• Description of the religious symbolism and rituals related to the bread of Ancient Egypt.
• Bread of the ancient Egyptians as a staple food and a powerful element of ritual symbolism.
Another example of a culture where bread was honored not only as an essential food, but also as an offering worthy of the most powerful deities, such as Isis and her divine family, is Ancient Egypt. Bread was one staple food also used in many ritual and funerary traditions, being a central element of the Egyptian economy, from harvesting and processing grain, to baking and trading it.
A comprehensive understanding of the bread of Ancient Egypt and its production can be obtained from the illustrations on the walls of the tombs, from written evidence, from the archaeological remains, as well as from observations of an ethnographic nature.
Research by archaeologists has revealed hundreds of loaves of bread from Ancient Egypt that were preserved by being placed in tombs, among various other goods. They were meant to accompany the deceased and satisfy his hunger. They had a variety of shapes: ovals, rounds, cones, triangles, as well as animal and human shapes. The surviving loaves are invaluable in showing us how they were baked, either placed on a rack inside the oven, or closer to the fire, in which case some show signs of burning.
Staple food for Egyptians
The offering tables groaned under the burden bread ripe, being one of the foods that accompanied both the pharaohs and the common people in life and in death. Bread for the ancient Egyptians was the symbol of prosperity, of abundance. The expression "bread and beer" it was used as a daily wish, just like wishing someone good luck or health. And as further evidence of the importance of bread in Egyptian culture, an inscription discovered by researchers illustrates the admonition to Egyptian mothers to supply their school-going sons with two jars of beer and three small loaves of bread each day to ensure their development healthy.
Both Isis and Osiris are strongly associated with bread and the grains from which it is made. A number of epithets of Isis attest to this. She is Mistress of Bread and Beer, Mistress of Green Crops, Goddess of Field Fertility and Abundance.
Bread and the wheat from which it is obtained are more than physical food, they also become spiritual food. Coffin Texts, (Texts of Sarcophagi) mystical writings inscribed on the pharaohs' sarcophagi, link the god Osiris and grains to immortality: “Whether I live or die, I am Osiris! They live and grow as Neper ("wheat"), which the great gods bring forth to cover Geb ("Earth"). I penetrate you and reappear beyond you; perish in you and grow in you... The gods live in me because I live and grow in the wheat that sustains them. I became the Master of the Order...Sprung from the body of the Order..."
Osiris represents the very cycle of life, the death of crops, and rebirth in the next season. The resurrected Osiris is the representation of divinity and creative intelligence. Universal spirit, embodiment of eternity, he separates the mortal from the immortal, maintains the cohesion of the vital forces.
More than fleshly food
The myth of Isis and Osiris is perhaps the most famous, dramatic and interesting of the entire culture of Ancient Egypt. It tells us about two twins, brother and sister, husband and wife, children of earth (Geb) and heaven (Nut), Osiris, god of fertility and the Underworld, and Isis.
The full version of the myth of the two is given to us by the writings of Plutarch, in By Isis Et Osiride (100 AD) Legend has it that Osiris brought civilization to Egypt by teaching agriculture and cattle breeding to the early inhabitants of the Nile Valley. And his writings Diodorus the Sicilian states that it is Isis who discovered the way of making bread from wheat and barley, which formerly grew here and there in the fields among other common grasses. Osiris leaves for a while to spread this knowledge to other areas, leaving Isis to rule Egypt.
Seth, their brother, kills Osiris in an attempt to take over. He locks him in a sarcophagus and throws him into the Nile. The sarcophagus with the body of Osiris arrives at the royal court in Byblos, where it is recovered by Isis. Seth follows her and dismembers the body of his brother Osiris into pieces which he scatters throughout the Egyptian territory. These pieces are recovered by Isis, who anoints them with precious oils and breathes new life into them. Osiris is resurrected, but he can no longer be a god in this world and becomes the ruler of the Underworld. He will be avenged by his son, Horus, who will rule the kingdom after he kills Seth.
Wheat – symbol of transformation
Frescoes decorating the walls of Egyptian temples show grains growing from his body Osiris, while his soul floats above the stalks. But it is not enough for the wheat to sprout and grow. It must also be transformed, processed so that Osiris himself is also transformed. And, it is Isis who transforms the god. In the myth, she does this by reassembling his body and breathing life into it with the help of her wings.
In the Early Dynastic period, Osiris was associated with the new wheat springing from the earth, nourished by the waters of the Nile. He is depicted lying under wheat sprouting from his body, while a priest pours water over him. Earth forms with sprouted grains were placed in the graves of the dead, thus making the connection between the wheat that springs up annually from the earth and the immortal life that springs up in the resurrected Osiris.
As a symbol of transformation and continuous life, grains have magical properties. As part of a ritual to honor the god Osiris, a figurine was created from the earth, with the help of a wooden mold that represented him. In that mud from the Nile, seeds were planted which were then watered, thus creating a "Garden of Osiris". When plants grew from this figurine, the deity was said to have been brought back to life.
Some of these figurines have been found in tombs Theban, covered with remains of wheat or barley. Even in Tutankhamun's Tomb archaeologists found some specimens made of barley and emmer.
Using the metaphor of the life-giving wheat, Isis becomes the Divine Baker who transforms raw grain into baked, nourishing bread. In the The Book of the Dead, the sacred writing of Ancient Egypt, it is recorded that the body of Osiris was converted into grain, which was then used to make bread, giving divine power and life.
The Divine Bread
In several temples where important festivals dedicated to Osiris were held, it had become customary for the priests to bake an elaborate form of bread, called The Divine Bread, which was modeled in the form of Osiris.
"Arise to this bread of yours that knows no mould, and to your beer that knows no sourness, that you may have a soul by it, that you may be useful by it, that you may be strong by it." (The Ancient Egyptian Pyramid Texts, Raymond O. Faulkner, London, Oxford University Press, 1969).
The Osirian Divine Bread was made from emmer wheat and a special paste composed of ingredients such as dates, frankincense, fresh myrrh, 12 spices with magical properties and water from the Nile. This bread was divided into individual pieces, reminiscent of how Seth split the body of Osiris, only to be retrieved by Isis and brought back to life.
Lotus bread
A completely different type of bread from the Ancient Egyptian period is described by several ancient writers. It's about the lotus bread. In the illustrations from the tombs, lotuses are often seen on the offering tables, potentially a decorative element, but which could also be consumed as a side dish.
Herodot spoke of the lotus (or a type of water lily) as being used in food, but scholars are not sure whether he meant the actual lotus flower or was a name for something else. In any case, in his writings, he mentions that "the lotus" it yielded a fruit which, when washed, dried and pounded, could be used to make bread, while its roots were also eaten and were pleasantly sweet.
According to Herodotus, the Egyptians living in the Delta harvested the lotuses that grew abundantly there. They dried the pith that contained the seeds, then ground them to make flour from which they made bread, believing that the lotus flower had magical powers.
Lotus - magical powers
Lotus seed bread was made from both white and blue water lilies. Water lily rhizomes were also used; these were dried, then ground into flour to make bread. In his account Diodorus of Ancient Egypt, he mentions that lotus bread was one of the staple foods of the Egyptians and that "its discovery is attributed by some to Isis".
Isis is the Lady of Abundance, the Divine Baker, the Goddess who gives mankind the gift of baking bread. She is the Goddess of Transformation who regenerates Osiris, the ever-living Wheat God. These were celebrated in the cities of Ancient Egypt magical properties of Isis through pompous processions in which participants carried bowls of wheat and barley, commemorating the invention that changed Egyptian civilization.
The importance of bread was also undeniable during Ancient Rome, during which another fascinating chapter in the history of bread was being written, when city dwellers were mainly concerned with food and entertainment. Don't miss Part 3 of The History of Bread: Panem et circenses – (Bread and circus), basic ingredients of the life of Romanian citizens.
Photo sources: mythodoxy.wordpress.com, wikipedia.org, isiopolis.com, ancientegyptalive.com.
Article written by Gabriela Dan, Editor of Arta Albă
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