The Metternich Stela and Isis

This is one of the coolest sources of Ancient Egyptian mythology, dealing with magical healing spells, the myth of the death and resurrection of the God Horus, and, most interesting from my perspective, the enormous power of the Goddess Isis.

Dating from 380-342 BCE, the “Metternich Stela” has a hecking ton of hieroglyphs detailing magical texts meant to heal those affected by poison. Egyptians wanting to cure someone would pour water over the stone and have the afflicted person drink it, all the while priests would perform magic rituals that associated the deity Horus with the victim. Horus is shown on the slab in the center, and his mother Isis is on his far left, and it is she who is most crucial for enacting the healing magic.

“I am Isis, the goddess, the owner of magic, who performs magic with powerful speech and with chosen words,” the hieroglyphs state. The Metternich Stela’s most important narrative deals with how Isis comes to the aid of her husband and brother Osiris, and especially her son Horus. Known as the story of “Isis and the Seven Scorpions,” part of what happens involves Isis tricking the evil God Set, who had fought and killed Horus.

Isis descends into the underworld, disguised, to find Set. She then tells the deity that an evil being took something from her son that was rightfully his. Set, not knowing Isis was talking about Horus, ordered that this should be amended, and therefore has to give back Horus and make him ruler of the living.

Unlike other Egyptian deities who lost significance once the Hellenistic and Roman civilizations emerged, Isis actually grew in importance and was among the most important Gods before Christianity took hold.