Isis goddess born

Divine Mothers: Power and Protection

Glencairn Museum News | Number 8, 2020

This fall the Penn Museum (University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) in Philadelphia unveiled a new gallery space known as Community Spotlight. In the spring of 2020 the museum asked their community to vote online for a theme from the universal human experiences of love, heartbreak, envy, joy, inner peace, security, and perseverance. The winning theme, to be featured in the gallery, was love.

During the summer the Penn Museum staff selected six objects representing love in its many aspects, and the public was once again asked to vote online—this time for their favorite one of the six. The winner was a bronze statuette of Isis and Horus (Figure 23), which was placed on exhibition on October 10th near the Sphinx of Ramses II. This statuette of a mother holding her son—a representation of maternal love and protection—is very similar to an example in the collection of Glencairn Museum (above). In this essay for Glencairn Museum News, Dr. Jennifer Houser Wegner, Associate Curator in the Egyptian Section at the Penn Museum, explores the history and purpose of these ancient Egyptian images of Isis and Horus. Interestingly, according to some scholars, the familiarity of this mythological symbol in Egypt would later help pave the way for the popular acceptance of another important representation of a mother loving and protecting her child—that of Mary holding Jesus.

The family unit was central to the organization of the ancient Egyptian pantheon. Throughout Egypt, in temples large and small, gods were grouped into triads of a father, mother and child. In this way, the divine sphere mirrored the social structure of Egyptian society in which marriage and the production of children was the usual practice (see also “The Goddess Taweret: Protector of Mothers and Children,” Glencairn Museum News No. 9, 2014).

The city of Memphis

Isis

Alias

Goddess of Magic and Motherhood
Goddess of Demurity and Childbirth
Goddess of Wisdom and Marriage
Queen of the Gods
Mistress of the House of Life
Holder of Secret Names

“ Consider carefully. What we've done so far is only the beginning of the power we could wield together.”

–Isis to Sadie Kane in The Red Pyramid.

Isis is the Egyptian goddess of magic, motherhood, women, marriage, childbirth and family. She was born on the fourth day of the Demon Days. Her parents are Geb and Nut, while her siblings in her first life were Horus, Osiris, Nephthys, and Set. In another life, Isis was reborn as the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus. Isis was the goddess who took Sadie Kane as a host.

History[]

Isis was born as a result of the union between Geb and Nut, and eventually married her once-brother, Osiris. In a devious plot for her husband to become king of the gods, she poisoned the current king Ra, but feigned innocence. As he grew close to death, Isis told him she could heal him if she had his secret name. Desperate, he agreed, but Isis also gained control over Ra. After healing Ra, Isis forced him to leave the Earth, allowing Osiris to take his place as king. Isis and Osiris had a son, Horus, after their marriage.

This ultimately resulted in the ancient clash between Osiris and Set, who had been Ra's faithful lieutenant. Osiris was eventually tricked by Set, who attempted to assault and kill Isis. Still pregnant with Horus, was forced to go on the run. She gave birth to Horus while hiding from Set, and Horus eventually sought revenge for his father. Although Horus was successful, he chopped off his mother's head when she attempted to stop him from attacking while still weak; she was healed by Thoth later. It is revealed she stopped him from killing Set.

When Serapis came to the power, he defeated Zeus, Hades and Osiris, but he fell in love with Isis and then forced her to become his w

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    • Isis

    Great mother Isis, the goddess of healing and magic, was crucial to ancient Egyptian religious beliefs. She is known today by her Greek name Isis; however, the ancient Egyptians called her Aset. Her name translates to “Queen of the Throne” which is reflected in her headdress, which is typically a throne. Sometimes she is also depicted with the vulture headdress of the goddess Mut, and other times with a disk with horns on the sides, attributed to the goddess Hathor. She took on their headdresses as she assimilated their traits. Isis can also be seen as a winged goddess who brought fresh air to the underworld when she went to meet her husband.

    Isis was the sister and wife of the god Osiris, ruler of the underworld. It is said that she and Osiris were in love with each other even in the womb. Isis was also the mother of Horus, the protector of the pharaoh. The most famous story of Isis begins when Seth, the jealous brother of Osiris, dismembered him and scattered the parts of his body throughout Egypt. The ancient sacred stories say that the other deities were so impressed with Isis’s dedication to finding her beloved husband, that they helped her revive him.

    Isis was very important to the ancient Egyptians because she had so many different powers. She was both the protector of women and the bringer of magic. Isis began as a secondary figure to her husband Osiris, however after thousands of years of worship, she was transformed into the Queen of the Universe and the embodiment of Cosmic order. By the Roman period, she was believed to control the power of fate itself.

    Image: RC 1652 Isis Figure at the Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum.

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    Overview

    One of the best-known goddesses in the Egyptian pantheon, Isis was the granddaughter of Ra, wife of Osiris, and mother of Horus. While she was best known as a powerful sorceress and healer, she was also a fiercely protective mother and loyal wife. Her acts of healing and compassion were renowned throughout the land; those who threatened her loved ones, however, did so at their own peril.

    Etymology

    The etymology of the Egyptian gods’ names have largely been lost to time and translation. Nevertheless, some information relating to Isis’s etymology has been discovered. Isis was generally depicted wearing a crown resembling the hieroglyph for “throne.” Her name—as written in Ancient Egyptian—incorporated this glyph as well. Thus, Isis’s name was commonly understood to mean “throne goddess.”

    Attributes

    Isis was a goddess of contradictions. While she could be bloodthirsty and ruthless, she was also compassionate and loyal. She was known for her acts of healing, but her grief could also cause the death of innocents. Isis happily extorted her grandfather Ra so that her unborn son Horus could lay claim to the throne. Later, when Horus was engaged in a competition with his uncle Set, Isis cheated on her son’s behalf. On yet another occasion, she released a captured Set out of familial obligation.

    She was an immensely powerful sorceress known for her wondrous healing spells.

    Isis was usually depicted in human form, and could sometimes be seen carrying a sistrum (an ancient percussion instrument). The myths and imagery surrounding Isis and another goddess, Hathor, were sometimes conflated. Isis would, at times, bear the cow horns and solar disk more commonly associated with Hathor.

    Family

    Isis was the fourth child born to the gods Nut and Geb. Her older siblings included Osiris, Horus the Elder and Set; she also had a younger sister named Nephthys.

    Isis conceived her son, Horus the Younger, with her deceased brother/husband Osiris. Isis’s