Isis was the supreme Mother Goddess of ancient Egypt. She was married to her brother Osiris, and their child was the God Horus. The three Deities made up the holy trinity of the Egyptian pantheon. Isis was not a distant Goddess, but one who spent time among mankind. She taught many skills to the women, such as grinding corn, spinning fibers and reading. Isis was also associated with the moon, magick, motherhood, civilization and was the patron to all priestesses.
She was the most powerful Deity of the pantheon, even more so than the older sun God, Ra. She tricked Ra to get his secret name, by which she gained many of his powers as well as her own.
In another myth, Isis was the first to use mummification to restore life to the dead. Her husband was murdered by his jealous brother Set, and when Isis found the pieces of his body, she wrapped them in linen strips. After breathing life back into him, Osiris' body was healed and whole again. This is the base for the well-known tradition among the ancient Egyptians to mummify their dead in preparation for the afterlife.
Her popularity among the people spread far beyond Egyptian lands. Isis was worshipped into the Greek and Roman regions as well. Even as Christianity came to these places, her priestesses created temples to the Madonna in an effort to preserve her. Many images of her with her son Horus are very similar to paintings of the Madonna and child.
