Isis

In later times the image of Horus subduing the powers of evil seems to have been the protective figure of the house.

when we reach roman times we have a fuller view of the popular worship in the terra-cotta figures at anasia for instance we find the following proportions five of serapis five isis twenty-four horus four bess one goddess of palm-trees it was especially the worship of horus that was developed in this line the kind of shrines used in the houses are also shown by the terracottas these were wooden framed cupboards with doors below over them a recess between two pillars to hold the image and a lamp burning before it and the whole crowned with a cornice of smaller little lamp-holders were also made to hang up and very possibly to place with a lamp on a grave at present mud-hatches are made to place lamps in on holy sites in egypt the terracottas have also preserved the forms of the wayside shrines these were certainly influenced in their architecture by greek models but the idea is probably much older the shrines were sometimes a little chamber with a domed top like a modern welly or saint's tomb or sometimes a roof on four pillars with a dwarf wall or lattice-work around three sides such were the places for wayside devotions and passing prayers as among the egyptians of the present day CHAPTER XIV.

Egyptian Ethics fortunately we have preserved to us a considerable body of the maxims of conduct from the pyramid times and these show very practically what were the ideals and the motives of the early people this is only a small side of the present subject but it will be fully stated in religion and conscience in ancient egypt the repudiation of sins before the judgment of osiris is the earliest code of morals and it is striking that in this there are no family duties such an exclusion points to the family being unimportant in the early times the matriarchy perhaps then excluding the responsibility of the man in the earliest form the prominence of duties is in the order of those to equals to inferiors to gods and to the man's own character in later times the duties to inferiors have almost vanished and the inner duties to character are greatly extended being felt to lie at the root of all else the ideal character was drawn in the maxims as being strong steadfast commanding direct self-respecting avoiding inferior companionship active and above all truthful and straightforward discretion quietness and reserve were enforced and a dignified endurance without pride was to be attained in material things energy and self-reliance were held up and a judicious respect for and imitation of successful men covetousness was specially reprobated and luxury and self-indulgence were looked on as a course which ends in bitterness the aspect of marriage depended essentially on property where a woman had property of her own she was mistress of the house and her husband was but a kind of permanent boarder though in early times and among the priestesses later the choice by a woman was scarcely regarded as permanent where however the household depended on the work of the men he naturally took the leading part but the code of abstract morality and the dictates of common prudence between men and women were of as high a standard as in any ancient or modern peoples no reasonable legislator would wish to add more although six thousand years and christianity have intervened since the egyptian framed his life the family sense of duty in training and advancing a man's sons was strongly urged in the general interchange of social life perhaps the main feature was that of consideration for others a higher standard of good feeling and kindliness existed than any that we know of among ancient peoples or among most modern nations the council hall of the local ruler was the main theatre for ability and the injunctions to be fearless and at the same time gentle and cautious would improve the character of any modern assembly the greater number of precepts however relate to the judicious conduct towards inferiors justice and good discipline were the necessary bases but they were to be always tempered by respect for the feelings and comfort of the servants the religious aspect of ethics was almost confined to the respect for the property and offerings to the gods but the more spiritual side was touched in the precept that which is detestable in the sanctuary of god are noisy feasts if thou implore him with a loving heart of which all the words are mysterious he will do thy matters he hears thy words he accepts thine offerings the permanence of the egyptian character will strike any who knows the modern native the essential mode of justification in the judgment was by the declaration of the deceased that he had not done various crimes and to this day the egyptian will rely on justifying himself by sheer assertion that he has not done wrong in face of absolute proofs to the contrary the main fault of character that was condemned was covetousness and it is the feeling which wrecks the possibility of egyptian independence at present the intrusion of scheming underlings between the master and his men is noted as a failing and exactly this trouble continually occurs now when every servant tries to turn his position to an advantage over those who do business with his master the dominance of the scribe in managing affairs and making profits was familiar in ancient as in modern times and recent events in egypt have reminded us of the old fickleness shown in the saying thy entering into a village begins with acclamations at thy going out thou art saved by thy hand chapter Chapter 15 The Influence of Egypt Chapter 15 The Influence of Egypt how far egypt in its earlier days had influenced the faiths of other countries we cannot trace owing to our ignorance of the early civilisations of the world but in the later times the extension of the popular religion of egypt can only be paralleled by the spread of christianity or islam isis was worshipped in greece in the fourth century b c and in italy in the second century soon after she won her way into official recognition by sulla and immediately after the death of julius a temple to isis was actually erected by the government once firmly established in rome the spread of imperial power carried her worship over the world emperors became her priests and the humble centurion in remote camps honoured her in the waltz of france germany yorkshire or the sahara Not only Isis, but also Osiris claimed the world's worship.

In the new form of the Osir-Hapi of Memphis, or Serapis, the Ptolemies identified him with Zeus, both in appearance and by attributes, and by the time of Nero, Isis and Osiris were said to be the deities of all the world.

An interesting outline of this subject will be found in Professor Dill's Roman Society from Nero to Aurelius.

besides these parent gods their son horus also conquered the world with them isis and horus the queen of heaven and the holy child became the popular deities of the later age of egypt and their figures far outnumbered those of all other gods horus in every form of infancy was the loved bambino of the egyptian women again horus appears carried on the arm of his mother in a form which is indistinguishable from that adopted by christianity soon after we see then throughout the roman world the popular worship of the queen of heaven mater dolorosa mother of god patroness of sailors and her infant son horus the child the benefactor of men who took captive all the powers of evil and this worship spread and increased in egypt and elsewhere until the growing power of christianity compelled a change the old worship continued for the syrian maid became transformed into an entirely different figure queen of heaven mother of god patroness of sailors occupying the position and attributes already belonging to the world-wide goddess and the divine teacher the man of sorrows became transformed into the entirely different figure of the potent child isis and horus still ruled the affections and worship of europe with a change of names egypt also exercised an immense influence upon the church in the trinitarian controversy that was a purely egyptian dispute between two presbyters brought up in the atmosphere of intricacies about the ka the ku the kat the ba the sahu the kaibat and the various other entities which constituted man to carry forward similar refinements concerning the divine nature was as congenial to such minds as it was incomprehensible to the western and the dispute finally rested on the question of whether before time was the same as from eternity such was the struggle which arius and athanasius thrust upon the church a dispute which would never have been heard of in such a shape but for their egyptian origin in another direction egypt was also dominant from some source perhaps the buddhist mission of asoka the ascetic life of recluses was established in the ptolemaic times and monks of serapium illustrated an ideal to men which had been as yet unknown in the west this system of monasticism continued until pahomios a monk of serapis in upper egypt became the first christian monk in the reign of constantine quickly imitated in syria asia minor gaul and other provinces as well as in italy itself the system passed into a fundamental position in mediaeval christianity and the reverence of mankind has been for fifteen hundred years bestowed on an egyptian institution we thus see how the religious ideas of six thousand years or more have still survived and continued their power over civilized men, renamed but scarcely changed, and it is shown how new religious ideas can but transform, but not eradicate, the ancestral beliefs of past ages.

When Osiris lays down in it, Set seals the chest and throws it in the Nile.

Isis searches.

She finds the chest in Byblos, on the coast of what is now Lebanon, where the Nile carried it.

It came to rest against a tree, a tamarisk tree that grew around it, incorporating the chest into the trunk.

The king of Byblos had the tree cut down and used it as a pillar in his palace.

Isis arrived, recognized what the pillar contained, and retrieved the body of her husband.

She brought it back with her to Egypt.

Set found it.