VIII. THE PTOLEMAIC-ROMAN PERIOD


In the Ptolemaic-Roman period we see the final stage of the
Osiris cult. Every dead man is laid in his grave without
furniture, prepared as a simulacrum of Osiris. The wealthiest
people have gilded and painted mummy cases with amulets and
funerary papyrus. The poorer are merely bundles of wrappings.
Every dead man is Osiris, and no doubt carried with him words
learned on earth to gain his way to a place in the kingdom of
Osiris. The offering places above the grave are still made and
offerings are still brought.

To gain some idea of the way in which these two conceptions of
the living dead were worked out in actual life, one has only to
turn to the funerary customs of the modern Egyptians. In the case
of both Christians and Moslems, the grave rites are similar; but
with those of the Moslems I am more familiar. The grave consists
still of the two parts, the burying place and the offering place.
The swathed body is laid on the right side, with the right hand
under the cheek and the face towards Mecca. At the burial the
confession of the faith is recited over and over, lest the dead
forget it.

Korans are sometimes placed in the graves; and I have even seen a
confession of the faith written on paper and placed on a twig
before the face of the dead. At the appointed seasons--
especially at the great Feast of Sacrifice--offerings are
brought to the grave. The family party passes through the