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Isis

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Divinities

   Isis.

   Isis is a goddess in Egyptian mythology. She was most prominent
   mythologically as the wife and sister of Osiris and mother of Horus,
   and was worshipped as the archetypical wife and mother.

   Her name literally means (female) of throne, i.e. Queen of the throne,
   which was portrayed by the emblem worn on her head, that of a throne.
   However, the hieroglyph for her name originally meant (female) of
   flesh, i.e. mortal, and she may simply have represented deified,
   historical queens.

   Her origins are uncertain but are believed to have come from the Nile
   Delta; however, unlike other Egyptian deities, she did not have a
   centralised cult at any point throughout her worship. First mentions of
   Isis date back to the Fifth dynasty of Egypt which is when the first
   literary inscriptions are found, but her cult became prominent late in
   Egyptian history, when it began to absorb the cults of many other
   goddesses. It eventually spread outside Egypt throughout the Middle
   East and Europe, with temples dedicated to her built as far away as the
   British Isles. Pockets of her worship remained in Christian Europe as
   late as the 6th century.
   The Goddess Isis, wall painting, ca. 1360 BC.
   Enlarge
   The Goddess Isis, wall painting, ca. 1360 BC.

Origin of the name

   Isis
   in hieroglyphs


   st t
       B1

   The English pronunciation used for this deity, /ˈaɪ.sɪs/), is an
   anglicized pronunciation of the Greek name, Ίσις, which itself changed
   the original Egyptian name by the addition of a final -s because of the
   grammatical requirements of Greek noun endings.

   The Egyptian name was recorded as ỉs.t or ȝs.t and meant '(She of the)
   Throne'. However the true Egyptian pronunciation remains uncertain
   because their writing system omitted vowels. Based on recent studies
   which present us with approximations based on contemporary languages
   and Coptic evidence, the reconstructed pronunciation of her name is
   *ʔŪsat (ooh-saht). Later, the name survived into Coptic dialects as Ēse
   or Ēsi, as well as in compound words surviving in names of later people
   like Har-si-Ese, literally "Horus, son of Isis".

   For convenience and arbitrarily, Egyptologists choose to pronounce the
   word as ee-set. Sometimes they may also say ee-sa because the final 't'
   in her name was a feminine suffix which is known to have been dropped
   in speech during the last stages of the Egyptian language.

Temples

   Most Egyptian deities started off as strictly local, and throughout
   their history retained local centers of worship, with most major cities
   and towns widely known as the hometowns to their deities. However, no
   traces of local Isis cults are found; throughout her early history
   there are also no known temples dedicated to her. Individual worship of
   Isis does not begin until as late as the 30th dynasty; until that time
   Isis was depicted and apparently worshipped in temples of other
   deities. However, even then Isis is not worshipped individually, but
   rather together with Horus and Osiris- the latter of whom being both
   her brother and husband, as they fell deeply in love within their
   mother's womb. Temples dedicated specifically to Isis become
   wide-spread only in the Roman times.

   By this period, temples to Isis begin to spread outside of Egypt. In
   many locations, particularly Byblos, her cult takes over that of
   worship to the Semitic goddess Astarte, apparently due to the
   similarity of names and associations. During the Hellenic era, due to
   her attributes as a protector, and mother, and the lusty aspect
   originally from Hathor, she was also made the patron goddess of
   sailors.

   Throughout the Graeco-Roman world, Isis becomes one of the most
   significant of the mystery religions, and many classical writers refer
   to her temples, cults and rites. Temples to Isis were built in Iraq,
   Greece, Rome, even as far north as England where the remains of a
   temple were discovered at Hadrian's Wall. At Philae her worship
   persisted until the 6th century, long after the wide acceptance of
   Christianity- this was the last of the ancient Egyptian temples to be
   closed, and its fall is generally accepted to mark the end of ancient
   Egypt.

Priesthood

   Priestess of Isis, Roman statue 2nd Century C.E.
   Enlarge
   Priestess of Isis, Roman statue 2nd Century C.E.

   Little information on Egyptian priests of Isis survives; however it is
   clear there were both male and female priests of her cult throughout
   her history. By the Graeco-Roman era, many of them were healers, and
   were said to have many other special powers, including dream
   interpretation and the ability to control the weather by braiding or
   combing their hair, the latter of which was believed because the
   Egyptians considered knots to have magical powers.

Iconography

Associations

   "tyet" –
   Knot of Isis
   in hieroglyphs


   V39

   Because of the association between knots and magical power, a symbol of
   Isis was the tiet/tyet (meaning welfare/life), also called the Knot of
   Isis, Buckle of Isis, or the Blood of Isis. The tiet in many respects
   resembles an ankh, except that its arms curve down, and in all these
   cases seems to represent the idea of eternal life/resurrection. The
   meaning of Blood of Isis is more obscured, but the tyet was often used
   as a funerary amulet made of red wood, stone, or glass, so this may
   have simply been a description of its appearance.

   The star Spica (sometimes called Lute Bearer), and the constellation
   which roughly corresponded to the modern Virgo, appeared at a time of
   year associated with the harvest of wheat and grain, and thus with
   fertility gods and goddesses. Consequently they were associated with
   Hathor, and hence with Isis through her later conflation with Hathor.
   Isis also assimilated Sopdet, the personification of Sirius, since
   Sopdet, rising just before the flooding of the Nile, was seen as a
   bringer of fertility, and so had been identified with Hathor. Sopdet
   still retained an element of distinct identity, however, as Sirius was
   quite visibly a star and not living in the underworld (Isis being the
   wife of Osiris, king of the underworld).

Titles

   In the Book of the Dead Isis was described as:
     * She who gives birth to heaven and earth,
     * She who knows the orphan,
     * She who knows the widow,
     * She who seeks justice for the poor,
     * She who seeks shelter for the weak

   Some of Isis' many other titles were:
     * Queen of Heaven,
     * Mother of the Gods,
     * The One Who is All,
     * Lady of Green Crops,
     * The Brilliant One in the Sky,
     * Star of the Sea,
     * Great Lady of Magic,
     * Mistress of the House of Life,
     * She Who Knows How To Make Right Use of the Heart,
     * Light-Giver of Heaven,
     * Lady of the Words of Power,
     * Moon Shining Over the Sea.

Depictions

   Isis with cow horns, solar disk, sitting on lion throne with Horus on
   her lap. (Egyptian Late Period)
   Enlarge
   Isis with cow horns, solar disk, sitting on lion throne with Horus on
   her lap. (Egyptian Late Period)

   In art, originally Isis was pictured as a woman wearing a long sheath
   dress and crowned with the hieroglyphic sign for a throne, sometimes
   holding a lotus, as a sycamore tree. After her assimilation of Hathor,
   Isis's headdress is replaced with that of Hathor: the horns of a cow on
   her head, and the solar disc between them. She was also sometimes
   symbolised by a cow, or a cow's head. Usually, she was depicted with
   her son, the great god Horus, with a crown and a vulture, and sometimes
   as a kite bird flying above Osiris's body.

   Isis is most often seen holding only the generic ankh sign and a simple
   staff, but is sometimes seen with Hathor's attributes, the sacred
   sistrum rattle and the fertility bearing menat necklace.

Isis in literature

   Isis is the most important goddess in Egyptian mythology who
   transferred from a local goddess in the Nile Delta to a cosmic goddess
   all over the whole ancient world. The name Isis is still a beloved name
   among modern coptic Egyptians, and in Europe the name (Isadora)i.e.
   Gift of Isis is still common.

   We know characters of the Goddess from Plutarch's Isis and Osiris which
   considered the main source of this mythological story. Apuleius'
   "Transformations of Lucius" gives us an understanding of Isis in the
   first century. The following paragraph is particularly significant.
   "You see me here, Lucius, in answer to your prayer. I am nature, the
   universal Mother, mistress of all the elements, primordial child of
   time, sovereign of all things spiritual, queen of the dead, queen also
   of the immortals, the single manifestation of all gods and goddesses
   that are, my nod governs the shining heights of Heavens, the wholesome
   sea breezes. though I am worshipped in many aspects, known by countless
   names. . . some know me as Juno, some as Bellona . . . the Egyptians
   who excel in ancient learning and worship call me by my true
   name..Queen Isis."

Mythology

Early Isis

   Isis
   in hieroglyphs


   st  t
      H8 B1 .or st t
                   y I12

Throne queen

   As the deification of the wife of the pharaoh, the first prominent role
   of Isis was as the assistant to the deceased king. Thus she gained a
   funerary association, her name appearing over 80 times in the Pyramid
   Texts, and was said to be the mother of the four gods who protected the
   canopic jars - more specifically, Isis was viewed as protector of the
   liver-jar-god Imsety. This association with the Pharaoh's wife also
   brought the idea that Isis was considered the spouse of Horus, who was
   protector, and later the deification, of the Pharaoh himself.
   Consequently, on occasion, her mother was said to be Hathor, the mother
   of Horus. By the Middle Kingdom, as the funeral texts spread to be used
   by non-royals, her role also grows to protect the nobles and even the
   commoners.

   By the New Kingdom, Isis gains prominence as the mother / protector of
   the Pharaoh. She is said to breastfeed the pharaoh with her milk, and
   is often depicted visually as such. The role of her name and her
   throne-crown is uncertain. Some egyptologists believe that being the
   throne-mother was Isis' original function, however a more modern view
   states that aspects of the role came later by association. In many
   African tribes, the king's throne is known as the mother of the king,
   and that fits well with either theories, giving us more insight into
   the thinking of ancient Egyptians.

Sister-wife to Osiris

   In another area of Egypt, when the pantheon was formalised, Isis became
   one of the Ennead of Heliopolis, as a daughter of Nut and Geb, and
   sister to Osiris, Nephthys, and Set. As a funerary deity, she was
   associated with Osiris, god of the underworld ( Aaru), and thus was
   considered his wife. The two females - Isis and Nephthys were often
   depicted on coffins, with wings outstretched, as protectors against
   evil.

   A later legend, ultimately a result of the replacement of another god
   of the underworld when the cult of Osiris gained more authority, tells
   of the birth of Anubis. The tale describes how Nephthys became sexually
   frustrated with Set and disguised herself as the much more attractive
   Isis to try to seduce him. The ploy failed, but Osiris now found
   Nepthys very attractive, as he thought she was Isis. They coupled,
   resulting in the birth of Anubis. In fear of Set's anger, Nephthys
   persuaded Isis to adopt Anubis, so that Set would not find out. The
   tale describes both why Anubis is seen as an underworld deity (he is a
   son of Osiris), and why he couldn't inherit Osiris' position (he was
   not a legitimate heir), neatly preserving Osiris' position as lord of
   the underworld.

Assimilation of Hathor

   Beliefs about Ra himself had been hovering around the identification of
   Ra, a sun god, with Horus, another sun god (as the compound
   Ra-Herakhty), and so for some time, Isis had intermittently been
   considered the wife of Ra, since she was the mother of Horus.
   Consequently, since there was not anything logically troubling by
   identifying Isis as Ra's wife, Hathor unlike identifying Ra as his own
   son, she and Hathor became considered the same deity, Isis-Hathor.
   Sometimes the alternative consideration arose, that Isis, in the
   Ennead, was a child of Atum-Ra, and so should have been a child of Ra's
   wife, Hathor, although this was less favoured as Isis had enough in
   common with Hathor to be considered one and the same.

Mother of Horus

   Isis nursing Horus.
   Enlarge
   Isis nursing Horus.

   It was this merger with Hathor that proved to be the most significant
   event in the history of Egyptian mythology. By merging with Hathor,
   Isis became the mother of Horus, rather than his Wife, and thus, when
   beliefs of Ra absorbed Atum into Atum-Ra, it also had to be taken into
   account that Isis was one of the Ennead, as the wife of Osiris.
   However, it had to be explained how Osiris, who as god of the dead, was
   dead, could be considered a father to Horus who was very much not
   considered dead. This led to the evolution of the idea that Osiris
   needed to be resurrected, and so to the Legend of Osiris and Isis, of
   which Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride contains the most extensive
   account known today, a myth so significant that everything else paled
   in comparison.
   A statue of Isis nursing Horus, housed in the Louvre.
   Enlarge
   A statue of Isis nursing Horus, housed in the Louvre.

   Yet another set of myths detail the adventures of Isis after the birth
   of Osiris' posthumous son, Horus. Many dangers faced Horus after birth,
   and Isis fled with the newborn to escape the wrath of Seth, the
   murderer of her husband. In one instance, Isis heals Horus from a
   lethal scorpion sting; she also performs other miracles in relation to
   the so-called cippi, or the plaques of Horus. Isis protected and raised
   Horus until he was old enough to face Seth, and subsequentally became
   the king of Egypt.

Magic

   In order to resurrect Osiris for the purpose of having the child Horus,
   it was necessary for Isis to learn magic, and so it was that Isis
   tricked Ra (i.e. Amun-Ra/Atum-Ra) into telling her his "secret name",
   by getting a snake to bite and poison him, so that he would use his
   "secret name" to survive. This aspect becomes central in magic spells,
   and Isis is often implored to use the true name of Ra while performing
   rituals. By the late Egyptian history, Isis becomes the most important,
   and most powerful magical deity of the Egyptian pantheon. Magic is
   central to the entire mythology of Isis; arguably more so than any
   other Egyptian deity.

   In consequence of her deeply magical nature, Isis also became a goddess
   of magic. The prior goddess to hold the quadruple roles of healer,
   protector of the canopic jars, protector of marriage, and goddess of
   magic, Serket, became considered an aspect of her. Thus it is not
   surprising that Isis had a central role in Egyptian magic spells and
   ritual, especially those of protection and healing. In many spells, she
   is also completely merged even with Horus, where invocations of Isis
   are supposed to automatically involve Horus' powers as well.

Assimilation of Mut

   After the authority of Thebes had risen, and made Amun into a much more
   significant god, it later waned, and Amun was assimilated into Ra. In
   consequence, Amun's consort, Mut, the doting, infertile, and implicitly
   virginal mother, who by this point had absorbed other goddesses
   herself, was assimilated into Ra's wife, Isis-Hathor as
   Mut-Isis-Nekhbet. On occasion, Mut's infertility and implicit virginity
   was taken into consideration, and so Horus, who was too significant to
   ignore, had to be explained by saying that Isis became pregnant with
   magic, when she transformed herself into a kite and flew over Osiris'
   dead body.

   Mut's husband was Amun, who had by this time become identified with Min
   as Amun-Min (also known by his epithet - Kamutef). Since Mut had become
   part of Isis, it was natural to try to make Amun, part of Osiris, the
   husband of Isis, but this was not easily reconcilable, because Amun-Min
   was a fertility god and Osiris was the god of the dead. Consequently
   they remained regarded separately, and Isis was sometimes said to be
   the lover of Min. Subsequently, as at this stage Amun-Min was
   considered an aspect of Ra (Amun-Ra), he was also considered an aspect
   of Horus, since Horus was identified as Ra, and thus Isis' son was on
   rare occasions said to be Min instead, which neatly avoided having
   confusion over Horus's status as was held at being the husband and son
   of Isis.

Isis outside Egypt

   The cult of Isis rose to prominence in the Hellenistic world, beginning
   in the last centuries BC, until it was eventually banned by the
   Christians in the 6th century. Despite the Isis mystery cult's growing
   popularity, there is evidence to suggest that the Isis mysteries were
   not altogether welcomed by the ruling classes in Rome. Her rites were
   considered by the princeps Augustus to be "pornographic" and capable of
   destroying the Roman moral fibre.

   Tacitus writes that after Julius Caesar's assassination, a temple in
   honour of Isis had been decreed; Augustus suspended this, and tried to
   turn Romans back to the Roman gods who were closely associated with the
   state. Eventually the Roman emperor Caligula abandoned the Augustan
   wariness towards oriental cults, and it was in his reign that the Isiac
   festival was established in Rome. According to Josephus, Caligula
   himself donned female garb and took part in the mysteries he
   instituted, and Isis acquired in the Hellenistic age a "new rank as a
   leading goddess of the Mediterranean world."

   Roman perspectives on cult were syncretic, seeing in a new deity merely
   local aspects of a familiar one. For many Romans, Egyptian Isis was an
   aspect of Phrygian Cybele, whose orgiastic rites were long naturalized
   at Rome, indeed she was known as Isis of Ten Thousand Names.

   Among these names of Roman Isis, Queen of Heaven is outstanding for its
   long and continuous history. Herodotus identified Isis with the Greek
   and Roman goddesses of agriculture, Demeter and Ceres. In Yorùbá
   mythology, Isis became Yemaya. In later years, Isis also had temples
   throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia, and as far away as the British
   Isles, where there was a temple to Isis on the River Thames by
   Southwark.

Links to Christianity

   On the right is Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a famous mediaeval icon
   of Mary and Jesus; on the left is a bronze statue of Isis nursing Horus
   dating from the Ptolomeic era of Egypt.
   On the right is Our Mother of Perpetual Help, a famous mediaeval icon
   of Mary and Jesus; on the left is a bronze statue of Isis nursing Horus
   dating from the Ptolomeic era of Egypt.

   Many scholars believe that Isis worship in late Roman times was the
   primary influence behind Christianity's adoption of the cult of the
   Virgin Mary. Evidence suggests that this allowed the Christian Church
   to absorb a huge number of converts who had formerly believed in Isis,
   and would not have converted unless Christianity offered them an
   "Isis-like" female focus for their faith. Iconographically the
   similarities between the seated Isis holding or suckling the child
   Horus (Harpocrates) and the seated Mary and the baby Jesus, is
   apparent.

   Some Fundamentalist Christian writers find fault with these claims, and
   suggest that by the time the cult of the Virgin Mary arose, the worship
   of Isis had greatly evolved from the Egyptian myths, and her
   relationship with Horus was no longer a major factor. However, this
   view is overshadowed by the fact that Late Roman beliefs regarding the
   attributes of Isis, are almost identical to Early Christian beliefs
   regarding Mary. One has only to read the quote from Apuleius above, to
   see that Isis was worshipped in Roman Times as a Universal and merciful
   mother figure - precisely as was the Virgin Mary.
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