Fra Bartolomeo (Risen Christ with saints)

Modern researchers derive information about the "ancient" - Egyptian religion mainly from the following sources. First, the work of Plutarch on Isis and Osiris, in the Greek language, was preserved. True, historians are wary of him. In their opinion there are many mistakes: "Plutarch identifies some Egyptian gods with Greek and introduces into the text numerous statements that are the fruit of his own imagination or the result of inaccurate information." But some of the alleged mistakes may be the result of errors not of Plutarch, but of the historians themselves. Although, of course, Plutarch's mistakes are also not excluded.

Further, besides Plutarch, the researchers have at their disposal numerous Egyptian images and texts. However, with regard to the "ancient" - Egyptian texts, the task of translating them into modern languages ​​is rather complicated. Despite the interpretation of the hieroglyphs, the meaning of many "ancient" - Egyptian terms is still unclear. Therefore, modern translations of hieroglyphs and papyri are rather dark. And sometimes - even contradictory. For example, when discussing one of the ancient papyri, Egyptologist E. Badge is forced to say that, say, "the Egyptian scribes did not understand very well what they wrote." But, most likely, it's not the scribes' ignorance, but the inability of modern commentators to fully understand the meaning of the authentic "ancient" - Egyptian texts. Therefore, their translations should be treated with caution. To a large extent, they are only some kind of interpretation of a material that is not completely understood by translators.

The proximity of the Egyptian god Osiris to Christ is so obvious that it was noted by many researchers. Moreover, this fact was well known in the medieval Christian tradition. The correspondence between Osiris and Christ embraces almost all the main points of the doctrine of Christ. In addition, many other statements of the Bible and ecclesiastical tradition are also reflected in the "ancient" Egyptian myths.

Fra Bartolomeo. The Risen Christ with the saints. 1516 year. Canvas, oil. Pitti Gallery, Florence.