Isis is the Egyptian goddess of fertility and motherhood. She has gone by many names and played many roles in history and mythology as a goddess and female creator. As the personification of the throne, she was an important source of the Pharaoh's power.
Description[]
Isis was also represented as the mother of the "four suns of Horus", the four deities who protected the canopic jars containing the pharaoh's internal organs. More specifically, Isis was viewed as the protector of the liver-jar-deity, Imsety. By the Middle Kingdom period, as the funeral texts began to be used by members of Egyptian society other than the royal family, the role of Isis as protector also grew, to include the protection of nobles and even commoners.
At a comparatively early period in Egyptian history Isis had absorbed the attributes of all the great primitive goddesses, and of all the local goddesses such as Nekhebet, Uatchet, Neith, Bastet, Hathor, etc., and she was even identified as the female counterpart of the primeval abyss of water from which sprang all life. It is impossible to limit the attributes of Isis, who possesses the powers of a water goddess, an earth goddess, a corn goddess, a star goddess, a queen of the Underworld, and a woman, and that she united in herself one or more of the attributes of all the goddesses of Egypt known to us.
Overview[]
Isis was the first daughter of Geb, god of the Earth, and Nut, goddess of the Sky, and she was born on the fourth intercalary day. She married her brother, Osiris, and she conceived Horus by him. Isis was instrumental in the resurrection of Osiris when he was murdered by Set. Using her magical skills, she restored his body to life after having gathered the body parts that had been strewn about the earth by Set.
As the great lady of the Underworld, who assisted in transforming the bodies of the blessed dead into those wherein they were to live in the realm of Osiris, she was Ament, the hidden goddess, mother of Ra. In this capacity she shared with Osiris the attribute of Giver of Life providing food for the dead as well as for the living.
Links[]
- Isis - Wikipedia
- Isis - Mythology Wiki
- Isis - Ancient Egypt Wiki
- Isis - Gods & Goddess Wiki