David,42 and fig. on p. 43. Also note the cartonnage nnercoffin of Tjentmutengebtyuon which Horus and Thothpurify the Theban princess with streamsof ankh and wassymbols:C.Andrews,EgyptianMummiesLondon, 1984), 14,fig. 10; an amulet on which Anubis is depicted purifyingamummy:G. A. Reisner, Catalogue enerale esantiquites uMuseedu Caire,nos. 12528-13595: AmuletsI (Cairo, 1958)no. 13580 and pl. 20; and the tomb of Mutirdisat Asasif,dated to the second half of the seventh century B.C., nwhich Osiris directs Horus to give Mutirdis pure water(kbhw) this is written over a scene in which Horuspoursastream of water over the deceased from a libation vessel.See J. Assmann,Das GrabderMutirdis.Grabungm Asasif,1963-1970 (Mainzam Rhein, 1977),VI 57-58, line 23 andplates 20-20A. See also A. H. Gardiner,"The BaptismofPharaoh/'^EA 6 (1956), 12.lb EastWall, Sety shrine: David (1981), 142 and fig. onp. 143 = B. Porter and R. L. B. Moss,Topographicalibliogra-phyofAncientEgyptianHieroglyphicexts,Reliefs ndPaintings,VI:Upper Egypt,ChiefTemples (Oxford, 1970), 21 (192).^ David(1981), 58 and 68.

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THE REFRESHINGWATEROF OSIRIS 185through Roman times. The rite of pouringwater on corn-Osiris figures interred with thedeceased, first attested during the New King-dom, appears to have symbolizeda similar re-vival of the god.The same beliefs and practices perseveredthroughoutthe Hellenisticand Romanperiods.In the demotic PapyrusRhind,lustral water is

described as having come from Elephantine,near the FirstCataract,which ancient Egyptiansconsidered as the source of the Nile because thebody of Osiriswas believed to have been buriedbeneath Biga Island.29 Moreover, on severalPtolemaicfunerarystelae, cool water from Ele-phantine appears as a libation intended forconsumption by the Osirian deceased for thepurposeof rejuvenation.30Elsewherecool waterwas associated with the Nile, revival of the de-ceased, and immortality.31Hence the signifi-cance of the flasks or cups that prominentlyappearon some Fayummummyportraits.32

Ibid., 124;idem, TheAncientEgyptians: eligiousBeliefsandPracticesLondon, 1982), 110. Nile water was carried nmummiform("canopic")ars duringthe Choiakprocession:Dendera, Temple of Hathor:roof, east Osirischapel (alsocalled south):Porter-MossVI. 99 (66-77). See also H. Bein-lich, Die "Osirisreliquien":umMotivderKorperzergliederungnder altdgyptischen eligion(Wiesbaden, 1984), passim; E.Chassinat,Lemystere'Osiris u moisdeChoiak, vols. (Cairo,1966-68), passim,and F. Dunand, "Lesmysteresegyptiensaux epoques hellenistique et romaine,"in Mysterest syn-cretismes, niversite des Sciences Humaines de Strasbourg,Centre de Recherches d'Histoire des Religions, Etudesd'Histoire des Religions2 (Paris, 1975),21-24.Note the Late Egyptiansarcophagusat Besancon onwhich Osiris s depicted pouringwaterfrom a long-spoutedhydrionnto the outstretchedhands and into the mouth ofthe decedent kneeling before him: R. V. Lanzone, "Osiris,"Dizionario i mitologia gizia Turin, 1881-85), III294, repro-duced in R. Reitzenstein,"Erosals Osiris,"Nachricht onderGesellschafter Wissenschaftenu Gottingen, hil-hist. Klasse(1930),406, and repr.in G. Binder and R.Merkelbach, dd.,AmorundPsycheDarmstadt,1968), 312. See also LouvreE3229:ed. J. H. Johnson, "LouvreE 3229:A DemoticMagicalText,"Enchoria (1977), col. 3, 10-11 at p. 61. Cf. PapyrusBremner-Rhind,, 26 (4th c. B.C.).For lustration, note thetomb of Petosiris(Tuna el-Gebel, 4th c. B.C.):G. Lefebvre,"Textes du tombeau de Petosiris,"ASAE 1920), 222-23;idem, Letombeau e PetosirisCairo,1923-24), I, 131, inscr.no. 82, plates 28 and 31-32; R. O. Faulkner,ed. and tr.,"ThePapyrusBremner-Rhind BM. 10188),"Bibl Aegypt.(Brussels,1933), tr. idem, "TheBremner-RhindPapyrus, "JEA 22 (1936), 121-40 (4th c. B.C.);Ankh-Maat-Re tele(Memphis,mid. 2nd c. B.C.), d. W. Spiegelberg, "Demotis-che Miscellen, XLI:Eine hieroglyphisch-demotischeSteleder BibliothequeNationale,"RecueildeTrav. 0 (1908), 144-47; P. Pamenthoes,d. F. Lexa,Papyrus ePamenthoes:as de-motischeTotenbuchder pariser Nationalbibliothek(Leipzig,1910), I 1.2 (a.d.63);P. Rhind , 2 hier. 10 and I, 2 dem. 9,ed. G. Moller,Die beidenTotenpapyrenhindaus desMuseumszu EdinburghLeipzig, 1913, late Ptolemaic/earlyRoman);and Levy 1927),302. See also P.Louvre 158.1-2 and 19-21(Roman date) and G. Maspero,"Memoire ur quelques pa-pyrusdu Louvre: e ritual de l'embaument,"Notice textraitsdes ms. de la Bibliothequeationale24 (Paris, 1883), 27-29;J-C.Goyon, "La ete de Sokarisa Edfou a la lumiere d'untexte liturgique remontant au Nouvel Empire,"BIFAO 8(1978), 425-26. As late as the fifth centurya.d.,Osiris s de-scribed as "he drawscold water and will relieveyour souls"(Kaiepito \j/ux6v)5(opK

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186 TARCEXXIX (1992)On the 22nd of Choiak, symbolsof the godswere carried on procession in celebration ofthe mysteries of Osiris. Among these was aneffigy of Osiris which Apuleius describes as a

hollowed-out urn of burnished gold, possessinga rounded bottom, a long spout on one sideand a handle on the other; the exterior wascoveredwith hieroglyphicwriting.The peculiarshape and spout suggest that it was a hydreion,containing Nile water. Apuleius praises theurn as "worthy f devotion because of its skillfulcraftsmanshipand originality";but it is owingto its contents that he proclaims it to be "anindescribable religious proof that should beveiled in deep silence.' Likewise,the Nesna-khetiou situla was inscribed "you will receivethe water,"as its function was to contain Nilewater for the sacramentalrevitalizationof thedeceased.35It is interesting to note that Osirisbecame so closely associated with the hydreionthat he was actuallyworshipped as Hydreios, amummiformpersonification of his sacred Nilewatervessel, on the island of Delos.

Scores of classicalwriters discoursed on thesubject of the Nile, commenting on its allegedprogenitive qualities and its sweetness in con-trast to the bitterness of salt sea water. It wasclaimed that PtolemyII Philadelphos regularlysent Nile water to his daughter, Berenike, inOQSyria,lest she drink from any other source.Hence it is not at all surprisingthat persons oranimals immersed in the Nile were believed tohave acquired divinity.Antinoiis, the EmperorHadrian's companion who drowned in theNile in a.d. 130, no doubt remains the mostwell-knownexample of this type of apotheosis.Accordingly, the Egyptianword, hsi, meaning"immersed in water," was equivalent to theGreekeKBecoaeoBaind the Latin consecrare,ig-OQnifying "to become divine."

no. 165, North CarolinaMuseumof Art inv. no. 78.1.8. Theiconography is fairly standard:the right hand of the de-ceased holds a cup or flaskand the left hand holds a floralgarlandor wreath;cf., however,MummiesndMagicno. 162.K. Parlascahad supposedthat the vessels containedwine:Mummienportrdtsnd verwandteenkmdlerWiesbaden,1966).The Osiriannature of these vessels, however,was demon-stratedbyL. H. Corcoran n her paperdeliveredat the 1991annual meeting of the American ResearchCenter in Egypt(Boston, MA),and also in her study,PortraitMummiesromRomanEgyptDiss.,Universityof Chicago, 1988), 125-37, inwhich she investigates the Osirian iconography of themummyportraits.56Note Clement Alex., Strom. .4: rcpocpavsc;o u5peTovsyKeKO>jua}A8Voc;.ee alsoJ. GwynGriffiths, d. and comm.,Apuleius fMadauros,The sis-Book, PRO39 (Leiden, 1975),227-33.34Met.11.11: "sollertirepertu etiam ipsa novitaterever-endam, altiorisutcumque et magno silentio tegendae reli-gionis argumentum neffabile."Nonnus:25.229.34:"summinuminis venerendaeffigies."

C.J. Evrard-DerriksndJ. Quaegebeur,"La itule de-coree de Nesnakhetiouau MuseeRoyalde Mariemont,"CdE54 (1979), 42 (3rd centuryB.C.).Cf. the situla depicted onthe funerary stele of Nepherosbab (51 B.C.):H. P. Blok,"Drei Stelen aus der Spatzeit im Haagner Museum,"ActaOrientalia (1930), 194-209.36 CED173 (Serapeion C, predates88 B.C.).Dedicationsmade to Hydreiosalone: CED175A and 179 (SerapeionC,post 166 B.C.); 52 (SerapeionC, 105-3 B.C.).For Hydreiosas a personificationof the vesselwhich containedthe sacred

Nile water,see P. Roussel,Lescultes gyptiensDelosduIIPauIersiecle av.J.-C." Nancy,1916), 165 and 284-89; also seeP. Perdrizet,Bronzes recques 'Egypte e la collection ouquet(Paris, 1911), 49. For mummiformwaterjars, which liketheir "canopic"prototype symbolized continued life, seeJ. Vogt, ed., Ausgrabungenn Alexandria,I.2: Diegriechische-aegyptischeammlung . von Sieglin Leipzig, 1924), pl. 1.2;F. von Bissing, "Dasheilige Bild von Kanopos,"BSAA24(1929), 39-59; E. Breccia, ed., Monuments e VEgyptereco-romaine,II: Terrecottereche greco-egizieelMuseodi Alessan-dria(Bergamum,1930),pl. 27.3;A. Adriani,"Sanctuaire el'epoque romaine a Ras el Soda,"Annuairedu MuseeGreco-Romain, 935-39, 143-44 and pl. LII-LIII;andA. Fouquet,"Quelques representationsd'Osiris Canope au Musee duLouvre,"BIFAO 3 (1973), 61-69. See also W. Weber,DreiUntersuchungenur dgyptischen-greichischeneligion Heidel-berg, 1911), 29-48; F. Dunand, Religion opulaire nEgypteromaine: es terres uites siaquesdu Museedu Caire,EPRO66(Leiden, 1979),88-89; Griffiths 1975), 228;and R.A. Wild,Watern the CulticWorshipfIsis andSarapis,EPRO87 (Lei-den, 1981),69.37Progenitive: Diod. Sic. 1.10.6-7; Strabo 15.22-23;Pliny, HN 7.3.33 and 9.84.179; Pomponius Mela, Dechorographia.9.52; Seneca, Quaes.nat. 3.25.11; Plut., Mor.353A;Aelian, NA 3.33; Avienus, Descr.orbis errae 37-41.See also Griffiths 1970), 274.Sweetness:Aesch., Prom.des.812; Diod Sic. 1.40.4; Sen.,Quaes.nat.4.2.30;Ael. Aristides,or. 36.119 (Behr);AchillesTatius 4.18; HA: Pesc.Niger7.1; Porphyrycited in Euseb.,Praep.Evang.9.10.413a. See also Wild, 231 n. 37, and noteTheBookof TwoWays 05 and 502 (p. 58), in which the de-ceased are said to live on the sweetnessof Osiris;note ibid.,6.192 (pp. 91-92): "I embalm those who are in sweetness,"and cf. 355 (p. 92), and 367 (p. 94).38Athen. 2.45C.39Herodotus2.90;cf. A. B. Lloyd,Herodotus,ook I: Com-mentary, PRO43 (Leiden, 1976), I, 366. On hsi, see Wb.Ill, 154-56 and 160;P. Leid.Magic.VI.12, tr. F. L. Griffith

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188 TARCEXXIX (1992)Osirian.45 In short, the ancient Egyptian ritualsoriginally confined to the tombs of Old King-dom pharaohs were now being perpetuated by acult celebrated by the living.

In Book XI of his Metamorphoses,Apuleiusdescribes his own initiation into the mysteriesof Isis and Osiris that transpired towards themiddle of the second century a.d. Since the sig-nificance of a mystery cult rests on the preserva-tion of mysteria,or "secret doctrines," impartedonly to the initiated, Apuleius is understand-ably guarded as to the details that he reveals.He does, however, relate that prior to induc-tion, he was required to fast and to bathe; there-after, he underwent ablutions of the purestkind poured on him by the high priest ofthe cult.46 Hence not only funerary practicesbut also initiation rites into the cult of Osiriswere patterned after the Osirian myth in whichthe deity's corpse was washed by one or an-other of the gods. Apuleius obliquely describesthe religious experience that he underwent inthe course of initiation; his account suggeststhat a description of the netherworld journeywas imparted to him as well as the appropriateformulaic responses necessary to proceed pastnumerous gods in order to arrive at the king-dom of Osiris. In these respects, Apuleius' ac-count is reminiscent of the New Kingdom Bookof the Dead as well as the so-called "Orphic"lamellae insofar as all three preserved magicalspells intended to enable the deceased to over-come obstacles and gain entry to the nether-world. Ironically, in real life, the author wasprosecuted for allegedly engaging in magicalpractices, but was acquitted (Apol. de magica).Lamellae are thin sheets of gold leaf, ratherlike foil, on which Greek texts were inscribed.They have been found in Italy, on mainlandGreece, and on Crete, folded up alongsideburied skeletons or placed in their hands. Onelamella had been rolled up and encased in a cyl-inder attached to a gold chain worn like anamulet around the neck of the corpse. Theoriginal purpose of the gold leaves was to in-struct the deceased concerning the paths to

travel in the netherworld, what he or she is tosay, and what responses ought to be expected.The instructions appear to be magical insofaras they impart to the deceased formulae neces-sary to attain to goals in the hereafter.49One group of gold leaves, in particular, isreminiscent of our Osirian prayer. These arethe lamellaecataloged as group "B"by Zuntz inthe most recent cumulative edition of theGreek texts. The "B"texts date between the 4thand 2nd centuries B.C.,although the cylinder inwhich the longest text was encased dates to the2nd or 3rd century a.d., suggesting that the goldleaf had been recovered and reused in the Ro-man period and that potency continued to beattributed to it.50 It reads:

Eupf]Gi,i)Kf]v axr)Ki)iavKUTrdpioaovxauxri^xf|(;Kpf)vr|(;ur)5 a%e56vU7i^daiac;.Evprpzic, 5i exspav, xfj

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THE REFRESHINGWATEROF OSIRIS 189Say,"Iam a child of the Earth and starryHeaven;but myraceis of Heaven (alone). Thisyou yourselvesknow.But I am parchedwith thirst and I perish.Give me

quicklythecold waterflowingforth from the Lake ofMemory."And of themselvestheywillpermit you to drinkofthe holy spring,and thereafteryou will be lord among the otherheroes.Immediately apparent is the fact that theselamellaeimpartthe theme of the thirstingdead.The dead of the lamellae, owever,seek the freshwater of the Lake of Mnemosynenot merely toappease their thirst but because it will permitthem tojoin the companyof the blessed. Accord-

ingly,cool water servesan analogous purposeonlamellae nd in our prayer.Other characteristicsof the leaves suggest Egyptian nfluence as well:the didactic format of instructions ikewise oundin the PyramidTexts,CoffinTexts,and Bookof theDeadand the fact that they were buried alongwith the deceased or placed on corpses in themanner of Egyptianamulets.During the seventh through fifth centuriesB.C.,Greeks advanced commercial and culturalcontactswithEgyptbymeans of the Greek settle-ments at Naukratisand trading posts along theNile. It is also patent from the curiosityand ad-mirationfor all things EgyptianexhibitedbyHe-rodotus and Hecataeus of Abderathat educatedGreeks of the classical and Hellenistic age wereintriguedby Egyptianculture. Preciselybecausethe Egyptian raditionsare older and continuedin their own right to be perpetuated downthrough the Roman Principate, it is likely thatthe cool watersymbolismof the lamellae nd theirmagical context echo Egyptian funerarybeliefsand practices,not vice versa.Moreover,ancienttestimonia on Pythagoras oncur thatfrom circa535 to 525 B.C.,he youngphilosopherresided inEgypt,where he learned the native anguage,vis-ited sanctuaries,underwent initiation into reli-gious mysteries and learned about the sacredrites and lore.51 Hence the "B"texts, which are

indisputablyPythagorean,reflect this philoso-pher's debt to Egypt.52Egyptians,Greeks, and Romans residing inEgypt during the Hellenistic and Roman erascherished the ancient religious beliefs whichfor millennia had attached to their terra acra.Abroad, those who had been initiated intothe mysteriesof Osiriscontinued to participatein his cult. The prayer,5otr|aoi 6 "Oaeipic;o \j/d-Xpov 35cop,estifies to the transmissionand dis-semination of ancient Egyptian religious ritualand practice by initiates into the cult of Osiriswho sought relief from the hardshipsof every-daylife and to triumphover their fates:

En eccepristinis erumnis bsolutus sidismagnae rovidentiaaudensLucius e suafortuna riumphat.

Texas A&MUniversity

Parallels1. Marble altar of Ammonia from the West-ern necropolis of Alexandria, ed. Breccia, no.332 and pl. LIV 131-131a: SB I, 3467, 5 (el-Qabbari).

A6[ir|]ao[t"Oaipu;to vj/uxpov)5cop.2. Pillar inscription from a tomb in theWesternnecropolis of Alexandria,ed. G. Botti,"Etudestopographiques dans la necropole deGabbari,"BSAA2 (1899), 50 no. 7: SBl 335 (el-Qabbari):

[Aoir] ot]| "Oatpu;to vj/uxpwvsic!) | i)5oop.3. Stele of Sarapias,also from the WesternnecropolisofAlexandria mid2nd c.a.d.),copiedbyT. D. Neroutsos,Rev.Arch. (1887) 199-201,

51Isocrates,Bus.28;Strabo14.1.16;Plut. Mor.354e;Diog.Laert.8.3;ClementAlex., Strom. .66;Porphyry,VitaPythag.7-8 and 11-12; Iamblichus,Vit.Pythag. 8ff.,HesychiusandSuda,s.v.nuGayopat;.ee also P. Gorman,PythagorasLon-

don, 1979), 43-63. On the Pythagorean etraktysf the fourinterchangeableelements as a basis for a redemptionritualof the soul, see C. A. Wilson, "Philosophers, osis and theWater of Life,"Proc.LeedsPhilos.Soc.19.5 (1984), 124 and148. On the significance of distilling theionhudoras a re-demption ritual,idem 148-49 and passim.2 Cf. Herod. 2.81 on Orphic and Bacchic borrowingsfrom Pythagorean nd Egyptianreligiousrites."BeholdLucius,freed from his former hardships,re-joicing in the providence of great Isis, triumphs over hisfate."Apul.,Met.11.15.

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190 JARCEXXIX (1992)no. 2: E. Bernand, ed., Inscriptions metriquesdeVEgyptereco-romaineParis, 1969) no. 52 (el Mex):

goi 5s "OasipiSoc; yvov i)5cop Eigic;Xapiaauo(May Isis bestow on you the sacred water ofOsiris.)

4. Stele of Basilissa, ed. SBl 1415 (Alexandria):Kcd5oi [o]oi 6 "Ooipeic;o vj/uxpov)5[cop].

5. Stele of Isidora, ed. A. Lukaszewicz, ZPE77 (1989) 195-96 and pl. VIb (Kom el-Dikka,Alexandria):5ol goi 6 "Qa[i]|pi(;to [xj/oxpov u5cop]

6. Stele of Heroi's, ed. Bernand, Inscriptionsmetriques,no. 47: SB I 5718, 6 (Alexandria, lateempire?):KXka koviv ooi | Koi3cpr|val 5o(r| vj/uxpov"OaeipK; 5cop.(May Osiris turn you into fine dust andoffer you cool water.)

7. Stele of Taesis, ed. Breccia, Catalogue,no.375: SB I 5037, 4 (Saqqara):Kal Korea f]c;5coK8j/ux|pov"Ooipic; )5oop.(And in the netherworld Osiris gave thecool water.)

8. Stele of Posis, ed. E. Breccia, "Note epi-grafiche," BSAA 20 (1924) 276, no. 21: SB III6941, 3 (Theadelphia):

Ei3\|/i3xi Tlooi 5oi | ooi co(sic!) "Oaipu; o|\j/i)XP0V^t^pl-9. Stele from Carthage, ed. Malaise, Inventaire,311: SEGIX829.

[5oir| aoi 6 "Oai]pi(;to [yDx]pv SScop.

10. Marble urn of Julia Politice, ed. IG XIV1705: CIGVL20616 (Rome):Doe se | Osiris | to psycron | hydor.

11. Stele of Korellia Aigle, ed. IG XIV 1782(Rome).Ao(ir|) goi "Ooipic; to yuxpov i)5op(sic!).

12. Stele of Olympia, ed. IGXYV 1890 (Rome):Yuxfj 5i\|/coar| |/uxpov )5cop iTa5[6](;.(Share the cool water with a thirsting soul.)

13. Stele of Flavia Servanda alias Agrippina,ed. IG XIV 2098 (Rome):euij/uxi jiT& oC 'Oo8ipi5o(;.(Be of good cheer in the company of Osiris.)

14. Stele of M. Ortorius Eleutheros, ed. G. Pa-triarca, Bull. Comm.Arch. Comm.Roma 61 (1933)211-15 (Rome, 1st c. a.d.):[5]oir| goi 6 "OGeipu;to vj/uxpov )5cop.

15. Stele of Aurelia Prosodos (Rome, 3rd c.a.d.?), ed. IG XIV 1488:5oi(r|) goi 6 "OGipic;o \j/uxp6v )8cop.

16. Stele of Melas, ed. IG XIV 1482 (Rome,2nd-3rd c. a.d.):\|/uxpovu5cop5oir| goi ava^ evspcovAi5covei3(;.(May King Hades offer you the cool water.)

17. Stele described by Raoul-Rochette, Mem.Acad. Belles Lettres13 (1837) 577-78: M. Malaise,Inventairepreliminairedes documentsegyptiensde-couvertsen Italie, EPRO 21 (Leiden, 1972) 311(Hipponium):

[6 "OGipi