![]() The priestesses of Isis were healers and midwives, and were said to have many special powers, including dream interpretation and the ability to control the weather by braiding or combing their hair, the latter of which was because the ancient Egyptians considered knots to have magical power. In consequence, as well as the attributes of motherhood and fertility originating in Hathor, Isis became a goddess of magic. ![]() Amun-Ra/ Atum-Ra) into telling her his "secret name", by getting a snake to bite and poison him, so that he would use his "secret name" to survive. In order to resurrect Osiris for the purpose of having the child Horus, it was necessary for Isis to learn magic, and so it was that Isis tricked Ra (i.e. This lead to the evolution of the idea that Osiris needed to be resurrected, and so to the Legend of Osiris and Isis, a myth so significant that everything else paled in comparison. However, it had to be explained how Osiris, who as god of the dead, was dead, could be considered a father to Horus who was very much not considered dead. By merging with Hathor, Isis became the mother of Horus, rather than his Wife, and thus, when beliefs of Ra absorbed Atum into Atum-Ra, it also had to be taken into account that Isis was one of the Ennead, as the wife of Osiris. It was this merger with Hathor that proved to be the most significant event in the history of Egyptian mythology. Sometimes the alternative consideration arose, that Isis, in the Ennead, was a child of Atum-Ra, and so should have been a child of Ra's wife, Hathor, although this was less favoured as Isis had enough in common with Hathor to be considered one and the same. Consequently, since there was not anything logically troubling by identifying Isis as Ra's wife, Hathor unlike identifying Ra as his own son, she and Hathor became considered the same deity, Isis-Hathor. The tale describes both why Anubis is seen as an underworld deity (he is a son of Osiris), and why he couldn't inherit Osiris' position (he was not a legitimate heir), neatly preserving Osiris' position as lord of the underworld.īeliefs about Ra himself had been hovering around the identification of Ra, a sun god, with Horus, another sun god (as the compound Ra-Herakhty), and so for some time, Isis had intermittently been considered the wife of Ra, since she was the wife of Horus. In fear of Set's anger, Nephthys persuaded Isis to adopt Anubis, so that Set would not find out. They coupled, resulting in the birth of Anubis. The ploy failed, but Osiris now found Nepthys very attractive, as he thought she was Isis. The tale describes how Nephthys became sexually frustrated with Set and so disguised herself as the much more attractive Isis to try to seduce him. Isis and Nephthys were often depicted on coffins, with wings outstretched, as protectors against evil.Ī later legend, ultimately a result of the replacement of another god of the underworld when the cult of Osiris gained more authority, tells of the birth of Anubis. ![]() As a funerary deity, she was associated with Osiris, god of the underworld ( Aaru), and thus was considered his wife, whereas Nepthys was the wife of Set. ![]() In another area of Egypt, when the pantheon was formalised, Isis became one of the Ennead of Heliopolis, as a daughter of Nuit and Geb, and sister to Osiris, Nephthys, and Set. Consequently, on occasion, her mother was said to be Hathor, the mother of Horus. This association with the Pharaoh's wife also brought the idea that Isis was considered the spouse of Horus, who was protector, and later the deification, of the Pharaoh himself. More specifically, Isis was viewed as protector of the god Imsety. Thus she gained a funerary association, and was said to be the mother of the four gods who protected the canopic jars. As the deification of the wife of the pharaoh, Isis protected the dead body of the Pharaoh, since this was seen as an intrinsic part of her job as royal protector. ![]()
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