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ISIS

Role: Goddess of motherhood, women, and magic; goddess of the South; protector of Imseti (the son of Horus who watched over the canopic jar containing the liver)

Appearance: Woman wearing the hieroglyph for "throne" on her head

Relations with other gods: part of the Triad of Abydos (wife of Osiris, mother of Horus); Nut (mother); Geb (father); Set and Osiris (brothers), Nephthys (sisters)

 

When her husband Osiris was killed and dismembered, Isis was seen as a dedicated wife by searching high and low for his remains. It was Isis who supposedly taught the people of Egypt about the institution of marriage. As the mother of Horus, the protector god of kings, Isis represented the ultimate perfect mother.

Isis was the patron goddess of magic and healing and was one of the most powerful deities of ancient Egypt. She was said to know everything on heaven and earth except for one thing: the secret magic name of Re, the god of the sun and king of all the other gods. So Isis hatched a plan to learn it. She made a snake out of dirt and some of Re's spit and laid it down on the ground where he be sure to walk by it. When he stepped on the serpent, it bit him. Isis rushed to Re's side when he called out for help. She told him that she could heal the poisonous bite with a magical spell, but would need to know Re's secret name in order to properly do the incantation. After learning his name, Isis did indeed heal Re, and was all the more powerful in the end!

 

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