Isis

Egypt was another province that was added to Alexander's empire; Egypt was polytheistic in their beliefs. Of all the Egyptian gods, the mother goddess Isis was the most popular for those outside of Egypt, particularly among the Greeks, the Macedonians and the Romans.

Her true Egyptian name was either Aset or Eset. Isis was actually a transliteration of her Egyptian name by the Greeks or Macedonians. She shared some of the attributes of Hathor, the Egyptian goddess of love and fertility. The Greeks also identified Isis with Demeter and Aphrodite.

According to Apollodorus' myth of Io, when the heroine married Telegonus, king of Egypt, she erected a statue to Demeter which was called Isis. Strangely enough, the Egyptians also called Io, Isis, as well.

Isis was a goddess with many functions and powers. She was the mother goddess and the goddess of fertility. Isis was also the goddess of healing and magic.

Isis was the daughter of Geb (god of the earth) and Nut (the sky goddess), and the sister of Osiris, Nephthys and Seth. Isis married her brother Osiris, and became his consort.

Her other brother, Seth, murdered her husband/brother, cutting Osiris' body into pieces before tossing them into the Nile. Nephthys helped Isis gather the pieces of their brother's body and bury them, except for his phallus. With her magic, Isis preserved the still potent phallus. She became pregnant by the seed of Osiris' phallus and gave birth to the sun god, Horus.

Fearing for her son, Isis hid Horus until he reached adulthood. Horus confronted and fought Seth, until the younger god overcame his uncle.

In her mystery cult, her husband/brother Osiris and her son Horus shared the honours of being worshipped together with her.