Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Mythology Explained. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing Isis.
Of all the ancient Egyptian goddesses, Isis’ cult was the most widespread and the longest
lasting. Such was her popularity that it far exceeded the boundaries of the ancient Egyptian
empire. She was revered by both Greeks and Romans, and her influence reached all the
way to Britain, where there are, purportedly, bridges adorned with her image along the River
Thames. At her height during Graeco-Roman times, her popularity transcended borders,
gained an international following, and later, even rivaled the popularity of the burgeoning
Christian religion. Interestingly, Isis was the goddesses ancient Greek name, a fact that
lends credence to Isis having had such widespread appeal. Her traditional, ancient Egyptian
name was Aset or Eset.
Isis was a goddess of impeccable pedigree. Geb and Nut, meaning earth and sky, respectively,
begot four children, Osiris, set, Isis, and Nephthys. These four formed two incestuous
relationships, with Isis being Osiris’ consort and Nephthys being set’s consort. The idea
of brother marrying sister was deeply ingrained in ancient Egypt, for it was standard practice
for Pharaohs to marry their own cousins, nieces, and sisters. Along with Osiris, Isis was said
to have civilized Egypt, imparting much knowledge and teaching many skills. Among these were
agriculture, healing practices and medicine, and several core social structures, such as
the institution of marriage.
Isis was usually depicted as a beautiful woman garbed in a sheath dress. Surmounting her
head was either the hieroglyphic symbol that denoted the throne or a rack of bull’s horns
with a golden sun between them. Isis played an immensely important role in the succession
myth, which, in a nutshell, is the murder of Osiris, the resurrection of Osiris, and
the ensuing, decades-long struggle between set and Horus for the crown. Here are her
most important moments:
After Osiris was murdered and dismembered by set, Osiris’ jealous younger brother,
Osiris’ hacked-to-pieces body is scattered to the four corners of Egypt. Eventually Isis
and her sister Nephtys recovered every piece and reconstituted the body. (That is, every
piece was found except for the penis, which was tossed into the Nile, eaten by fish, and
had to be fashioned anew by Isis with magic.) Isis used her magic in concert with the arts
of Anubis, who performed the first ever mummification. And so, Osiris was resurrected, but his time
on earth was fleeting. He was brought back for just enough time to impregnate Isis with
a son, Horus.
Isis went into hiding and birthed Horus in secret, for if set were to have found out
she was pregnant with a legitimate heir, he would have forced a miscarriage. After Horus
grew up a bit, Isis brought him before the divine council and presented him to the other
gods as the rightful king. From here, what is entailed in the rest of the myth is 80
years of struggle and strife in which Horus and Set both vy for the throne. This protracted
contest is chock-full of instances in which Isis endeavours to place Horus on the throne
with the use of her magical arts.
Her most notable contributions are: coming to set in the guise of a beautiful woman so
as to manipulate him into making himself a hypocrite; accidentally impaling Horus with
a harpoon while set and Horus are thrashing about in the Nile transformed as hippos; showing
sympathy to set and having her head chopped off by Horus for interpreting her compassion
as betrayal; and finally, tricking set into eating Horus’ semen by putting it on set’s
favourite lettuce plants. To sum it up, Isis was the epitome of mettlesome. Sometimes her
interventions were to Horus’ profit, and sometimes they went awry; but In the end,
Horus wins out and is made king.
Because Horus was representative of the living pharaoh, Isis was perceived as a surrogate
mother for the pharaoh and, thus, as a bridge between the royal family and the divine. Isis’
motherly quality blanketed the whole population. She was seen as a stalwart protector of children,
and her name was invoked when curing the sick, particularly when treating childhood ailments.
She was the matron of many domestic arts and was credited with teaching Egyptian women
how to weave, bake, brew beer, and much more. She was also the paragon of motherhood to
which all women of that time aspired.
Isis’ possessed an unparalleled mastery of the magical arts. She used her abilities
on many occasions, and one of the best known instances transpired when Isis happened upon
RA, the sun god, while he was sleeping.
Ra’s jaw was slack, and there was drool dangling from the corner of his mouth. Quick
as a mongoose, Isis snatched up RA’s saliva when it dripped to the ground. She mixed it
with clay and put life into it, molding a venomous snake. Having observed RA’s daily
routine, she placed the snake on a path he frequented, and later, the snake struck his
foot as he walked by. The bite put a sickness in RA that none of the other gods could cure.
Knowing her advantage, having contrived the whole ordeal, Isis used her leverage and extorted
RA, saying that she would cure him but only if he divulged his true name. At first, RA
refused, and he refused many times thereafter; but eventually, the time came when he could
no longer endure the pain and he succumbed to his suffering. Ra capitulated to Isis’
demands, but he insisted on a single caveat before he gave away his secret, that she only
share his true name with her son, Horus.
And that’s it for this video! If you enjoy the content please like the video and subscribe
to the channel.
Until next time
Remember
Do not assess a man who has nothing, And thus falsify your pen.