Horus grows up to banish Set, restoring order
to the world.
The earliest mention of Isis can be found in
the Pyramid Texts, sacred inscriptions carved
in tomb walls of pyramids in Saqqara
dating back to the Old Kingdom (cir-
ca 2575-2150 b.c.). Among the most
ancient sacred writings, these texts
center on pharaonic funerary rituals
and beliefs about the journey of kings
through the afterlife.
At first Isis was only worshipped in the Nile
Delta where she originated, but she grew to be-
come an important deity for the whole of an-
cient Egypt.
Known for her magic, her beneficent power
encompassed both daily life and the afterlife. As
Egyptian notions of the afterlife became more
democratic, she was considered the protector of
all the dead across Egyptian society, not just the
pharaohs and their families at the top. Egyptian
women regarded her as the model mother and
wife. Her reputation as one of the warmest and
most humane of the gods would later win hearts
outside Egypt.From Egypt to Greece
When Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in
332 b.c., the worship of Isis would flourish and
expand beyond Egypt. Rather than censor Egyp-
tians’ local religion, Alexander embraced it.
While visiting the city of Memphis, Alexander
made sacrifices to Apis, an Egyptian bull god
also associated with Osiris, and connected the
deity’s power to his own reign.
Following Alexander’s death in 323 b.c., one
of his generals, Ptolemy I Soter, took control of
Egypt and continued the practice of religious
tolerance. This dynasty, the so-called Ptolemies,
would continue to unite the new Macedon elite
with the local Egyptian population through
faith. Located in Upper Egypt near the border
of modern Sudan, the island of Philae was sa-
cred to Isis. Temples had been built to her there
since the sixth century b.c. Construction on an
impressive new temple for Isis began shortly
before Alexander’s conquest and was finished
by Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his successor,SHAKEN LIKE A RATTLE, THE SISTRUM WAS USED IN THE WORSHIP
OF ISIS AND IS A PART OF THE GODDESS’S ICONOGRAPHY. AN UNDATED
BRONZE SPECIMEN (LEFT) WAS DISCOVERED NEAR THE TEMPLE OF ISIS
IN ROME. LOUVRE MUSEUM, PARIS
DEA/SCALA, FLORENCE
CSP KARAPAS/AGE FOTOSTOCKGODDESS OF PLENTY
This Temple of Isis was built on
the Aegean island of Delos in the
second century b.c. Isis worship
at this wealthy trading post
reflects the international reach of
the Egypt of the Ptolemies.