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. . . . .In the wonderfully decorated burial
chamber of Ramesses I, we see the seated gods Osiris and Khepri.
Osiris was the king of the dead. Legend has it he was the
first king in Egypt to be mummified.
This mummification was performed by his grieving wife, Isis. Osiris
embodies the idea of rebirth in the afterlife. He
is shown as a mummy wrapped in white cloth. His green skin represents
the rebirth of vegetation after the annual Nile flood. Khepri is
the scarab-headed god. It was Khepri who would push the
barque of the sun on its daily journey across the sky. He was also
associated with rebirth into the afterlife. Iun Mutef is standing in
front of Osiris, wearing a leopard skin which is a sign of the priesthood.
Iun Mutef is a form of the god Horus meaning "support
of his mother". This form of horus took
on may priestly functions.
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