The myth is about the conflict between Osiris and his brother Seth. The political element of this conflict reflects the course of struggle, which ultimately made upper and lower Egypt a united monarchy. The agricultural element of the myth shows us that Osiris is a vegetation god. Like the Akkadian Tammuz (Dumuzi of the Sumerians) he is a dying and rising god, dies with the dying vegetation and returns to life with its rebirth.
Osiris is Khent-Amenti, Lord of the underworld. He presides over the tribunal which decides on the fate of the departed souls, and in this aspect he is inseparably connected with the complicated ritual of mummification. The outline of the myth of Osiris is contained in the treatise De Iside by Plutarch. According to this account Osiris was a culture hero who taught the ancient Egyptians the art of agriculture and metal-working.
In the myth, Osiris was the son of Geb, the earth-god, and his sister and wife was the goddess Isis, who ruled over Egypt with him and assisted him in his beneficient activities.
