36 MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS RITES. 
whom temples were erected by the Egyptians. He was worshipped as the 
god of the sun, the source of warmth, light, and fruitfulness, in addition to 
which he was also looked up to as the god of the Nile, who annually visited 
Isis his wife, viz. the earth, by means of an inundation. ‘The year and 
Tartarus were also subject to his sway.. Hence do we find him represented 
in a variety of forms. Pl. 8, jig. 15, he is seen as a boy with a hawk’s 
head riding upon a cow, the horns grasped in his hands; and on pl. 9, fig. 
4, with a lion’s head, while jig. 5 represents him with a bull’s head crowned 
with a crescent. The lion’s head he has in his capacity as god of the = 
whose annual rising was symbolized by the figure of a lion. 
Pl. 10, jig. 10, shows us a statue of the god with the hawk’s head look- 
ing ‘ititin dé, and holding in his left hand the key of the Nile; and jig. 11 
is another representation of the god, wrapped in a long and ample garment, 
holding in his right hand a staff ornamented with a hawk’s head simi- 
lar to his own. Pl. 8, jig. 16, is intended either for Osiris with the 
Serapis serpent, as the god of Tartarus, in which capacity he is considered 
as one and the same with Serapzs, or it is to represent 'Serapis himself. 
The latter, it is asserted by some writers, was a separate deity, ruler of Tar- 
tarus and god of medicine, in which latter capacity the serpent is appended 
as the symbol; others considered him also as god of the sun, and as such 
he is seen in jig. 23, with the rays around his head, and encircled by the folds 
of the serpent. He is also regarded as the presiding deity over the rising 
Nile, and in that capacity he is wrapped in a long garment, pl. 10, jig. 7 
holding a staff in his hand and carrying a corn measure upon his head. 
This latter attribute is always found about his person, no matter what the 
form under which he is represented. He is seen thus in jig. 8, seated upon » 
a throne and his feet covered with sandals, while his right hand, without 
the staff, is raised over his shoulder and the left resting upon his knee. /7gs. 
5 and 6 seem on the contrary to confirm the assertion that Osiris and. 
Serapis were one and the same person, who was called by the one or the 
other name, and represented according to the capacity in which for the 
time being he was supposed to act; for these figures are intended for 
Serapis and Isis closely united, and it will be remembered that Isis was the 
wife of Osiris, the god of the sun. Another fact in corroboration of this 
Opinion is that Osiris was buried in the temple of Serapis, where he was 
worshipped more than at any other place. Nevertheless it is probable that 
Serapis may have been substituted for Osiris, which some say was actually 
the case after the time of Alexander; and if so, he was considered ruler 
of the elements, bearer of the keys that unlock the waters everywhere, and 
particularly those of the Nile, god of the earth as well as the presiding 
deity over all the powers of matter and king of Tartarus. In this character 
it necessarily followed that he was the source of life, and the judge of the 
dead, to punish or pardon according to his own good pleasure. 
A coin has also been preserved (pl. 8, jig. 24), upon which he is repre- 
sented with acorn measure upon his head and surrounded with seven heads, 
intended for the seven Danet | who are in their turn encircled by the 
Zodiac. 
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