DO YOU recognize the goddess pictured on the cover of this magazine? It is Isis, ancient mother-goddess of Egypt. If you have visited a museum or looked through a book on ancient history, you have probably already seen idols resembling this.

The principal mother-goddess worshiped in Egypt was Isis. Historian H. G. Wells wrote: “Isis attracted many devotees, who vowed their lives to her. Her images stood in the temple, crowned as the Queen of Heaven and bearing the infant Horus in her arms. The candles flared and guttered before her, and the wax ex-votos hung about the shrine.” (The Outline of History) Isis worship was extremely popular in Egypt. It also spread throughout the Mediterranean area, especially to Greece and Rome, even reaching western and northern Europe.

The Romans, however, also worshiped the goddesses Isis, Cybele, and Minerva (Greek Athena), all of whom reflected in one way or another the Babylonian archetype Ishtar.

[Picture on page 4]

ISIS of Egypt with infant god Horus

[Credit Line]

Musée du Louvre, Paris