ABSTRACT
Osiris had probably originated as a fertility god and the incarnation of Egypt and its vegetation, but he soon acquired other roles. His first cult-centre was at Busiris in the Delta, where he was identified with the local god Andjety, a god-king from whom Osiris probably adopted his characteristics as an early ruler. At Memphis, he took over the god Sokaris who was associated with the creator deity Ptah, and assimilated his funerary features. His main cult-centre was Abydos where, by the Fifth Dynasty, he had become identified with the local god Khentiamentiu, who was a god of the dead and of cemeteries.
