Isis and osiris
Over time, Isis’s role in relation to the king trickled down into popular religion as well. As with Isis, evidence for this can be found within her name itself, which meant “House of Horus.” Thus, it should come as no surprise that Hathor and Isis were often identified with each other, especially where matters of kingship were concerned. The cow goddess Hathor was also often said to be the close protector and nurturer of the pharaoh. Whether or not this image was a direct influence upon the much later Christian motif of the infant Jesus sitting in the lap of Mary, the similarity is striking. In the context of kingship, this image was a symbol of the king – Horus – sitting in the “lap” of the throne – Isis – and receiving its blessings. One of the most common ancient Egyptian iconographical images was a seated Isis nursing an infant Horus. So close was this relationship that even Isis’s name, which meant “Throne,” speaks of it. When the pharaoh died, she guided him safely past the many dangers that lurked in the Egyptian underworld to the blissful afterlife that awaited him.
Whenever the pharaoh was in need, Isis was there to provide strength, power, healing, and encouragement. The enemies of the pharaoh, and of Egypt more generally, were identified with Seth, whom Isis repeatedly tricked, outwitted, and ultimately, with Horus, defeated. Just as Isis had protected, nurtured, and come to the aid of Horus, so she did for the pharaoh. As such, Isis had a particularly central role in the theology and rituals surrounding the pharaoh. The human pharaoh was identified as the earthly incarnation of Horus. Kingship and Monarchical Religion Isis nursing the infant Horus (Louvre) An era of remarkable peace and plenty thus began. By means of several disputes and contests, Horus, with the magical and motherly aid of Isis, prevailed over Seth and assumed the throne. When Horus had grown to adulthood, he publicly challenged Seth’s right to rule, claiming that only he, as the son of Osiris, deserved that position. Isis raised her son, the falcon god Horus, in secret so as to prevent Seth from harming him. But the partial revivification was sufficient for Osiris to father a son with her before finally dying for good. With her magical abilities, she resuscitated Osiris to some degree – even she was unable to restore him fully to life. When she had located all of them, she reattached them to each other. Isis was inconsolably devastated, and set out to find the various parts of her husband’s corpse. Seth cut Osiris’s body into pieces that were then scattered over the entire land of Egypt. However, as was recounted in the tale of The Death of Osiris and the Contest of Horus and Seth, Seth grew jealous of his brother’s exalted position, murdered him, and usurped the throne. In time, the rulership of the gods was handed down from Geb to Osiris, who reigned with Isis as his queen. This presaged their future relationship and abiding passion for each other. Osiris and Isis were twins, and some accounts stated that they embraced each other while still in Nut’s womb. She had two brothers, Osiris and Seth, and a sister, Nephthys. In ancient Egyptian creation narratives, Isis was the daughter of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut. Isis’s Role in Egyptian Mythological Tales The tears of grief she shed over the loss of her husband, Osiris, were often said to be the cause of the annual floods of the Nile River, which nourished the floodplains with the rich silt that enabled agriculture to flourish in a land that was otherwise an empty and seemingly endless desert. She was also a prominent fertility goddess. She was therefore something of a model of the ancient Egyptian ideal of femininity. Isis had particularly strong associations with the roles in which most upstanding ancient Egyptian women found themselves over the course of their lives: a devoted wife, mother, and, eventually, widow. Her formidable knowledge of, and proficiency in, the arts of magic were most often directed toward protection and healing. She was exceptionally wise in the sense that she understood other beings and their motivations better than they themselves likely did, and she was exceptionally cunning in that she put this understanding to use in ingenious plots to benefit those she favored and to foil the plans of their enemies. Isis was an ancient Egyptian goddess renowned for her skill in magic and the depth of her love for those in her care.