Were Isis and Osiris real people?

Question

I was told that Isis and Osiris were actually a real king and queen, and that the ancient Egyptians loved them so, they deified them. Is there any written proof of this?

Answer 1

moondoggy is extreme but he has right on his side. Widespread keeping of records is a modern thing -- so are concepts like fact and fiction. Given that we have seen pre-Dynastic evidence of the worship of Osiris at Saqqara, it is probable that if they ever did live it was so far back in time that there is no evidence of anybody. There is no evidence of your ancestors, that far back, or mine, certainly.



The story you were told is known as Euhemerizing, after Euhemerus, a radical Greek Philosopher who applied the same interpretation to all the myths. In those days it was treason -- Socrates was made to commit suicide for less (and Socrates wasn't even guilty). Evidence suggests that some of the Old Gods were people while others were personified forces of nature -- I heard someone arguing of course Thor was a person because look at how many people are named thor today. And of course Thor's name among the Germans was Donner, his name among the Old English was Thunor -- and Old English for Thunder was Thunor. Yes there was a direct connection. All these people are being named after the force of nature which Thor personified.



That's why I say fact and fiction are modern concepts--until recent times MOST of our experiences were unprovable and unrepeatable. There is NO ONE provable explanation. The best modern source on the subject we can find is probably the late First Century Priest of Apollo at Delphi, Plutarch's essay Isis and Osiris which I have linked to in sources.

Answer 2

First, there is no proof for any historical event. You want to purge that concept altogether. Historians can, at best, tell us the most likely course of events. They can't prove that any historical event took place, they can only assume and speculate.



As for Osiris and Isis, there is no credible evidence that they were real people. That doesn't mean that it isn't true - there just isn't any evidence. The Egyptians, like most Semitic people, tended to construct their mythology out of historical events (unlike the Indo-Europeans, who did the opposite - they turned mythology into history). So it is certainly possible that they were real people. But there is no historical evidence to support that conclusion.



To be fair, the worship of Isis and Osiris as gods dates to prehistoric Egypt.

Answer 3

Was Isis A Real Person

Answer 4

Nope. That's a story folks tell to diminish the Gods and Goddesses of other religions.

Answer 5

For health try Apollo or Asclepius, for Luck try Hermes or Haides (yes I said Haides -- there is a reason He is called the "wealthy one") Hermes is also patron of Travelers. My experiences with MY Gods is that they make you work for what you want and only give you the OPPORTUNITY to get it.

Answer 6

i think so