Meet with us Isis, the mythical Goddess of Maternity, Marriage, Fertility, Magic and Medicine. Discover her legends and powers.
who was Isis?
Isis was an important Egyptian goddess, but her temples and followers eventually spread beyond Egypt and to various parts of Europe. She was the goddess of motherhood, medicine, marriage, fertility and magic. There are many names for the goddess, but her importance and behavior remain the same.
Origins
The origins of Isis are somewhat unclear. She is believed to have originated in Sinai, but other historians believe it is more likely that she began as a fetish in lower Egypt. But her worship was not limited to one area, as she was worshipped in temples all over the world.
She has often been called the “Goddess of Ten Thousand Names” and although there are not many, her names are numerous, depending on where in the world she was worshipped. Some of her other names include Hesat, Urethekau, Aust and Esu. In Egypt, she was associated with Hathor and Sekhmet, Atum while in Greece, she was closely associated with Persephone and Athena.
Legends and Stories
Although Isis usually remained in the background, there is one main myth that gives an idea of who she was as a goddess, wife and mother.
Maat: Guardian Of Laws, Values, Truth And JusticeFlood of the Nile
A favorite myth about Isis says that her tears are the reason the Nile River floods every year. Set, Isis’ brother, was jealous of Osiris, Isis’ husband. He was so jealous that he planned to kill him. One day, Osiris was scheduled to return from a long journey. He organized a feast to welcome him back. In the center of the banquet area, Set had left a chest that was beautifully decorated.
Set had developed a set that encircled the chest. He told all the guests to lie down lying on it and that those who fit perfectly inside would be allowed to keep the chest. All the guests tried, but no one fit to Set’s liking. He finally convinced Osiris to give it a try and when he entered, Set demanded all the guests to leave and slammed the lid, turning the chest into a coffin. He threw it into the Nile River.
The coffin floated downstream and finally reached Bilbos. It landed near a spring of water and got caught in the roots of a large tree. The tree grew around the coffin and covered it completely. The king of Bilbo realized how beautiful the tree was and demanded that it be placed in the center of his palace so that he could see it every day.
Search
While all this was going on, Isis was searching for her missing husband. She discovered the location of the coffin and devised a plan to enter the palace. She disguised herself as an old woman and waited by the stream used by the Queen’s maids to wash themselves. They took pity on the old woman and took her to the palace for food and shelter. She thanked them by braiding her hair.
The Queen noticed the new hairstyles and asked her maids about them. The maids told her about the old woman they had saved. The Queen was pregnant and when it was time to give birth, the maids immediately thought of the old woman and decided that she could help her.
Isis said she would help, but only if she could stay alone with the baby overnight. The Queen agreed, but the maidservants noticed the sound of a bird in the night. They told the Queen, who decided to investigate. She saw her baby lying on a bed of red coal with a swallow flying overhead. The Queen picked up the baby and ran.
It had taken the form of a swallow, immediately transformed into its goddess form and told the Queen that she was a fool, as she was burning the baby’s mortality. She then met with the King and told him and the Queen why she was really there. This goddess was allowed to take the coffin with her husband’s body. She took it to Egypt and hid it in the swamp.
Melinoe, the goddess of the dead, spirits and nightmaresFamily
Isis’ father was Geb, the god of the earth, and her mother was Nut, the god of the sky. She was married to her brother, Osiris, the god of the dead and resurrection. She had another brother, Set, and a sister named Nephthys. They had many children, among them Horus, Anubis, Mesthi, Hapi and Tuamutef. The only one he had with Osiris was Horus, while the others were fathered by Osiris, born by Nephthys, and adopted by Isis.
Appearance
Artistic depictions show Isis as a human woman with the elegance and mythological essence of a goddess. She is usually shown with a vulture headdress that resembles a bird on her stomach. The bird’s head falls just above Isis’ forehead and the wings hang down on either side. She normally wears a long dress that touches the ground and a traditional Egyptian collar with jewels.
In many depictions, she holds a papyrus scepter in one hand and an ankh in the other. She is also shown with wings downward along both arms. If Isis is not shown with a headdress, she wears a crown. There are two different types of crowns. One has the horns of a ram while the other crown has horns around a sun disk, which is the more popular of the two.
Symbology
There are many symbols associated with Isis. The Tyet, or the buckle or knot of the goddess, represents the female reproductive organs. It was usually made of a red substance to give it more meaning. The Tyet essentially represents life.
The set is another symbol of Isis. It is a star that was used to mark the beginning of a new year. Animals that represented Isis include the cow, the snake and the scorpion. There are also several birds associated with her, including the swallow, the hawk and the dove.
