The ancient Egyptian god of death, represented as an anthropoid figure with mummy body. He was brother and husband to Isis and the father of Horus. Through them he was linked to the vegetation cycle myth. Slain by his brother Seth in the autumn, his dismembered and scattered remains were collected by Isis, reassembled, and returned to life as Horus in the spring. His chief sanctuary was at Abydos. Eventually, any dead person came to be referred to as 'an Osiris', i.e. a dweller in the land of the dead. He was one of the most important deities of ancient Egypt.