Isis is an ancient god of Egypt who became the most well-known and long-lasting of all Egyptian goddesses. Her name is derived from the Egyptian Eset, which means “the seat” and refers to her stability as well as the Egyptian throne, as she was considered the mother of every pharaoh due to the king’s relationship with Horus , the Isis’ son.
Her name has alternatively been understood as Queen of the Throne, and her original headpiece represented her dead husband Osiris’ empty throne. Her emblems include the scorpion (who protected her while she was hiding), the kite (a type of bird whose shape she took in resurrecting her husband), the vacant throne, and the sistrum.
mother of God (The great mother )
She is frequently depicted as the unselfish, giving mother, wife and protector who prioritizes the interests and well-being of others over her own. She was also known as Weret-Kekau (“the Great Magic”) for her strength and Mut-Netjer (“Mother of Gods”) depending on whatever role she was playing at the time. Sati, for example, was the goddess who brought the monthly flood of the Nile which nourished the country, while Ankhet, for example, was the god of Egypt who created and preserved life.
The Mysterious Religion and Distribution of the Mother of Gods
Over time, she grew in popularity to the point that other gods were regarded simply manifestations of Isis, and she was the sole Egyptian deity adored by everyone in the kingdom. She and her husband and son succeeded the Theban Triad of Amon, Mut, and Khons, Egypt’s most popular triad of gods. The Abydos Triad consists of Osiris, Isis, and Horus. Her religion originated in the Nile Delta, with her most significant sanctuary at the temple of Behbeit El-Hagar, but Isis devotion ultimately expanded across Egypt.
Both men and women worked as clergy for Isis, and rituals for her worship were no likely done in the same way that rituals for other deities were: a temple was erected as her earthly abode, which contained her statue, and this image was carefully cared for by the priests and priestesses. The Egyptian people were invited to visit the temple to leave offerings and make supplications, but no one save the high priest or priestess was permitted to enter the sanctuary where the goddess’s statue dwelt.
Aside from that, nothing is known about the rituals that surround her devotion. The Cult of Isis, like the Eleusinian Mysteries, evolved into a Mystery Religion, offering the mysteries of life and death to initiates who were subsequently bound to silence. The cult is reported to have offered eternal life to those who were granted access to its mysteries. People who worshiped her in Egypt may or may not have been complete initiates into her religion, and in either case, no record of how the goddess was revered was left.
People did not write anything about the religion until Isis was worshiped in Rome, and by then it was apparent that knowledge of the rites involved was limited for initiates. Her temple on the island of Philae in Upper Egypt was a popular pilgrimage destination for thousands of years until it was closed by the Christian emperor Justinian in the sixth century CE. She was known as the “mother of all kings” in her function as “throne goddess” but her generosity was not restricted to royalty.
The expansion of the world and the end of the Mother of Gods
In some stories and inscriptions, she is depicted as a homeless woman, an old woman, a wife searching for and mourning her lost husband, a mother mourning a missing child, a woman fighting for her family, and all of these stories identified her with the common people of Egypt and their darkest moments as a result , Isis became the goddess of all Egyptians, male and female, royal and common. Together with her spouse Osiris, he taught mankind agriculture and medicine, as well as the practice of marriage. god of Egypt
She eventually became linked with the sea and was a protector of sailors and merchants who wore talismans commemorating her and sought her assistance in times of distress (attested to by archaeological evidence). Isis, unlike the other Egyptian gods, crossed national boundaries and was adored by the Greeks and Romans, who saw her as the ultimate deity who created the universe. In Rome, her cult was the most powerful opponent to the nascent faith of Christianity,
which relied on the image of Isis and the child-god Horus for the portrayal of the Madonna and Child. Her worship was one of the most prominent in the ancient Mediterranean until Christianity prevailed over the heathen religions. Faiths were prohibited in the 4th-6th century CE, and worship of Isis, like that of other pagan gods, was outlawed.
