The waters of the ancient Nile were full of fish,
certain species of which came to be worshipped
as gods because it was believed they could
suppress evil. In the town of Oxyrhynchus in
Upper Egypt, the curve-nose Mormyrus fish was
the centre of a large cult that eventually spread
widely through the land. According to
mythology,
the sacred fish figured prominently in the
resurrection of the god Osiris and this was one
of the reasons for its deification. In this splendid
sculpture, the god is shown crowned by the cow
horns of Hathor, the sun disc of Ra and the cobra
Uraeus. He rests regally atop a sled that may
have been used for display at festivals. We sense
intuitively his divine status, and that his kingdom
is the cosmic rather than the earthly river.
- (FZ.277)
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