Osiris

Osiris, who is known as Usir, is one of the important gods of ancient Egypt. In lower Egypt, he was a local god of Busiris. Moreover, he is considered as a personification of chthonic fertility. He played a double role by about 2400 BCE. Along with being a god of fertility, he was also the resurrected king. The dual role was mixed with the Egyptian concept of divine kingship: the king at death became Osiris, who is the underworld God, and the son of the king was known as Horus, the living kind and the God of the sky. Osiris and Horus had a father and son relationship. Isis was the mother of King Horus and consort of Osiris. The God Seth, the murderer of Osiris, was an adversary of Horus.

Plutarch, a Greek author, reported that Seth killed or drowned Osiris and tore the corpse into 14 pieces, and later, he flung the pieces over Egypt. Isis and Nephthys found as well as buried all the pieces (except the phallus) and gave new life to Osiris, who remained the judge & ruler of the underworld. The son of Osiris, Horus fought against Seth to become the king of Egypt.

The soul of Osiris was worshipped occasionally as if it were a distinct god, in the Delta city of Mendes. People knew this aspect of Osiris as Banebdjedet or "the ba of the lord of the djed." It is spelt "Banebded" or "Banebdjed." Its meaning is the soul of the lord of the pillar of continuity. Hence, you need to know that djed, which is a kind of pillar, was understood as Osiris's backbone. Now, let's know about Osiris in detail like who he is, his appearance, and other details.

Who Is Osiris?

He was an important god of ancient Egypt.

His Names:

This term "Osiris" is a Latin word. In Egyptian hieroglyphs, Wsjr is the traditional rendering of the name. There are a few Egyptologists who call the deity Aser, Ausar, Asar, Asari, Ausir, Ausare, Usire, Usir, Wser, or Wesir. Almighty or The Powerful is the name's English translation.

In this way, he was perceived among the old Egyptians. It has been thousands of years since the name "Osiris" was celebrated with ritual activity and was worshipped as the shepherd god.

Titles Of Osiris:

People can find the mention of his name during Egypt's Fifth Dynasty. However, since the first dynasty, he has been worshipped. In later Egyptian documents, such as Contending of Horus & Seth, ancient author's writings, and the Shabaka Stone, his name is mentioned.

He got several titles and was called "King of the Living" also. Besides, he received the title of "Foremost of the Westerners". He got both titles as he was the ruler of the dead —

Ancient Egyptians called them Westerners or The Living Ones. He was known as a merciful judge of people in the afterlife. He had many other attributes & titles like:

The Lord of love,

The Lord of silence 

He Who is Permanently Benign and Youthful.

Appearance Of Osiris:

Osiris' old paintings were often coloured black or green. The green colour indicates the relationship between ancient Egyptian and rebirth. On the other hand, black was related to fertility, indicating the colour of the rich, fertile soil that expanded over the plains every year when the River Nile overflowed.

In a few rare instances, you can see him wearing a crown in which a rendering of the moon was included. After observing the picture, researchers concluded that Osiris was associated with the moon or night.

History Of Osiris:

He was one of the five kids who was born to the god of the earth & the goddess of the skies, Geb and Nut, respectively. Based on the family tree, it is known that he was a great-grandson of the famous Egyptian god Ra. In his story, his four younger siblings played vital roles. Seth was his brother's name, whereas the names of the two sisters were Isis & Nephthys.

As he was the son as well as the first child of Nut & Geb, it was his responsibility to inherit the throne of Egypt. Nephthys was married to Seth, whereas Isis was married to Osiris. It was believed that together Osiris & Isis had a lot of powers. However, their married life was not happy.

Nephthys later took the appearance of the wife of Isis and presented herself as Osis. And without differentiating them, he had made Nephthys pregnant as she seduced him. Then, she gave birth to Anubis.

Seth had a vendetta against Osiris because of either Osiris' inheritance of the throne or because he had made the wife of Seth pregnant. So, Seth planned to kill Osiris by luring him into a coffin and or by drowning him in the Nile. People still believe that the Nile River floods annually as the representative of the event.

Later, Isis recovered the body of her husband. But Seth stole away with this. After cutting up Osiris' body, Seth distributed all the pieces of his body throughout the Egyptian desert.

Isis loved his husband so much that she spent many years looking for his mutilated body part. As a result, she at last found all the lost pieces except one. People believe that she used her magical powers to restore the body parts of her husband.

Despite various versions of the story of this part being available, it seems like Isis got pregnant by Osiris, and Horus was born. Then, Osiris died once again and descended to assume completely his responsibilities as the Egyptian god of the underworld.

The Significance Of The Resurrection:

The resurrection of Osiris after being killed by Set, is the representative of a new beginning of good to the ancient Egyptians. They thought that the sun, which goes into the dead world every night and reborn with every new day, symbolized the story.

He was the one who controlled everyone's life, death, rebirth, and resurrection. Whereas, a pillar of continuity which represents a phallus that was made by Isis, became the symbol of the power of Osiris or the Ba.

A Familiar Story:

You should not be surprised if the tale of Osiris sounds familiar. Several story elements of his story are similar to the death and Jesus's resurrection. Ancient people in Egypt believed that a person would be greeted in the afterlife by deities like Anubis, Ammut, Henefer, Ma'at, Osiris and Thoth. The weight of the heart of that person was measured against the feather of Ma'at. If the weight was lighter than the feather, it was assumed that they lived a truthful life and would spend eternity in Osiris' kingdom.

Worship:

His worship was an important part of regular life in ancient Egypt. Besides, the story of his death at the hand of his brother Seth as well as his 72 accomplices have been retold every year as part of worship. It was a tale of rebirth & regeneration, which can be seen each year playing out with the flooding cycle of the Nile.

Many ceremonies by the ancient Egyptians were held to praise the name, actions, & attributes of Osiris. He was the first Egyptian king, and he had symbols like the flail & the shepherd's staff, which became the vital symbols of the pharaohs. This great king represented a time of unity, peace & fertility to his followers.

Osiris, the good shepherd, was loved by many people. They felt that if they paid homage & venerated him, it would make Egypt & Egyptians successful. In addition, people believed that worshipping this god ensured the fertility & prosperity of crops on the bank of the Nile.

Celebrations:

The Great Mystery Festival and a five-day religious ritual are two celebrations that were held every spring dedicated to Osiris. There are a few celebrations commemorating his life by planting grain that received water from the Nile in the shape of Osiris. The germination as well as growth of the grain indicates his death & resurrection.

According to the belief of Egyptians, the sprouting grain was the symbol of his exceptional power and vitality. People believed that Osiris was someone who came from heaven to make human life better. He was known as a person who continued to be perfect. The time of these celebrations was the last month of the inundation of the Nile.

About Osiris:

While he was the ruler of the dead, he had a lot of powers which granted all life from the underworld, from sprouting vegetation to the Nile River's annual flood. From about 2000 BCE onward, people started to believe that deceased kings, as well as every man, had connections with Osiris at death. But the identification with Osiris did not imply resurrection, even though he didn't rise from the dead. Rather than that, it signified life's renewal in the next world and via one's descendants on Earth. The universalized form of Osiris cult that was spread throughout Egypt, and joins with the local fertility & underworld deities' cults.

The idea of gaining rebirth in the next life by following Osiris was maintained via a few cult forms. In the festival of God, nocturnal rites as well as processions were celebrated in the Middle Kingdom of 1938–c. 1630 BCE at the temple of Abydos. It is the place where he had assimilated Khenty-Imentiu, the ancient god of the dead. The meaning of this name is "Foremost of the Westerners", which Osiris adopted as an epithet. In the festival, participation of the public was allowed as it took place in the open area. Burying along the processional road at Abydos was fashionable by the early 2nd millennium BCE.

Osiris festivals that reenacted the fate of the god were celebrated in different towns throughout Egypt. The main feature of this festival was the construction of the "Osiris garden," which was a mold in the shape of Osiris and filled with soil. The mold got moistured with the water from the Nile and was sown with grain. Remember that sprouting grain was the symbol of the vital strength of Osiris.

Apis, who was the holy bull, was connected to Osiris. According to the Greco-Roman authors, Osiris has a connection with the god Dionysus. Besides, he was identified with Soker, who is an old Memphite god of the dead.

What Were Osiris's Powers?

He was the ruler of the dead as well as the source of power which can grant all life from the underworld, like vegetation and the Nile river's annual flood. People began to believe that every man as well as every deceased king associated with Osiris at death from about 2000 BCE.

What Does Mythology Say?

According to mythology, before Osiris became the master of the Afterlife, he ruled the Egyptian country. He also taught agriculture.

In addition, he was the one who gave civilization & laws to humans. As per mythology, Seth, the brother of Osiris, was very jealous of him. His brother cut Osiris's body into pieces to kill him. Later, Seth distributed the body parts around Egypt. After his death, his brother became king of Egypt and married his sister Nepthys, who felt sorry for Isis, his sister. Osiris's wife wept continuously for her lost husband. She had magical powers, using which he decided to find Osiris. 

Isis wanted to bring her husband back to life so that they could have a kid. With this aim, Nepthys and Isis roamed Egypt to collect all the body parts of Osiris and then reassemble them & hold them together with linen wrappings. By breathing the breath of life into his body, Isis resurrected him.  After so many challenges, they were together again, and Isis got pregnant afterwards. Then, she gave birth to a kid named Horus. After that, Osiris went to the underworld and became the lord of that domain.

Origins:

The Osiris myth is first seen in the Pyramid Texts, and multiple important features of it took shape before the writing down of the texts. There are a few segments of the tale following: Osiris's death and restoration, Horus's childhood, and Horus's conflict with Set — these can be originally independent mythic episodes. If so, then they need to be coalesced into a single story during this time. You should know that the Pyramid Texts loosely connect these segments. The tale's most of the parts are based on religious ideas, including—

●       The divine nature of kingship,

●       the struggle to maintain maat

●       the succession from one king to another, and

●        the effort to overcome death.

For example, the lamentations of both sisters for their brother can be considered as the representative of an early tradition of ritualized mourning. There is a lot of debate on the origins of Osiris, and the basis of death's myth is uncertain. Anthropologist James Frazer, in 1906, made an influential hypothesis, and said that the death & restoration of Osiris is based on the yearly death & re-growth of plants. There are multiple Egyptologists who agree with the explanation.

Later, at the end of the 20th century, J. Gwyn Griffiths gave some statements about the origin of Osiris. He extensively studied about him and said that he was first a divine ruler of the dead. And the secondary development was his connection with vegetation. The overarching idea of "dying and rising gods" has been criticised by scholars of comparative religion. Recently, an Egyptologist, Rosalie David, says that Osiris personified trees & plants' rebirth per year after the Nile inundation.

There is another continuing debate on the opposition of Horus & Set, which Egyptologists are often trying to connect with political events in the early historic stage of Egypt or prehistory. The cases in which the kingdom was divided by the combatants and Horus & Set associated frequently with the union of Upper & Lower Egypt, meant that two deities are the representative of a type of division within the nation. 

According to archaeological proof & Egyptian tradition, Egypt was united at the starting phase of history when Lower Egypt in the north was conquered by an Upper Egyptian kingdom in the south. Rulers of the South area were known as "followers of Horus". Then, Horus also became the patron god of the unified nation & its kings. That's why both Horus & Set are unable to be equated with the two halves in Egypt. 

Horus has connections with Lower Egypt mostly, whereas Set has connections with Upper Egypt. Kurt Sethe also gave an explanation in this regard in 1930. According to him, Osiris was the human ruler of a unified Egypt in prehistoric times. Later, Horus' Lower Egyptian followers reunified the land forcibly before Upper Egypt became prominent at the beginning of the early dynastic period.

The main focus of Griffiths in the late 20th century was on the inconsistent portrayal of both Set & Horus as brothers and as uncle & nephew. According to him, the struggle between Set & Horus as siblings in the early stages of Egyptian mythology didn't have any link with the murder of Osiris. Before the writing of Pyramid Texts, two stories were merged into the single Osiris myth. Once these are joined, the genealogy of the deities gets involved. Then, the characterization of the conflict between Set & Horus was altered so that Horus became the heir. 

You can still find traces of the independent traditions in the conflicting characterizations of the combatants' relationship and the texts that didn't have connections to the Osiris myth that makes Horus the son of the goddess Nut or the goddess Hathor instead of Osiris & Isis. So, Griffiths rejected the possibility that indicates Osiris's murder was rooted in historical events. Many recent scholars have accepted the hypothesis. A few names of these scholars are Jan Assmann and George Hart.

For the Set-Horus rivalry, Griffiths sought a historical origin. He upholded Egypt's two distinct predynastic unifications by the worshipers of Egypt, which is similar to Sethe's theory. But the problem remains unresolved. The reason is that other political associations for Set & Horus make the picture complicated. However, there was only one ruler in Upper Egypt, two big towns were Nekhen and Naqada. Horus was considered the patron deity in Nekhen, the rulers of where might have unified Upper Egypt under their sway, even Naqada. 

As Set had connections to the Naqada, an enmity between the towns may be reflected by the divine conflict. King Peribsen used the Set animal (traditional falcon hieroglyph) at c. 2890–2686 BCE, the end of the 2nd dynasty when he wrote his serekh-name. Khasekhemwy, who is his successor, used both names — Set & Horus in the writing of his serekh. From this evidence, you can clearly understand that a clash between Set's worshippers ( led by Peribsen) and Horus's followers was seen in the Second Dynasty. Khasekhemwy used two animal symbols that represent the reconciliation of the two factions.

Herman te Velde argues that the historical roots of the conflict are very obscure. So, the myth can not be understood easily. According to him, the source of the myth of Horus & Set is lost in the mists of the religious traditions of prehistory.

Conclusion:

Osiris, the underworld Egyptian god of ancient times, was killed by Seth who tore apart the corpse and then flung the pieces throughout Egypt. Later, the goddess Isis & her sister Nephthys found the pieces of Osiris and gave him a new life. Then, Isis became pregnant by Osiris and gave birth to Horus. The king at death became Osiris in the Egyptian concept of divine kingship. He represented the power that can bring life out of the earth. Egyptians celebrate festivals reenacting his fate in towns every year.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. What god killed Osiris?

You can get to know from mythology that Osiris was the master of the Afterlife. But before becoming that, he ruled Egypt as well as taught agriculture. In addition, he was the one who gave civilization & laws to humans. According to mythology, Seth, who was the brother of Osiris, was highly jealous of him. His brother killed him and cut his body into pieces. Later, Seth distributed the body parts of Osiris around Egypt.

Q. Was Osiris a sun god?

Sometimes, he has been interpreted as the sun god.

Q. Who was Osiris' loyal wife?

Isis was his loyal wife.

 

 

Demeter

According to ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter is the goddess of harvest & agriculture. She presides over crops, grains, food, and the earth's fertility. While people know her as a grain goddess, she was also seen appearing as a goddess of health, birth, and marriage. Moreover, it is believed that she had connections to the Underworld. She was called by the name Deo (Δηώ) and was the second kid of Cronus and Titans Rhea in the Greek tradition. And she is sister to Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Her father swallowed her as an infant like her other siblings but Zeus. And she was rescued by Zeus.

She gave birth to Persephone through her brother Zeus. In this regard, you should know that Persephone was the fertility goddess. The Homeric Hymn to Demeter describes the abduction story of Persephone by Hades and the search of Demeter for her. Hades, who was the king of the Underworld, wanted to marry Persephone. So, when Persephone was picking flowers in a field, he abducted her from there. Demeter started searching everywhere to find Persephone, who was missing, to no avail until Demeter knew that  Hades had taken her daughter. After knowing that, she neglected her duties as the goddess of agriculture as she planned to plunge the earth into a deadly famine that didn't allow anything to grow. As a result, mortals could die. So, Zeus gave the order to Hades to return Persephone to Demeter so that the disaster can be averted. But the twist comes here as her daughter has eaten food from the Underworld. Therefore, Persephone was unable to stay forever with her mother. That's why she needed to divide the year between her mother and her husband. And according to the seasonal cycle, Persephone had to manage the year because Demeter prevents all plants from growing when her daughter is gone.

Cult titles of Demeter include Sito (Σιτώ), "she of the Grain," etc. Besides, she was the provider of food or grain and Thesmophoros, the "giver of customs'' or "legislator." Apart from being the goddess of the harvest, Demeter was also the goddess of the cycle of life & death and sacred law. Demeter & Persephone were the main figures of the Eleusinian Mysteries. People considered Demeter the same figure as the Anatolian goddess Cybele. In addition, Demeter was identified with Ceres who is a Roman goddess.

Who is Demeter?

According to Greek tradition, Demeter was a goddess of agriculture, grain, and bread. She was described as a mature woman who wore a crown and bore sheaves of wheat or a cornucopia & a torch.

Demeter as an agricultural goddess:

She is considered as the Corn-Mother in epic poetry and Hesiod's Theogony. Hence, Demeter is the goddess of cereals who offers grain for bread, blessing its harvesters. She took help from the wind in Homer's Iliad to separate the grain from the chaff. Thalysia, a Greek harvest festival of the first fruits, was celebrated in Demeter's honor. Prayers to Demeter and Zeus-Chthonios assist crops in growing strong. It was her major function at Eleusis, and Demeter became panhellenic. She was regarded as the zeros arοura, the Homeric "Mother Earth arοura" who has given the gift of cereals.

In most epithets, Demeter was described as a goddess of grain. In literature, she was called Deo, which is related to deai, a Cretan word for cereals. Demeter was known as Haloas in Attica as per her old conception as the Corn mother. In addition, Chloe (ripe-grain or fresh green) was one of his names. Besides, she was called Ioulo. While Chloe was regarded as the goddess of young corn & young vegetation, "Iouloi'' refers to harvest songs which were sung in her honor. She was called Amallophoros (bringer of sheaves) & Amaia (reaper) by reapers. Moreover, she was known by the names: Sito and Himalis. In Attica, Demeter was called Ompnia.

She was the provider of an abundance of food. The bread from the first harvest-fruits was called Malaysian bread in her honor. The sacrificial cakes which were burnt in the altar called "Romania," While people offered these cakes to all gods, they gave big loaves to the goddess on a few occasions. In Boeotia, she was called Megalartos and Megalomazos. Demeter had the epithets eukaryotes, karpophores which means the bringer of fruits, malapropos, and Oria.

Her reunion with her daughter was the main theme in the Eleusinian Mysteries. Athenian rhetoric Isocrates said that agriculture was her best gift to mankind as, in this way, people get a civilized way of life. She is the goddess who taught the laws of agriculture to the civilized people. Eleusinia, the epithet of Demeter, is connected to the Eleusinian mysteries.

Demeter Thesmophoros is connected to the laws of cereal agriculture. It was a festival celebrated throughout Greece and was related to a form of agrarian magic. Demeter was called Demeter-Thesmia near Pheneus in Arcadia. The emblem of Demeter is the poppy, a bright and red flower which grows among the barley.

Demeter as an earth and Underworld goddess:

Apart from being an agricultural goddess, she was worshipped as an Earth goddess. Melaina, known as Black Demeter in the Arcadia Demeter, was represented as a snake that has hair with a horse's head and holding a dolphin & a dove to symbolize her power over the Underworld, the air, & the water. Her cult was connected to Despoina, which is a very old Chthonic divinity. She also shares the function of death & fertility with Persephone. Demeter was worshipped as Anesidora in the cult of Phlya. Anesidora was the one who sent gifts from the Underworld.

Her name in Sparta was Demeter-Chthonia (chthonic Demeter). According to Pausanias, it was Hermione from whom her cult was introduced and there she was associated with Hades. There is a hollow in the earth through which souls can pass easily and enter the Underworld. She was known as Demeter-Chamyne in Elis, and it refers to the goddess of the ground in an old Chthonic cult related to the descent to Hades. She was called Demeter-Europa at Levadia, and she was connected to Trophonius which refers to an old divinity of the Underworld.

The rare epithet Chalkokrotos is used by Pindar. In the mysteries of Demeter, people used Brazen musical instruments and the Great-Mother Rhea-Cybele was worshipped with cymbal music. Demeter was called Amphictyonis in central Greece at Anthele near Thermopylae which is actually a place of hot spring, and an entrance to Hades, since Demeter was considered as a Chthonic goddess in the previous local cults. In addition, she was known as ancient Amphictyony's patron goddess.

The dead were called "Demetrioi" by Athenians. It can reflect a link between Demeter & old dead cult, which is connected to the agrarian belief. As a new plant grows from buried seed, a new life can sprout from the dead body. The initiates in the mysteries of Demeter probably shared this belief. She had the epithets Erinys (fury) and Melaina (black) in Arcadia. These are connected to the myth of the rape of Demeter by Poseidon. Her character's darker side along with the connection to the dark Underworld is stressed by the epithets.

Demeter as a poppy goddess:

Karl Kerényi asserted that Poppies were related to a Cretan cult that was carried to the Eleusinian Mysteries in Classical Greece. The Minoan poppy goddess puts on the seed capsules which are the sources of narcosis in her diadem. Kerényi also said that the Great Mother Goddess, who bore both the names Rhea & Demeter, brought poppy from the Cretan cult to Eleusis.

Festivals:

These are the festivals held in Demeter's honor:

(1) Haloa is a term derived from halōs meaning "threshing floor." This festival started at Athens and finished at Eleusis, where a threshing floor of Triptolemus was seen. This festival took place in December, the month of Poseidon.

(2) Chloia is a festival of grain. It is held at Eleusis in the early spring in honor of the goddess of growing vegetation.

(3) Proerosia is a festival where people need to pray for an abundant harvest, before they plow the land for sowing. It was known as Proarktouria. This festival was held before Arcturus' rise and took place at Eleusis in September.

(4) Thalysia is actually a Thanksgiving festival that took place in autumn after the harvest on Kos island.

(5) The Thesmophoria is a women's festival that improves the seed grain's fruitfulness.

(6) The Skirophoria festival held in midsummer.

Conclusion:

Homer rarely mentioned Demeter. Moreover, she was not included among the Olympian gods. However, the roots of her legend are perhaps ancient. The legend centers on Persephone's story, whom Hades carried off. Then, her mother starts finding her. During the journey of Demeter, Demeter revealed her secret rites to the people of Eleusis. They received and welcomed Demeter in a hospitality way. As her daughter was missing, Demeter was very stressed, and her attention was diverted from the harvest, causing a famine. Alongside Zeus, she had a lover named Iasion, to whom Demeter bore Plutus.

Although Demeter is commonly known as a grain goddess, her influence was extended to vegetation and to all fruits of Gaea (Earth), except the bean. Moreover, she was known as the Great Mother of the Gods. Another aspect about Demeter is that as a divinity of the Underworld, she was worshipped at Sparta. At Hermione, she was worshipped at the Chthonia festival, in which four old women sacrificed a cow.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How did Zeus get Demeter pregnant?

Demeter bore Zesus two children: the horse Areion and the goddess Despoine. Demeter mated with the King of gods in the form of intertwining serpents. Then, the goddess Persephone was born.

What is the Demeter god of?

She was the goddess of the harvest of ancient Greek. Demeter farmed plenty of their food, and that's why she was such an important goddess to the people of ancient Greece.

Who was Demeter to Hades?

According to the Greek tradition, she is the second kid of the Titans Rhea & Cronus and the sister to Hestia, Hera, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus.

 

History Mystery: Realm of Myths and Legends -9

Cupid: Roman name of Eros, the young and beautiful god of love who inspired physical desire, when his mother Venus grew jealous of PSYCHE fall in love with the ugliest of men, but instead he fell in love with her himself.

Demeter: Greek goddess of corn, agriculture and fruitfulness. PRESEPHONE, her daughter by Zeus, was taken to the underworld by HADES to be his bride. Demeter was so forlorn that she neglected the crops and brought about the first winter. Zeus arranged for Persephone to be returned to her mother, but she had to spend some part of every year underground, when winter would commence again.

Camelot: In British legend, the capital of the kingdom of King Arthur. Cadbury Castle in Somerset, and isolated Iron Age hill fort, is the site most often identified with Camelot. Archaeological evidence confirms that during the 6the century AD the fort was occupied by a powerful British warrior Chieftain. However, local folklore advances alternative sites at Camelfort in Cornwall and Winchester in Hampshire as the original Camelot

Circe: Sorceress in Greek mythology, who turned the followers of Odysseus into swine. Helped by magic herb, Odysseus, Circe persuaded him to stay for a year on her island, before giving him directions to his home in Ithaca.

Excalibur: King Arthur’s magical sword, said to symbolize both destruction and fertility. In one version of the legends of Arthur, the future king proved his right to rule by pulling Excalibur out of a stone, which no other man could do. In another version, he received the sword from the Lady of the Lake- who lived in the middle of a lake. As Arthur lay dying he asked Sir Bedevere, one of his knights, to return Excalibur to the lake, where an arm rose up out of the water to receive it.