View the PowerPoint slides on Isis
Summary:Stephanie Will
9/12/02
The Worship of Isis in the Greek and Roman World
I. Relations
A. daughter of God Geb (Earth) and Goddess Nut (Sky)
B. sister/wife of Osiris
i. marriage of Ptolemaic siblings
C. mother of Horus
i. mother of pharos
D. sister to Seth (Set) and Nepthys (also married)
II. Roles as a Goddess
A. Egyptian
i. all encompassing
B. Greek
i. Demeter
ii. Herodotus' accounts
C. Roman
i. Ceres
D. Christianity
i. Virgin Mary and Jesus
III. Why Cleopatra used her image
A. all powerful
B. united Greeks and Egyptians
C. long respected during Ptolemaic dynasty
D. gave power back to her as a queen
Sources
www.crystalinks.com/isis.html
http://members.aol.com/egyptart/isis.html
Solmsen, Friedrich. Isis among the Greeks and Romans. Cambridge,
Massachusetts:
Harvard University Press. 1979.
Turcan, Robert. The Cults of the Roman Empire. Cambridge, Massachusetts:
Harvard
University Press. 1996.
Witt, R.E. Isis in the Graeco-Roman World. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University
Press. 1971.
Summary:
by Quinn Cunningham
Isis was, according to the Egyptians, the daughter of the god Geb
and goddess Nut. It is said the idea of incest came from Isis marrying
her brother Osiris. There are two different stories about her relation
to her other brother, Seth, and Nepthys. Seth, killed Nepthys, but
the way Seth got rid of his body is what's in question. However
he was killed, though, Isis was said to have collected the pieces
of Nepthys and either buried him properly or put him back together
and brought him back to life. Isis fulfilled all the roles of a
goddess. Herodotus and Ceres believed she was close to Demeter,
who was the queen of the Greek gods. (This connection united the
Greeks and Egyptians.) Some of the things Isis was considered responsible
for were floods (keeping the crops healthy) and harvests. She was
also known as the mistress of magic, as having powers from Ra, as
a protecter of women going through child birth, and a protecter
of children themselves. Cleopatra wanted to use Isis' image because
it allowed her to control all of Egypt: meaning they gave her credit
for the floods and good harvests, etc. Isis' reputation gave power
back to the queens and also made it a little more respectable for
Cleopatra to be ruling without a husband. Cleopatra is seen many
times portraying Isis.