Appearance:
- Woman with headdress in the shape of a throne
- A pair of cow horns with a sun disk
Isis was a protective goddess. She used powerful magic spells to help people in need.
Isis egyptian goddess
Isis was the daughter of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut and the sister of the deities Osiris, Seth, and Nephthys.
Isis was the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus.
Since each pharaoh was considered the 'living Horus', Isis was very important.
Isis with Horus
Isis with Horus
Isis was initially an obscure goddess who lacked her own dedicated temples, but she grew in importance as the dynastic age progressed, until she became one of the most important deities of ancient Egypt. Her cult subsequently spread throughout the Roman Empire, and Isis was worshipped from England to Afghanistan. She is still revered by pagans today. As mourner, she was a principal deity in rites connected with the dead; as magical healer, she cured the sick and brought the deceased to life; and as mother, she was a role model for all women.
Isis had strong links with Egyptian kingship, and she was most often represented as a beautiful woman wearing a sheath dress and either the hieroglyphic sign of the throne or a solar disk and cow’s horns on her head. Occasionally she was represented as a scorpion, a bird, a sow, or a cow. There are no references to Isis before the 5th dynasty (2465–2325 BCE), but she is mentioned many times in the Pyramid Texts (c. 2350–c. 2100 BCE), in which she offers assistance to the dead king. Later, as ideas of the afterlife became more democratic, Isis was able to extend her help to all dead Egyptians.
This amulet is called the 'Isis knot' and is a symbol of protection.
A temple was built to honour Isis at Philae. It is still standing today.
