coregent and held this rank for six years before Osorkon
III’s death. Osorkon III was probably buried near MEDINET
HABU.
Osorkon IV (Akheperré setepenamun)(fl. 713–712
B.C.E.)Ruler of the Twenty-second Dynasty
He reigned only from 713 to 712 B.C.E. as the ruler of
TANISand BUBASTISand the successor of SHOSHENQ IV. His
mother was Queen KAROMANA(6). During his reign, the
Nubian PIANKHI(1) (r. 750–712 B.C.E.) began his assault
on Egypt. Osorkon IV joined a coalition of rulers and
marched south under the leadership of TEFNAKHTEof
SAIS. At HERAKLEOPOLIS the two armies clashed, and
Piankhi proved victorious. Osorkon IV was then made
governor of Tanis by the Nubian (modern Sudanese)
ruler. This arrangement did not survive the later inva-
sions by the Nubian successors of Piankhi.
ostraka Fragments or slabs of stone or pottery used for
writing or sketching by the ancient Egyptians, they were
employed much like modern paper for memos and let-
ters. Ostraka were often provided to students for practic-
ing writing by copying literary texts. They are much more
numerous in archaeological sites than papyri. The ostraka
discovered by modern excavations of Egyptian sites bear
copies of truly ancient texts, artistic renderings, examples
of the use of the canon of art, and other information
about local and national events.
Overthrowing Apophis This is an unusual document
dating to the Ramessid Period (1307–1070 B.C.E.) but
part of the religious mythology from ancient times in
Egypt. Apophis was a serpent that assaulted the god RÉ
on his journey through the TUAT, or Underworld, each
night according to Heliopolitan religious traditions. In
some eras Apophis was deemed a manifestation of the
god SETand was halted in his evil each night by the
prayers of the faithful. The ritual of overthrowing the ser-
pent enemy of Ré included recitation of a list of the
Apophis “secret” names, which when recited made him
vulnerable. A selection of hymns to be sung on the occa-
sion for his destruction were popular devotions, and
many Egyptians made nightly vigils for this cause.
According to the ritual, the serpent had been previ-
ously annihilated, hacked to pieces, dismembered, and
flung into the abyss by the prayers of the truly pious.
This treatment of Apophis, however, did not deter him
from making another attack upon Ré the following night,
when he arose, fully reanimated. The Egyptians assem-
bled in the temples to make images out of the serpent in
wax. They spat upon the images, burned them, and muti-
lated them. Cloudy days or storms were signs that
Apophis was gaining ground, and solar eclipses were
interpreted as a sign of Ré’s demise. The sun god emerged
victorious each time, however, and the people continued
their prayers and anthems.Oxyrrhynchus (1) This is the modern city of el-
Bahnasa, once called Harday. The capital of the nine-
teenth nome of Upper Egypt and located on the west
bank of the BAHR YUSEFin the Faiyum, the site contained
the mummified remains of dogs. OSIRISwas favored in
this region, where more Greek papyri have been found
than in any other site in Egypt. The elephant-snout fish,
Mormyrus kannume,was revered there. The site was origi-
nally named Per-Mudjet.oxyrrhynchus (2) This is the Nile fish believed to
have eaten the phallus of the Egyptian god OSIRISwhen
SETdismembered him and cast his body parts into the
river. Out of devotion to Osiris, some nomes declared
that the fish was considered forbidden food. In some ter-
ritories the fish was considered a delicacy because of the
Osirian tradition.292 Osorkon IV