Isis, Egyptian Aset or Eset, was one of the most important goddesses of ancient Egypt. Her name is the Greek form of an ancient Egyptian word for “throne.” Isis was the daughter of the earth god Geb and the sky goddess Nut and the sister of the deities Osiris, Seth, and Nephthys. Married to Osiris, king of Egypt, Isis was a good queen who supported her husband and taught the women of Egypt how to weave, bake, and brew beer.
Isis was initially an obscure goddess who lacked her own dedicated temples, but she grew in importance as the dynastic age progressed until she became one of the most important deities of ancient Egypt. Her cult subsequently spread throughout the Roman Empire, and Isis was worshipped from England to Afghanistan. She is still revered by pagans today. As a mourner, she was a principal deity in rites connected with the dead; as a magical healer, she cured the sick and brought the deceased to life; and as a mother, she was a role model for all women.
Isis had strong links with Egyptian kingship, and she was most often represented as a beautiful woman wearing a sheath dress and either the hieroglyphic sign of the throne or a solar disk and cow’s horns on her head. Occasionally she was represented as a scorpion, a bird, a sow, or a cow. Continue reading from Encyclopedia Britannica
