ZEITGEIST: THE MOVIE

For more on Horus as the ―Horos-Stauros‖ and in cruciform, see the 40-page chapter ―Was Horus
‗Crucified?‘‖ in Murdock‘s Christ in Egypt and online article ―Was Horus Crucified?‖
Osiris too, it should be noted, was identified with the cross—the Egyptian ankh, which itself looks like a
person in cruciform—and depicted as a crosslike djed pillar, surrounded by his two sisters, the Merti.
Osiris as personified djed pillar holding sun,
surrounded by two Merti
c. 13th-15th cents. BCE
Egyptian Book of the Dead (Ani Papyrus)
(Faulkner, EBD, pl. 1)
Jesus on cross
with solar halo,
surrounded by three Merys
John 19:25
Buried for three days: In the myth, both Osiris and Horus die and are resurrected, with Horus becoming
the risen Osiris. As stated in The Riddle of Resurrection by professor of Old Testament Studies at the
University of Lund, Dr. Tryggve N.D. Mettinger:
The death and resurrection of Osiris are the most central features of [the Khoiak/Koiak] festival. 98
Dr. Mettinger also states:
...Osiris rose to new life in his son, Horus... 99
The period between Osiris‘s death and resurrection varies, depending on the myth. For example, as ―the
Osiris‖/deceased in the Egyptian funeral texts, as well as the nightly sun, he dies and resurrects on a
daily basis. The annual death-and-resurrection period, however, is commonly depicted as three days, as
related by Rev. Dr. Alfred Bertholet, a theologian and professor at the University of Göttingen. In an
article entitled, ―The Pre-Christian Belief in the Resurrection of the Body,‖ published in The American
Journal of Theology by the University of Chicago Press, Dr. Bertholet remarks:
According to the faith of later times, Osiris was three days and three nights in the waters before
he was restored to life again. 100
Dr. Jaime A. Ezquerra concurs: ―Three days separated Christ‘s death from his resurrection, reckoning
inclusively, as in the case of Osiris.‖
The three-day period and resurrection are recorded by Plutarch (39, 366D-E) as occurring on the 17 th ,
18 th and 19 th of the month Athyr (Hathor), until ―Osiris is found.‖ 101 In the funerary literature (e.g., PT
670/N 348), Osiris is called forth by Horus on the fourth day. 102
98 Mettinger, 182.
99 Mettinger, 172.
100 Bertholet, 5.
101 Plutarch/Babbitt, 95-97.
102 Murdock, CIE, 400. For more information on the ―Burial for Three Days, Resurrection and Ascension,‖ see Christ
in Egypt, 376-430.