Her cult seems to have originally centered, like her husband's, at Abydos near the Delta in the North (Lower Egypt). She was adopted into the family of Ra early in Egyptian history by the priests of Heliopolis. From the New Kingdom onwards (c. 1500 BC) her worship no longer had any particular identifiable center, and she became more or less universally worshiped, as her husband was.
Isis had great powers of healing, protection, and magic. She could even cast spells on Ra. An example of her powers is when Isis brought Osiris back to life for one night. The powers were only strong enough to bring Osiris back for a single night.
Isis is shown with a sun disk on her head. She also had a throne on her head to symbolize she was a queen. Sometimes Isis is called the egg of the goose because Geb is the father of Isis and goose represents him.
Many Egyptian gods and goddesses started in one place, and all through their history had their own city where they were worshipped, and many big cities and towns are known as the hometowns of their god or goddess. However, no local cities where Isis was worshipped have been found; all through her early history there are no known temples to her. Worship of Isis did not start until as late as the 30th dynasty; until that time Isis was worshiped in temples of other gods or goddesses. However, even in the 30th dynasty Isis was worshiped together with Horus and Osiris. Temples to Isis became common in the Roman times. There was a temple built to her at Philae.
By this time, temples to Isis began to spread outside of Egypt. In many places her followers took over the worship to the Semitic goddess Astarte, because of the similarity of names. In the Hellenistic era, she also became the goddess who protected sailors.
In all parts of the Graeco-Roman world, Isis became one of the most important figures of the "mystery religions", and many classical writers sometimes wrote about her temples, and followers. Temples to Isis were built in Iraq, Greece, Rome, even as far north as England where the remains of a temple were found at Hadrian's Wall. At Philae, she was worshiped until the 6th century, after the rise of Christianity. The fall of her temples is usually said to mark the end of ancient Egypt.
Little information on Egyptian priests of Isis has been found, but we know that there were both priests and priestesses of her followers all through her history. By the Graeco-Roman era, many of them were healers, and were said to have many other powers, including explaining dreams and the power to control the weather by braiding or combing their hair.
Osiris
In Egyptian mythology, Osiris is the god of life, death, the flooding of the Nile, and the afterlife. He was the brother and husband of Isis. They had a son named Horus. Osiris was murdered by his brother Set because Osiris was the pharaoh, which Set wanted to be. Osiris was killed when Set tricked him into getting into a box, then poured lead onto the box to close it so Osiris could not get out of it. However, Isis brought Osiris back to life for one night. After Horus was old enough, he defeated Set and became the pharaoh. Osiris' mother was the goddess Nut, father Geb, sister Nephthys, and sister as well as wife Isis.
By the Hellenic era, Greek awareness of Osiris had grown, and attempts had been made to merge Greek philosophy, such as Platonism, and the cult of Osiris (especially the myth of his resurrection), resulting in a new mystery religion. Gradually, this became more popular, and was exported to other parts of the Greek sphere of influence. However, these mystery religions valued the change in wisdom, personality, and knowledge of truth, rather than the exact details of the accepted myths on which their teachings were overlayed. Thus in each region that it was exported to, the myth was changed to be about a similar local god, resulting in a series of gods, who had originally been quite distinct, but who were now synonymous with Osiris. These gods became known as Osiris-Dionysus.
Egyptian civilization loved Osiris because he was a wise and gentle king. He taught them law and order and led them away from savage practices like cannibalism and human sacrifice. Osiris also taught them the art of agriculture and the appropriate rites for worshipping the gods. When he was done civilizing the people in Egypt, he left the country to his wife Isis and made peace in many other places. When he finished his job he then returned to Egypt.
Osiris was the god of the Underworld. He was also one of the Nine Gods. One of his duties as Lord of the Dead was to do the very last judgment of the Dead, and after that to protect people from the dangers of the Underworld. The transition between life and death must have been a great experience, but still perilous .
Osiris was shown in the form of a mummified pharaoh. He wore a white atef crown with feathers on the side, and held a crook and flail; tools of a pharaoh. Osiris had green skin, symbolizing rebirth to the Egyptians.
ISO 3166-2:BR
ISO 3166-2:BR is an ISO standard which defines geocodes: it is the subset of ISO 3166-2 which applies to Brazil. It covers 1 Federal District and 26 states.
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council is a group of advisors to the British Monarch. A lot of its most important work is done by two committees,
Some laws need to be made by the "Queen-in-Council", that is at a meeting of the Queen and the Privy Council. Some jobs are filled by the Queen in Council too. For example, when the Queen appoints a new Bishop or Lord Lieutenant she announces her choice at a meeting of the Privy Council.
Once someone is made a member of the Privy Council they are a member for life, but only members of the government are asked to meetings, except for special occasions such as when a new monarch takes the "Accession Oath", a promise to do their best, at a meeting when the Privy Council called the "Accession Council"
In the past some kings and queens were bored by long meetings of the Privy Council, so they made everyone stand instead of sitting comfortably. The tradition carries on today.
Sometimes the Prime Minister shares information with other politicians on "Privy Council Terms". This means that the information must stay secret.
The Law Lords, and retired Law Lords, also form the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. It is the final court of appeal from British colonies an dependent territories, and some commonwealth realms. These countries call it an appeal to "The Queen in Council".
Four republics in the commonwealth also use the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as a court of appeal.
From the Court of Appeal of Brunei the only appeal is to the Sultan of Brunei. The Queen and the Sultan have agreed that the cases are heard by the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council who then advise the Sultan, directly.
The committee hears Appeals to Her Majesty in Council:
Very rarely the Committee hears:
The committee must also report to the Queen about anything she ask. For example, investigating which members of the House of Lords supported the enemy in World War I.
Patrician
A patrician was a member of the upper class in the two social classes in ancient Rome. They were rich and powerful. The other class was the plebeian class.
W.A.S.P.
W.A.S.P. is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1982 in Los Angeles, California by Blackie Lawless, Rik Fox, Randy Piper and Tony Richards.
Virginia Tech massacre