sphymx09-blog

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Isis

                                            The ideal woman        

A cosmic deity: she who is great of magic

Isis was believed to be the most powerful magician among the Egyptian gods. She could use her powers to heal and resurrect people or to harm her ennemies.

Because of her formidable magical powers, Isis was thought to be one of the many forms of the Eye of Ra, the sun’s only daughter.

A royal deity: the Queen Mother

Isis belongs to the Great Ennead of Heliopolis (the nine first deities of the universe). She is the daughter of Geb (the earth) and Nut (the sky).

As the wife of Osiris (the deceased king) and the mother of Horus (the reigning king), she symbolizes the Queen Mother.

Her name means ‘the seat, the throne’: she is the one who bore the king and who will support him. 

In mythology, her political influence as a mother is often depicted. She is seen as the instigator of a lot of Horus’ victorious strategies.

A people’s goddess: the mother who brings up her children

Isis is a mother goddess but her role as a mother is more social. It focuses on education and raising the child into a fully grown adult. She is different from Hathor who manages the biological aspects of motherhood (pregnancy, childbirth...).

In mythology, she is portrayed as a single mother who knows the hardships of raising a child on her own. Egyptians could easily identify with her and therefore saw her as a helpful goddess.

A funerary deity: the widow

Isis is Osiris’ widow. She has gone through the grief of losing a loved one and knows what pain and suffering feels like. That’s why she is viewed as compassionate and sympathetic towards the weak and destitute.

Isis is often portrayed as weeping and crying Osiris’ death. Thus, she is the mourners’ patron goddess.

Isis has an important role in the funerary cult as her cries are believed to awaken the dead. She also protects the body of the deceased in order for him to be resurrected.

Isis can be depicted as...

a woman with a throne on her head, a woman with Hathor’s headgear, a woman with wings, a tree, a bird, a cow, a scorpion, a cobra... (+ many other forms).

Isis is related to...

her heliopolitan family: Geb (father), Nut (mother), Seth (brother), Osiris (brother and husband), Nephtys (sister), Horus (son).

Atum-Ra (of whom she can be the mother or wife)

Horus (her husband in some funerary myths)

Min (her husband in the town of Coptos)

Isis can be equated with...

all other goddesses especially Hathor, mother goddesses (Mut, Hathor), solar goddesses (Sekhmet, Tefnut), funerary goddesses (Selket).

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Harpocrates

                                                    Horus, the child

A cosmic deity: the morning sun

As a child god, Harpocrates is connected to the young rising sun, the reborned sun.

To the Egyptians, his childlike features recall the morning sun that is beautiful but still weak and harmless.

A royal deity: the child ruler

Harpocrates is usually seen as the personification of the crowned prince or of a child ruler.

He is considered to be the promise of a bright future.

A people’s god: the infant

Harpocrates represents Egyptian children in society. He is portrayed as weak and dependant on his mother, Isis.

In mythology, he is exposed to injustices: Seth removes him from his throne.

Egyptian myths also shows how his life is frail and constantly threatened: Harpocrates nearly dies after being stinged by a scorpion.

Despite being weak, Harpocrates symbolizes the bright future and has to be cherished and protected.

In the Late Period, Harpocrates protects children against wild animals.

Harpocrates can be depicted as...

a naked child wearing the child lock and sucking his index finger

Harpocrates is related to...

Isis (his mother)

Osiris (his father)

Harpocrates can be equated with...

Horus (of whom he is a specific form)

child gods (Ihy, Nefertum, Shed...)

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Horsiese

                                                  Horus, son of Isis

A royal deity: the new king

Horus, son of Isis, is a specific form of the god Horus that stresses Horus’ bond with his mother.

He is a grown version of Horus the child and has engaged in the conflict against Seth in order to retrieve his throne.

Horus, son of Isis, is often depicted as a young triumphant and newly crowned king who was able to get his throne back after numerous ordeals. Therefore, he is seen as an efficient king.

 A people’s god: the yound man

As the grown up Horus the child, Horus, son of Isis, represents young men in Egyptian society.

He is depicted as strong, impetuous and sexually active.

Horsiese can be depicted as...

a naked child on his mother’s knees

a man with a falcon head (wearing the double crown)

Horsiese is related to...

Isis (his mother)

Osiris (his father)

Horsiese can be equated with...

Horus (of whom he is a specific form)

child gods (Ihy, Nefertum...)

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Hornedjitef

                                         Horus, protector of his father

A royal deity: the heir and successor

Horus, protector of his father, is a form of the god Horus that stresses Horus’ devotion to his father Osiris. He is Horus (the king) that inherited the throne of his father.

Horus, protector of his father, underlines the hereditary nature of egyptian kingship and the king’s duty to honor his ancestors.

A people’s god: the son and heir

In popular belief, Horus, protector of his father, can be associated with the first-born son who has inherited his father’s position. 

A funerary god: the son that buries his father

Horus, protector of his father, was also seen as the living son that carried out his parent’s funerary rites.

He is a symbol of filial piety as the son that preserves his parents memory.

He is also the god that protects the corpse of his dead parent by driving away the ennemies that would desecrate his father’s body.

Hornedjitef can be depicted as...

a man with a falcon head wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt

Hornedjitef is related to...

Osiris (his father)

Isis (his mother)

Hornedjitef can be equated with...

Horus (of whom he is a specific form)

funerary gods (Anubis)

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Horus

                                            The king of Egypt

A cosmic deity: the sun as king of the sky

Horus’s name means “the one who is above”, refering to the sun and sky that he personnifies.

He is usually depicted as a falcon, a bird connected with solar gods as it flies very high in the sky giving the impression that it can touch the sun.

A royal deity: the living king (of Egypt)

Horus’s name, “the one who is above”, can also refer to the pharaoh. The royal protocol of the kings of Egypt began with the name “Horus”, establishing the true identity of the pharaoh as the solar god Horus.

In mythology, Horus is the son of the dead king Osiris. He is portrayed as the new living king/sun : the pharaoh.

He is a king that inherited his throne from his father. Therefore, he is seen as a legitimate king who follows Maat and who defends the weak.

Horus is mostly associated with Kemet, the fertile banks of the Nile, while Seth (his rival and also a king-god) is usually connected with Deshret (the desert).

A people’s god: see Horus, the child; Horus, protector of his father; Horus, son of Isis

A funerary god: see Horus, protector of his father

Horus can be depicted as...

a falcon (sometimes wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt)

a human with a falcon head wearing the double crown

Horus is related to...

Isis (who is usually his mother and sometimes his wife)

Osiris (his father)

Atum-Ra (his ancestor)

Hathor (often his wife)

Horus can be equated with...

all other solar gods (Ra, Atum...)

other king-gods (Seth)

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Khepri

                                                     The rising sun 

A cosmic deity : the rising sun

Khepri is a form of the sun god Ra. He personnifies the rising sun.

He is believed to be a younger-self of the sun god as he is the young sun that is reborn each day.

After its night-journey in the underworld, Ra is rejuvenated and rises in the morning as Khepri.

A funerary deity : the god of rejuvenation

As an aspect of the creator god (the sun), Khepri is believed to be the force that makes the sun able to rejuvenate itself and be reborn again. Therefore, he is seen as the one who has the ability of metamorphosis.

The deceased hoped that Khepri would accompany them through the underworld and transform them into young beings again, ready to be reborn to a new life.

Khepri can be depicted as...

a scarab-beetle (sometimes with falcon wings)

a man with a beetle head

Khepri can be equated with...

all other solar gods (Ra, Atum...)

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Nekhbet

                                          Goddess of Upper Egypt

A cosmic deity : the protector of Upper Egypt

She protects the Nile Valley (Upper Egypt).

She is the tutelary goddess of the towns of El-Kab and Hierakonpolis in Upper Egypt.

She is thought to be a personnification of the eye of Ra, the sun’s only daughter, also believed to be the disk of the sun and it’s fiery rays.

The eye of Ra is known to be an agressive goddess. That’s why Nekhbet can be protrayed grinding the enemies of Upper Egypt within her claws.

A royal deity : the protector of the King of Upper Egypt

Nekhbet was believed to be the white crown of Upper Egypt itself. Therefore she is united with the pharaoh whom she protects.

She is often portrayed crowning the king, giving him authority over Upper Egypt.

She is usually depicted on royal objects (thrones, diadems…) and near the king’s figure on temples.

Nekhbet’s image also became the emblem of the king’s mother and of the crowned prince’s mother. That’s why Nekhbet is also believed to be the pharaoh’s mother.

Nekhbet can be depicted as …

a vulture (sometimes wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt)

a woman wearing the white crown of Upper Egypt

a woman with a vulture head

a cobra (sometimes with wings)

a white cow

Nekhbet is related to…

Wadjet

Ra

Nekhbet can be equated with…

all other solar goddesses (Bastet, Tefnut, Sekhmet, Uraeus…)

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Uraeus - Eye of Ra

                                            Protector of kingship

A cosmic deity : a personnification of the sun god’s power

The cobra goddess (the uraeus) was believed to be the eye of Ra, the sun’s only daughter. Even though she had many forms (mainly all other solar goddesses), her cobra form was seen as the most powerful.  

The eye of Ra personnifies the sun’s power. She was believed to be the circle of fire that surrounds the sun disk in which Ra lives. She also embodies the radiance of the sun and its shining rays.  

She protects her father, the sun god Ra, from harm by spitting fire at his enemies.

A royal deity : the protector of kingship and royal power

The king’s uraeus was thought to be the eye of Ra herself. Therefore, she was united with the pharaoh and never leaved his side.

The king’s uraeus was believed to animate and spit venom to whomever would touch the king or do harm to him.

The uraeus is the emblem of the pharaoh’s divine power. Her very presence on a man’s forehead makes the king.

The uraeus is portrayed on many objects of kingship (crowns, thrones…) and in seats of royal power (temple walls, palaces, royal tombs…).

The cobra goddess was believed to be one of the most powerful deity in Egypt. Both Egyptians and Egyptian gods feared her deadly attacks.

The uraeus can be depicted as…

a rearing cobra on the pharaoh’s/queens’ forehead

a cobra that encircles the sun disk

a rearing cobra

a lioness

The uraeus is related to…

solar gods (Atum-Ra) to whom she is both the eye and the daughter

The uraeus can be equated with…

all female deities especially cobra godesses (Wadjet, Renenutet, Mertseger), lionesses (Tefnut, Sekhmet) and solar godesses (Hathor, Isis)