Isis/Aset


It should be noted that while Isis/Aset is associated always with her counterpart of Osiris, little is known of her origin or attributes alone. Her name, Aset, gives us no clue, and her symbol of a chair or throne may only associate her with political reigning functions as the "seat of Osiris", the first primordial king. However, she is best defined in the Egyptian religion as the most faithful wife and mother, and it is by these attributes she is most honored by the ancients. However, her significance as one who possessed the Words of Power, either derived from Ra by deception, or as in other texts, received the Words of Power that restored Osiris back to life from Thoth, the scribe of the gods, gives us an indication of her greater power and influence in Egyptian society as the creator of vocal language. It was said that what was said by the goddess was delivered in a certain tone, rate and deliverance such that none could resist her command, and that she gave the written words of Thoth their efficacy through the vocalization. That she is also identified with Shesheta, the historian/scribess of the gods, indicates that creation, recording and vocalization of words were identified as originally feminine functions. Such similar myths occur in Sumerian and Babylonian mythology, and may reflect a time when recording food, supplies and other inventories of the village were undertaken by women. To the Egyptian mind, however, it was this transferral of words by script to vocalization and vice versa that determined the creation of civilized society, and for that reason, along with Osiris' teaching of farming and cultivation, established a stable Egyptian culture. The importance of Isis was rarely diminished under the myriad of dynasties of warrior and imperial rule, and that this likely was due to her major contribution of the creation of language as a "living tool" of men.

 


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