A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology

Smith, William

A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology. William Smith, LLD, ed. 1890

(Ὄσιρις,) the great Egyptian divinity and husband of Isis. According to Hlerodotns they were the only divinities that were worshipped by all the Egyptians (Hdt. 2.42). Osiris is described by Plutarch, in his treatise on Isis and Osiris, as a son of Rhea and Helios. His Egyptian name is said to have been Hysiris (Plut. l.c. 34), which is interpreted to mean "son of Isis," though some said that it meant "many-eyed ;" and according to Heliodorus (Acth. 9.424), Osiris was the god of the Nile, as Isis was the goddess of the earth. (Comp. Bunsen, Aegypt. Stelle in der Weltgesch. vol. i. p. 494, &c.)

[L.S]