Isis
Love and Loyalty
Click on Links to visit item pages. Large Head of Isis Pendant Isis Tomb Paintings 
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Known to us primarily from her depictions in the famous tomb of Tutankamun, Isis' (pronounced EYE-sis) name means "The Throne" and every Egyptian pharoah claimed the right to rule as a son or daughter of Isis. Her Egyptian name was "Auset", but the Greek and Roman "mystery religions" revered her as Isis.She was revered as the greatest and most beloved of all the Egyptian goddesses. Her symbol, the star Sirius, signaled the commencement of the Nile flood when it rose with the sun (the "heliacal rising") each year in early summer.Isis was both a celestial and terrestrial goddess, and she absorbed many of the qualities of the more ancient Het-Hert (Hathor), while acquiring her own unique history. She is the goddess of family love, loyalty, all feminine principles and, like the more ancient Het-Hert, of magic and creativity.The legend of Isis and her husband Osiris (or, in Egyptian, Ausar) is one of the
greatest love stories ever told. Since it was customary for Egyptian royalty to
marry within the immediate family whenever possible, so it was in their gods. Thus,
Osiris was married to his sister Isis, and their brother Seth was married to their sister
Nepthys (in Egyptian, Nebt-Het). Because she was unable to bear children with Seth,
Nepthys tricked Osiris into sleeping with her. When Nephthys' husband Seth
discovered this treachery, he attacked Osiris and chopped him into pieces, hiding the body
parts all over the world so that they could not be reassembled.
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Isis (Auset) |
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