The god Osiris, ruler of the underworld, became famous due to a creation myth describing his death and resurrection. In the Old Kingdom Pyramid Texts, the pharaoh sought his own rebirth by identifying himself with Osiris. By the First Intermediate Period, this path to rebirth was available to all ancient Egyptians. Osiris was represented as a mummiform figure dressed in a white linen shroud; he was provided with royal crook and flail scepters, as well as distinctive crowns (symbolizing kingly status). His skin was often colored green, connoting his role in the growth of plants and thus rebirth. Extending this theme of bringing forth new life, he sometimes was depicted with an erect phallus, miraculously restored by Isis after reconstituting his body.

Osiris’ cult was principally based in Abydos, considered his burial-place. Abydos became a major place of pilgrimage; those who could visited Abydos at least during their lifetime. Tomb paintings depicted the deceased being transported to Abydos, and model boats were provided in tombs for the journey. The site of Abydos had been important since before the Early Dynastic Period (beginning 3,000 BC) when the earliest kings were buried there. The original local deity of Abydos was the jackal-god Khentimentiu, the Foremost of the Westerners (ie, the dead). Khentimentiu was absorbed into the Osirian cult as the latter gained importance. This resulted in the name Khentimentiu being applied epithetically to Osiris.

The sun god was essential for rebirth. The endless cycle of sunrise and sunset was a powerful metaphor for continuous rebirth after death. Furthermore, one of the principal ancient Egyptian creation myths describe the sun god as the creator of the universe and the originator of all life; since creation was cyclical, the sun god thus brought about rebirth as well. Several mythos coexisted: the sun god rejuvenated the deceased; the deceased fought the sun god’s underworld foes; and the deceased was associated with the sun god.

New Kingdom Books of the Underworld describe how each evening the sun entered the subterranean netherworld. He spent the twelve hours of night on a barque, taking a riverine route through underground caverns so that he may return to the eastern horizon for the sunrise. Within these caverns were friendly deities, hostile deities and the dead. The sun god’s rays rejuvenated and awakened the dead. However, the sun god was opposed by chaos, represented by a giant serpent named Apep who had to be defeated.

After defeating Apep, and in the fifth hour of the night, the sun god encountered the mummified Osiris. The sun god merged with the corpse, rejuvenating himself; this was the model for the joining of ba and mummy for rejuvenation of ordinary mortals. Hence, funerary texts closely associated the deceased with both Osiris and the sun god, particularly after Dynasty 19. By the Middle Kingdom, the deceased was shown travelling with Ra in his barque and fighting his foes, namely by spearing the Apep serpent on behalf of Ra.