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==Origins== | ==Origins== | ||
Whereas some Egyptian deities appeared in the late Predynastic Period (before c. 3100 BCE), neither Isis nor her husband Osiris were mentioned by name before the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2494–2345 BCE). An inscription that may refer to Isis dates to the reign of Nyuserre Ini during that period, and she appears prominently in the [[Pyramid Texts]], which began to be written down at the end of the dynasty and whose content may have developed much earlier. Several passages in the Pyramid Texts link Isis with the region of the Nile Delta near Behbeit el-Hagar and Sebennytos, and her cult may have originated there. | Whereas some Egyptian deities appeared in the late Predynastic Period (before c. 3100 BCE), neither Isis nor her husband Osiris were mentioned by name before the Fifth Dynasty (c. 2494–2345 BCE). An inscription that may refer to Isis dates to the reign of Nyuserre Ini during that period, and she appears prominently in the [[Pyramid Texts]], which began to be written down at the end of the dynasty and whose content may have developed much earlier. Several passages in the Pyramid Texts link Isis with the region of the Nile Delta near Behbeit el-Hagar and Sebennytos, and her [[cult]] may have originated there. | ||
Isis is part of the Ennead of Heliopolis, a family of nine deities descended from the creator god, Atum or [[Ra]]. She and her siblings—[[Osiris]], [[Set]], and [[Nephthys]]—are the last generation of the Ennead, born to [[Geb]], god of the earth, and [[Nut]], goddess of the sky. The creator god, the world's original ruler, passes down his authority through the male generations of the Ennead, so that Osiris becomes king. Isis, who is Osiris's wife as well as his sister, is his queen. | Isis is part of the Ennead of Heliopolis, a family of nine deities descended from the creator god, Atum or [[Ra]]. She and her siblings—[[Osiris]], [[Set]], and [[Nephthys]]—are the last generation of the Ennead, born to [[Geb]], god of the earth, and [[Nut]], goddess of the sky. The creator god, the world's original ruler, passes down his authority through the male generations of the Ennead, so that Osiris becomes king. Isis, who is Osiris's wife as well as his sister, is his queen. | ||
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Isis was also known for her magical power, which enabled her to revive Osiris and to protect and heal Horus, and for her cunning. By virtue of her magical knowledge, she was said to be "more clever than a million gods." In several episodes in the New Kingdom story ''The Contendings of Horus and Set'', Isis uses these abilities to outmaneuver Set during his conflict with her son. On one occasion, she transforms into a young woman who tells Set she is involved in an inheritance dispute similar to Set's usurpation of Osiris's crown. When Set calls this situation unjust, Isis taunts him, saying he has judged himself to be in the wrong. In later texts, she uses her powers of transformation to fight and destroy Set and his followers. | Isis was also known for her magical power, which enabled her to revive Osiris and to protect and heal Horus, and for her cunning. By virtue of her magical knowledge, she was said to be "more clever than a million gods." In several episodes in the New Kingdom story ''The Contendings of Horus and Set'', Isis uses these abilities to outmaneuver Set during his conflict with her son. On one occasion, she transforms into a young woman who tells Set she is involved in an inheritance dispute similar to Set's usurpation of Osiris's crown. When Set calls this situation unjust, Isis taunts him, saying he has judged himself to be in the wrong. In later texts, she uses her powers of transformation to fight and destroy Set and his followers. | ||
Like other deities throughout Egyptian history, Isis had many forms in her individual cult centers, and each cult center emphasized different aspects of her character. Local Isis cults focused on the distinctive traits of their deity more than on her universality, whereas some Egyptian hymns to Isis treat other goddesses in cult centers from across Egypt and the Mediterranean as manifestations of her. | Like other deities throughout Egyptian history, Isis had many forms in her individual [[cult]] centers, and each cult center emphasized different aspects of her character. Local Isis cults focused on the distinctive traits of their deity more than on her universality, whereas some Egyptian hymns to Isis treat other goddesses in cult centers from across Egypt and the Mediterranean as manifestations of her. | ||
===Sky goddess=== | ===Sky goddess=== | ||
Many of the roles Isis acquired gave her an important position in the sky. Passages in the Pyramid Texts connect Isis closely with [[Sopdet]], the goddess representing the star [[Sirius]], whose relationship with her husband [[Sah]]—the constellation Orion—and their son Sopdu parallels Isis's relations with Osiris and Horus. Sirius's heliacal rising, just before the start of the Nile flood, gave Sopdet a close connection with the flood and the resulting growth of plants. Partly because of her relationship with Sopdet, Isis was also linked with the flood, which was sometimes equated with the tears she shed for [[Osiris]]. | Many of the roles Isis acquired gave her an important position in the sky. Passages in the Pyramid Texts connect Isis closely with [[Sopdet]], the goddess representing the star [[Sirius]], whose relationship with her husband [[Sah]]—the constellation Orion—and their son Sopdu parallels Isis's relations with Osiris and Horus. Sirius's heliacal rising, just before the start of the Nile flood, gave Sopdet a close connection with the flood and the resulting growth of plants. Partly because of her relationship with Sopdet, Isis was also linked with the flood, which was sometimes equated with the tears she shed for [[Osiris]]. | ||
By Ptolemaic times she was connected with rain, which Egyptian texts call a "Nile in the sky"; with the [[sun]] as the protector of [[Ra]]'s barque; and with the [[moon]], possibly because she was linked with the Greek lunar goddess Artemis by a shared connection with an Egyptian fertility goddess, Bastet. In hymns inscribed at Philae she is called the "Lady of Heaven" whose dominion over the sky parallels Osiris's rule over the Duat and [[Horus]]'s kingship on earth. | By Ptolemaic times she was connected with rain, which Egyptian texts call a "Nile in the sky"; with the [[sun]] as the protector of [[Ra]]'s barque; and with the [[moon]], possibly because she was linked with the Greek lunar goddess Artemis by a shared connection with an Egyptian fertility goddess, Bastet. In hymns inscribed at Philae she is called the "Lady of [[Heaven]]" whose dominion over the sky parallels Osiris's rule over the Duat and [[Horus]]'s kingship on [[earth]]. | ||
==Iconography== | ==Iconography== | ||
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From the Renaissance on, the veiled statue of Isis that Plutarch and Proclus mentioned was interpreted as a personification of nature, based on a passage in the works of Macrobius in the fifth century CE that equated Isis with nature. Authors in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ascribed a wide variety of meanings to this image. Isis represented nature as the mother of all things, as a set of truths waiting to be unveiled by science, as a symbol of the pantheist concept of an anonymous, enigmatic deity who was immanent within nature, or as an awe-inspiring sublime power that could be experienced through ecstatic mystery rites. | From the Renaissance on, the veiled statue of Isis that Plutarch and Proclus mentioned was interpreted as a personification of nature, based on a passage in the works of Macrobius in the fifth century CE that equated Isis with nature. Authors in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries ascribed a wide variety of meanings to this image. Isis represented nature as the mother of all things, as a set of truths waiting to be unveiled by science, as a symbol of the pantheist concept of an anonymous, enigmatic deity who was immanent within nature, or as an awe-inspiring sublime power that could be experienced through ecstatic mystery rites. | ||
In the dechristianization of France during the French Revolution, she served as an alternative to traditional Christianity: a symbol that could represent nature, modern scientific wisdom, and a link to the pre-Christian past. For these reasons, Isis's image appeared in artwork sponsored by the revolutionary government, such as the Fontaine de la Régénération, and by the First French Empire. The metaphor of Isis's veil continued to circulate through the nineteenth century. [[Helena Blavatsky]], the founder of the esoteric Theosophical tradition, titled her 1877 book on Theosophy ''Isis Unveiled'', implying that it would reveal spiritual truths about nature that science could not. | In the dechristianization of France during the French Revolution, she served as an alternative to traditional Christianity: a symbol that could represent nature, modern scientific wisdom, and a link to the pre-Christian past. For these reasons, Isis's image appeared in artwork sponsored by the revolutionary government, such as the Fontaine de la Régénération, and by the First French Empire. The metaphor of Isis's veil continued to circulate through the nineteenth century. [[Helena Blavatsky]], the founder of the esoteric Theosophical tradition, titled her 1877 book on [[Theosophy]] ''Isis Unveiled'', implying that it would reveal spiritual truths about nature that science could not. | ||
Among modern Egyptians, Isis was used as a national symbol during the Pharaonism movement of the 1920s and 1930s, as Egypt gained independence from British rule. In works such as Mohamed Naghi's painting in the parliament of Egypt, titled Egypt's Renaissance, and Tawfiq al-Hakim's play ''The Return of the Spirit'', Isis symbolizes the revival of the nation. A sculpture by Mahmoud Mokhtar, also called ''Egypt's Renaissance'', plays upon the motif of Isis's removing her veil. | Among modern Egyptians, Isis was used as a national symbol during the Pharaonism movement of the 1920s and 1930s, as Egypt gained independence from British rule. In works such as Mohamed Naghi's painting in the parliament of Egypt, titled Egypt's Renaissance, and Tawfiq al-Hakim's play ''The Return of the Spirit'', Isis symbolizes the revival of the nation. A sculpture by Mahmoud Mokhtar, also called ''Egypt's Renaissance'', plays upon the motif of Isis's removing her veil. | ||