Isis - The Goddess of Fertility

Isis was the ancient Egyptian goddess of marriage, fertility, motherhood,

magic and medicine. Many myths and legends exist about Isis in Egypt and
Egyptian literature uses several names and titles for this goddess. Worship
of Isis, her temples and her cult spread through Egypt and parts of Europe.

Names, Titles & Roles

Isis is the “Goddess with Ten Thousand Names”

Although this statement is an exaggeration, she does have many names

Some of these are Aset, Aust, Eenohebis, Eset, Esu, Hesat, Iahu, Unt,
Urethekau, and Werethekau. Isis was also associated with the other
Egyptian goddesses, Sekhmet and Hathor. The Greeks worshiped Isis and
they associated her with their goddesses; Persephone, Tethys and Athena.

© Rhys Davenport - Statue of Isis

Isis is also known under many different titles, such as:

 The Divine One

 The Queen of all Gods
 Queen of Heaven
 The Maker of Sunrise
 Mother of God

Isis' most important roles were:

 Her positions as the wife of Osiris and the mother of Horus.

 Isis’ role as a fertility goddess was also important and caused many women to
worship her.
 Her position as a goddess of magic: people would look to her and her cult for
spells to solve problems. It is told that she managed to trick Ra into revealing
his secret name to her and in doing so, Isis obtained many magical powers.

In some of her other roles, Isis had names associated with each
role:

 Khut: giver of light at the beginning of a new year

 Usert: goddess of the earth
 Thenenet: goddess of the Tuat (the underworld)
 Satis: the Nile flood’s power
 Ankhet: providing fertility from the waters and embracer of the land
 Kekhet: goddess of the fields and the cultivated areas
 Renenet: goddess of the harvest
 Tcheft: goddess of the food offered to the gods by humans
 Ament: lady of the underworld who restored the bodies of the dead so they
could live with Osiris in his kingdom.
 © Darla Hueske - Goddess Isis - Friend of Artisans

How Was Isis Honored?

Isis had a cult that spread throughout Egypt and parts of Europe. People
worshiped Isis as the ideal, fertile mother. Women worshiped in her cult
and, at times, were her primary worshipers. Another way Egyptians
honored Isis was through the images and statues placed in her temples.
She was part of a triad of deities along with Osiris and Horus.

Isis is often shown nursing Horus or the pharaoh. Some aspects of her as a
mother might have influenced early Christian ideas about the Virgin Mary.
People believed her priests could cure illness and they celebrated festivals
for her and her four siblings. These took place on five successive days at
the end of the year.