![]() ![]() Eventually the goddesses find Osiris lying dead on his side, “because his brother Seth threw him to the ground in Nedit.” 4 Already in the Pyramid Texts of the Old Kingdom, which were first canonized in writing around 2350 BC, the two sisters are assigned the role of weeping and lamenting mourners. 3 One of the main events this myth describes is the search for the murdered Osiris by his sisters, Isis and Nephthys. This attribute may have had its beginning in the myth of Osiris, a narrative that the ancient Egyptians never told in a single, continuous story but imparted through a loose collection of references. The abundance of sources in which she speaks can best be explained by the effectiveness of her words-no goddess has more influence over mythical events than she does. No deity can be described in terms of character and cultic function better than Isis based on the texts that capture her direct speech. 3.1), 2 is a prime example of the eloquence of the Egyptian gods. Isis, companion of the god Osiris and mother of their child, Horus ( fig. 1 Isis is a goddess who creates actions through words. These speech acts are performative, which means that by making an utterance, the speaker carries out actions. In Egyptian religious texts, dialogues formed part of mythical narratives whose function it was to trigger actions through speech. It was not only mythical, narrative elements of the biography of Isis that were rewritten over time her interactions with her pharaonic husband, Osiris, and later with her Hellenistic consort, Serapis, are indicative of her transition from a goddess who communicated only with other gods to a recipient of prayers-one who could both speak and listen-with universal appeal. Finally, the concept of monotheism as revealed in Isis cults will be considered, which not only influenced the emergence of other universal divinities but also shaped religious thinking in late antiquity. Next, we will look into the areas Isis defined through spoken language and the tangible data archaeology provides. In the Hellenistic period, Isis became a universal deity as changes were made to both her textual and iconographic representations in order for her to appeal to non-Egyptian audiences across the Mediterranean and beyond for a period of more than six hundred years.įirst, it will be crucial to understand with which deities Isis interacted in ancient Egypt and the various forms of oral practice that were in place. ![]() This essay examines the oral patterns and performative speech acts of Isis in pharaonic texts from the Old Kingdom onward and how her role as a communicator was later a central feature of Greco-Roman versions of her cult. Her verbal communication was a pivotal factor in the development of her cult as the world’s first universal religion. One of these characteristics is her ability to engage in dialogue with others and to communicate effectively. Features unique to her were translated across cultural and linguistic boundaries as her expanding biography responded to Greek influences following Alexander the Great’s conquest of Egypt in 332 BC. The goddess was depicted as interacting with other deities, as well as with her followers, through speech. In ancient Egyptian texts, no deity speaks more than Isis. ![]()
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