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EGYPTIAN GODDESS ISIS
GODDESS OF CORN AND FERTILITY
Isis was a nature goddess whose worship, originated in
ancient Egypt and gradually extended throughout the lands of
the Mediterranean world during the Hellenistic period. The
worship of Isis became one of the chief religions of the
Roman Empire.
Isis was married to her brother Osiris,
legendary ruler of pre-dynastic Egypt and god of the
underworld. Like her, he
was the son of the sky goddess Nut and the earth god
Geb. Their son
Horus
was one of the most important of the Egyptian deities
and was considered in Egyptian religion both a sky god and a god of light and
goodness.
| TITLE |
The Devine Mother |
| ANIMAL |
cow, scorpion |
| SYMBOLS |
throne, kite, scorpion, sistrum, tiet (knot of
Isis) |
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The name Isis is from the Greek form of the Egyptian Ast, or Eset.
Her name literally means female of throne, (Queen
of the throne), which was portrayed by the emblem worn
on her head, that of a throne. The hieroglyph for her name
used originally, on the other hand, meant female of flesh,
(mortal), and she may simply have represented
deified, historical queens.
For that reason, the functions of many goddesses were attributed to her
and she eventually became the prototype of the beneficent
mother goddess, the bringer of fertility and consolation to
all. Her symbol was a throne and later the cow, and she was
frequently represented with a cow's head or cow's horns.
During the Hellenistic period, her image outside Egypt
became increasingly Hellenic, with ideal features and locks
framing her face.
Isis was also a goddess of magic, and legends tell of her
ability to counteract evil by casting spells.
Isis is one of the four great
protector goddesses, which included Bast, Nephyths, and Hathor. She
guarded coffins and the Canopic jars. In the origin myth of Ra and
the world, Isis found out Ra's name by enchanting a poisonous snake
to bite him. When Ra was close to dying, Isis told him that she
could only heal him if she knew Ra's true name. By knowing Ra's
name, she then had power equal to him and was then given all of her
magical power and was forever known as the Divine Sorceress.
In the Osiris myths she searched for her
husband's body, who was killed by her
brother Seth. She retrieved and
reassembled the body, and in this
connection she took on the role of a
goddess of the dead and of the funeral
rights. Isis impregnated herself from
the Osiris' body and gave birth to Horus
in the swamps of Khemnis in the
Nile Delta. Here she raised her son in
secret and kept him far away from Seth.
Horus later defeated Seth and became the
first ruler of a united Egypt. Isis, as
mother of Horus, was by extension
regarded as the mother and protectress
of the pharaoh's. She was worshipped as
the divine mother-goddess, faithful
consort of Osiris, and dedicated mother
of Horus.
| OTHER TITLES |
| Chief Goddess |
| Crown of Ra-Heru |
| Eye of Ra |
| Female Heru |
| Great Mother-Goddess |
| Great Mourner |
| Lady of Abaton |
| Lady of Heaven |
| Lady of the New Year |
| Light-Giver of Heaven |
| Maker of the Sunrise |
| Mistress of Magic |
| Queen of the Earth |
| Queen of the Gods |
Variants: Aat, Ament, Aset, Eset,
Hert, Menhet, Menkhet.
"Isis is the
great female generative power,
the essence of things."
Plato
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