- Her parents were Geb and Nut, the deities of the earth and sky respectively. Her siblings were Osiris, Seth, and Nephthys. Osiris was also her husband, and they were the parents of Horus.
- Her name means "throne", and she is often pictured with a headdress shaped like a throne.
- Osiris was king of Egypt, so she was his queen. She was a good and popular queen who taught the women of Egypt how to weave, bake, and brew Beer.
- However, it all went pear-shaped when her other brother, Seth, grew jealous of Osiris and trapped him in a chest which he threw into the Nile. Seth then became king. Isis searched high and low for her dead husband and eventually found the chest and brought it home. Seth was so angry that he hacked Osiris to pieces and scattered the pieces to the four winds. Isis and her sister Nephthys went looking for the body parts, and Isis put Osiris back together. He was bandaged, like a mummy, and neither living nor dead. Nevertheless, Isis had sex with him one last time before he was forced to go to the underworld and become king of the dead. Nine months later, Horus was born.
- After this, Isis was forced to flee and hide with her son in the marshes of the Nile delta, until he grew up and could avenge his father and take back the throne. According to one myth, she had with her seven Scorpion deities to protect her. When a woman refused to help Isis, one of the scorpions stung her son. Isis knew it wasn't the child's fault, and healed him, thus gaining a reputation as a compassionate goddess. Some myths also say she cured her own son, Horus, of a scorpion sting.
- She's said to be a protector of those who are in mourning. Her tears for Osiris, it was said, caused the flooding of the Nile and also rain - a "Nile in the sky". She's also a goddess of women, motherhood and childbirth. The jury's out on whether she promotes independence and equality of women. She was a powerful Queen who brought up her son alone but on the other hand she was devoted to, and never fully independent of, her husband and son.
- In art she is usually shown wearing a sheath dress, holding staff of papyrus in one hand, and an ankh sign in the other. Her headdress may be a throne or it may be a solar disc with Cow's horns. Sometimes she is shown with her sister Nephthys, often in an attitude of mourning as they protect the coffin of Osiris. They sometimes appear as kites, which may be because the kite's call sounds like a wailing woman, or because they search for carrion in a similar way to the sisters' search for the bits of their dead brother. Isis is sometimes depicted as a sow, representing motherhood, a cow or a scorpion.
- Worship of Isis wasn't confined to Egypt. She was a popular goddess in ancient Rome, too, particularly among women. Hence her cult spread with the Roman empire and she was worshipped from England to Afghanistan. The Roman's seized on a particular aspect of her, Isis Pelagia, "Isis of the Sea", which was popular in the port of Alexandria. Sailors would invoke her for a safe voyage. In Rome, the people depended on shipments of grain from Egypt. Isis was the nurturing goddess who ensured a plentiful harvest, and her influence was extended to making sure the grain safely reached the people who needed it.
- Isis is associated with the Moon and also the star Sirius.
- Isis wasn't mentioned in Egyptian texts before the 5th dynasty (2465–2325 BCE) but later was one of the most important Egyptian deities. It wasn't until the rise of Christianity that her cult declined. Some historians have suggested that worship of Isis may have evolved into the Christian veneration of The Virgin Mary, although evidence for it is ambiguous and so this is somewhat controversial. Modern pagans still revere Isis.
My latest books
Closing the Circle
A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.
Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader.
Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.
The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.
Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.
Available from:
Amazon (Paperback)
A stable wormhole has been established between Earth and Infinitus. Power Blaster and his friends can finally go home.
Desi Troyes is still at large on Earth - Power Blaster has vowed to bring him to justice. His wedding to Shanna is under threat as the Desperadoes launch an attempt to rescue their leader.
Someone from Power Blaster's past plays an unexpected and significant role in capturing Troyes.
The return home brings its own challenges. Not everyone can return to the life they left behind, and for some, there is unfinished business to be dealt with before they can start anew.
Ben Cole in particular cannot resume his old life as a surgeon because technology no longer works around him. He plans a new life in Classica, away from technology. Shanna hears there could be a way to reverse his condition and sets out to find it, putting herself in great danger. She doesn't know she is about to uncover the secret of Power Blaster's mysterious past.
Available from:
Amazon (Paperback)
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