The goddess Isis is an Egyptian goddess, sister and wife of Osiris. She represents the mother, queen, and goddess of all gods.
Isis is the Greek name for the Egyptian goddess Ast, Spanish for throne, and is depicted as a woman with a throne on her head. Isis is mentioned for the first time in writings dating from 2,300 BC in the Fifth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Egypt.
Isis is also worshiped as the great magician, the queen of the afterlife, and the goddess of the star. She has all the attributes of the other Egyptian goddesses. The star Sirius or Sotis , the brightest star in the Orion constellation, was believed to be the home in the sky of the goddess Isis.
The first Christians will assimilate the cult of Isis to the Virgin Mary, giving her the maternal and protective facet, as well as the famous iconography of the Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus in her arms.
He was the only Egyptian deity that was worshiped even in the Roman Empire before his cult was banned in AD 535.
Isis and her attributes
The goddess Isis contains all the attributes of the other Egyptian goddesses. She is one of the nine goddesses that make up the Ennead , that is, the nine divinities worshiped and associated with the creation myths in Heliopolis (capital of the XIII nome of Lower Egypt).
The goddess Isis is referred to as ‘the great magician’ for the feat of resurrecting her brother and husband Osiris , killed by her brother Seth , to later procreate with him and give birth to Horus .
Isis is called ‘ the great magician ‘ because it is also said that she created the first cobra with her magic. From this first cobra, Isis extracts the poison that will force Ra, the god of gods, to reveal her true name and thus give Isis power over Ra. Ra accepting his ‘defeat’ prepares a secret cult to give Isis the power to cure the diseases of the gods.
She is also considered ‘ the goddess of the afterlife ‘ for being the wife of Osiris and for resurrecting him after his death and being born as the god of resurrection symbolizing fertility and the flooding of the Nile River.
She is also known as ‘ the divine mother ‘ for her protective and maternal quality shown to her son Horus and to all other beings.
Isis also personifies the Moon, since the Moon was considered one of the eyes of her husband Osiris and because it prevented flooding in the Nile.
Depictions of Isis
Isis, in her earliest depictions, is shown wearing a throne-like crown as the meaning of her original Egyptian name Ast .
Isis is sometimes depicted with a sun disk because of her relationship as the daughter of Ra and because of her power over him as the only one who knows his name.
The horns given to Isis represent the cow and is a fusion with Hathor, the wife of Horus. The cow symbolizes fertility.
Later, Isis would be represented with wings, a symbol of divinity.
The goddess Isis has also become a very popular tattoo, since, in addition to paying tribute to women in all their splendor, it also symbolizes strength and projects the power of a goddess, serving both as a talisman to give strength and as a talisman. of protection.
