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Isis
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Queen Nefertari Being Led by Isis Ancient Egyptian-style illustration showing Osiris, depicted with blue skin, wrapped in white and holding a crook and flail, standing beside Isis, who wears a green dress and holds an ankh, with a throne-shaped crown on her head. Isis with Horus Isis nursing Horus
Who was the Egyptian goddess Isis?
King Seti I offering a figure of maʿat to Osiris, Isis, and Horus; relief in the temple of King Seti I, Abydos, early 13th century bce.
At a Glance
Al-Jizah. Giza Necropolis, Giza Plateau, Cairo, Egypt. Side view of Sphinx with the Great Pyramid of Khufu (Cheops) rising in the background. The sides of all three of the Giza pyramids are astronomically oriented to be north-south, east-west (see notes)
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Queen Nefertari Being Led by Isis
Queen Nefertari Being Led by Isis Queen Nefertari Being Led by Isis, tempera on paper facsimile by Charles K. Wilkinson, undated; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; based on a scene depicting Isis (right) leading Queen Nefertari in the Tomb of Nefertari at Thebes, Egypt, c. 1279–1213 bce.

Isis

Egyptian goddess
Also known as: Aset, Eset
Written by
Joyce Tyldesley
Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Manchester. Author of Cleopatra: Last Queen of Egypt, Chronicles of the Queens of Egypt, Tutankhamen’s Curse, and others.
Joyce Tyldesley
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Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

Isis, one of the most important goddesses of ancient Egypt. Her name is the Greek form of an ancient Egyptian word for “throne.” Isis was initially an obscure goddess who lacked her own dedicated temples, but she grew in importance as the dynastic age progressed, until she became one of the most important deities of ancient Egypt. Her cult subsequently spread throughout the Roman Empire, and Isis was worshipped from England to Afghanistan. She is...

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