A research paper on the representation of the goddess Isis in Ancient Term

A research on the representation of the goddess Isis in Ancient Egypt from Old Kingdom to New Kingdom - Term Paper Example The people sought the support and benevolence of various gods and goddesses for peace, prosperity, love, war, fertility, health, protection, traveling and other fields and activities of life. For instance, Zeus is viewed as the mighty king of all gods and goddesses of ancient Greece, while Apollo is believed to be the god of the sun and music and Mars is the god of war, while Eurybia is the sea goddess. The same is applied to the Egyptian civilization of ancient times, where the people had developed faith in supernatural powers, and sought their help at every hour of need. Hence, the innate human instinct also forced the financially affluent and politically powerful Egyptians of ancient times to call for the divine support on domestic, personal, professional and collective matters. Somehow, the Egyptians lacked hegemony and cohesion in views and beliefs; which was partly because of the social, geographical and strategic division of the population, which did not accept the subjugation under one political authority and one single deity as well. â€Å"Egyptian mythology is of highly complex character, and cannot be considered apart from its racial and historical aspects. The Egyptians were, as a Hebrew prophet has declared, a "mingled people", and this view has been confirmed by recent ethnological research.† Consequently, they had developed belief in the multiplicity of gods and goddesses on the basis of clans and tribes on the one hand, and in the light of the traditions accredited to different deities on the other. (Mackenzie, 2002:2) The goddess Isis is also one among the long list of deities, which were worshipped by the ancient people of Egyptian peninsula with great religious fervor and enthusiasm. Being an extremely benevolent and compassionate goddess, she enjoys distinguished status in the ancient Egyptian mythology. Though the goddess maintained a universal status in the country, yet she got popularity and position in the southern regions of Egyp t, which was not only the center of social, political and economic activities, but also dominated the rest of the region. â€Å"Currently there is a strong indication that Southern or Upper Egypt had gained a cultural ascendancy over Northern or Lower Egypt by c.3500 BC. In archaeological terms this southern culture is described as Naqada II.† (Hart, 2005:3) Hence, southern Egyptians declared their peace and prosperity as the outcome of the special bounties of the goddess upon them, which also motivated the northern areas of the country to imitate their footprints in spiritualism and faith. Isis is regarded as the goddess of motherhood, feminism, civil liberty, magic and fertility, and is revered and adored for displaying sheer affection and motherly attitude towards the Egyptian subjects without exhibiting any prejudice and discrimination towards any specific group or stratum of society. Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt portrays Isis as the queen and mother of all the Eg yptians, which looked for bestowing maximum bounties and blessings upon the people to fill their life with countless joys in the form of abundance in food, children, pelf, possession and properties. â€Å"Isis had been a potent goddess as early as the third millennium B. C. She was the sister-wife of Osiris, with whom she mated in the womb of their mother, Nuit, the sky goddess.† (Mathews, 2001:25) Being the motherly deity, the goddess appears to be showering her unabated love on all and sundry, with special concentration of