| Andjety
Andjety in his anthropomorphic form was originally worshipped in
the mid-Delta in the Lower ninth nome. Andjety (meaning 'he of Andjet',
i.e. the town of Busiris) was the precursor of Osiris at the cult
center of Busiris. The iconography of this god persuasively argues for
his being the forerunner of Osiris. Andjety holds the two scepters in
the shape of a 'crook' and a
'flail', insignia which are Osiris'
symbols of dominion. Also his high conical crown decorated with two
feathers is clearly related to the 'atef' crown of Osiris.
As early as the beginning of 4th
Dynasty King Sneferu, the builder of
the first true pyramid tomb, is carved wearing this crown of Andjety.
The close relationship of the god to the monarch is is also evident
from the earliest references in the Pyramid
Texts, where the king's
power as a universal ruler is enhanced by his being equated to Andjety
'presiding over the eastern districts'. Perhaps Andjety is an
embodiment of sovereignty and its attendant regalia. As such he would
readily be absorbed into the nature of Osiris and by extension into
the pharaoh himself. The most likely explanation of his epithet, 'bull
of vultures', found in the Middle Kingdom
Coffin
Texts, is that it emphasizes
his role as a procreative consort of major goddesses.
Andjety figures in a funerary context as well. The notion that he is
responsible for rebirth in the Afterlife is probably the reason for
the substitution for the two feathers of a bicornate uterus in early
writings of his name in the Pyramid Texts. In the Underworld too there
is an obvious identification between Andjety and Osiris, as ruler.
Hence in the Temple of
Seti I at
Abydos, the king is depicted burning
incense to the god Osiris-Andjety who holds a 'crook' scepter, wears
two feathers in his headband and is accompanied by Isis.
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