Isis (part 2/2)
Iconography
Associations
Due to the
association between knots and magical power, a symbol of Isis was the tiet
or tyet (meaning welfare/life),
also called the Knot of Isis, Buckle of Isis, or the Blood of Isis, which is shown to the right. In many respects the tyet resembles
an ankh, except that its arms point downward,
and when used as such, seems to represent the idea of eternal life or resurrection. The meaning of Blood of Isis
is more obscure, but the tyet often was used as a funerary amulet made of red wood, stone, or glass, so this may simply have been a description of the
appearance of the materials used.
The star Sopdet (Sirius) is associated with Isis. The appearance of the
star signified the advent of a new year and Isis was likewise considered the
goddess of rebirth and reincarnation, and as a protector of the dead. The Book
of the Dead outlines a particular ritual that would protect the dead, enabling
travel anywhere in the underworld, and most of the titles Isis holds signify
her as the goddess of protection of the dead.
Depictions
In art,
originally Isis was pictured as a woman wearing a long sheath dress and crowned
with the hieroglyphic sign for a throne. Sometimes she is depicted as holding a lotus, or, as a sycamore tree. One pharaoh, Thutmose III, is depicted in his tomb as
nursing from a sycamore tree that has a breast.
After she
assimilated many of the roles of Hathor, Isis's headdress was replaced with
that of Hathor: the horns of a cow on her head, with the solar disk between
them, and often with her original throne symbol atop the solar disk. Sometimes
she also is represented as a cow, or with a cow's head. She is often depicted
with her young child, Horus (the pharaoh), with a crown, and a vulture. Occasionally she is represented as a kite flying above the body of Osiris
or with the dead Osiris she works her magic to bring him back to life.
Most often Isis
is seen holding an ankh (the sign for
"life") and a simple lotus staff, but in late images she is sometimes
seen with the sacred sistrum rattle and the fertility-bearing menat necklace, items usually associated with
Hathor. In The Book of Coming Forth By Day Isis is depicted standing on the prow of the Solar Barque with her arms outstretched.
Mythology
Sister-wife to Osiris
During the Old Kingdom period, the pantheons of
individual Egyptian cities varied by region. During the 5th dynasty, Isis entered the pantheon of the city of Heliopolis. She was represented as a daughter of Nut and Geb,
and sister to Osiris, Nephthys, and Set. The two sisters, Isis and Nephthys, often were depicted on
coffins, with wings outstretched, as protectors against evil. As a funerary
deity, she was associated with Osiris, lord of the underworld, and was
considered his wife.
A later myth,
when the cult of Osiris gained more authority, tells the story of Anubis, the god of the underworld. The tale describes how
Nephthys was denied a child by Set and disguised herself as her twin, Isis, to
seduce him. The plot succeeded, resulting in the birth of Anubis.
In fear of
Set's retribution, Nephthys persuaded Isis to adopt Anubis, so that Set would
not find out and kill the child. The tale describes both why Anubis is seen as
an underworld deity (he becomes the adopted son of Osiris), and why he could
not inherit Osiris's position (as he was not actually the son of Osiris but of
his brother Set), neatly preserving Osiris's position as lord of the
underworld.
The most
extensive account of the Isis-Osiris story known today is Plutarch's Greek
description written in the 1st century CE, usually known under its Latin title De
Iside et Osiride.
In that
version, Set held a banquet for Osiris in which he brought in a beautiful box
and said that whoever could fit in the box perfectly would get to keep it. Set
had measured Osiris in his sleep and made sure that he was the only one who
could fit the box. Several tried to see whether they fit. Once it was Osiris's
turn to see if he could fit in the box, Set closed the lid on him so that the
box was now a coffin for Osiris. Set flung the box in the Nile so that it would
drift far away. Isis went looking for the box so that Osiris could have a proper
burial. She found the box in a tree in Byblos, a city along the Phoenician coast, and brought it
back to Egypt, hiding it in a swamp. But Set went hunting that night and found
the box. Enraged, Set chopped Osiris's body into fourteen pieces and scattered
them all over Egypt to ensure that Isis could never find Osiris again for a
proper burial.
Isis and her
sister Nephthys went looking for these pieces, but could only find thirteen of
the fourteen. Fish had swallowed the last piece, his phallus. With Thoth's help she created a golden phallus,
and attached it to Osiris’s body. She then transformed into a kite, and with the aid of Thoth’s
magic conceived Horus the Younger. The number of pieces is described on temple
walls variously as fourteen and sixteen, one for each nome or district.
Mother/Sister of Horus
Yet another set
of late myths detail the adventures of Isis after the birth of Osiris's
posthumous son, Horus. Isis was said
to have given birth to Horus at Khemmis, thought to be located on the Nile
Delta. Many dangers faced Horus after birth, and Isis fled with the newborn to
escape the wrath of Set, the murderer of her husband. In
one instance, Isis heals Horus from a lethal scorpion sting; she also performs
other miracles in relation to the cippi, or the plaques of Horus. Isis protected and
raised Horus until he was old enough to face Set, and subsequently become the
pharaoh of Egypt. In some stories, Isis is referred to as Horus' sister.
Magic
It was said that
Isis tricked Ra into telling her his
"secret name" by causing a snake to bite him,
the antidote to whose venom only Isis possessed. Knowing his secret name thus
gave her power over him. The use of secret names became central in many late
Egyptian magic spells. By the late Egyptian historical period, after the
occupations by the Greeks and the Romans, Isis became the most important and
most powerful deity of the Egyptian pantheon because of her magical skills. Magic is central to
the entire mythology of Isis, arguably more so than any other Egyptian deity.
Isis had
a central role in Egyptian magic spells and ritual, especially those of
protection and healing. In many spells her powers are merged with those of her
son Horus. His power accompanies hers whenever she is invoked. In Egyptian
history the image of a wounded
No comments:
Post a Comment