Category Archives: Edfu

Hymns to Isis of 10,000 Names from Denderah

One thing I learned from our Egyptian visit to the Great Temple of Hathor at Denderah, is just how very, very, very present Isis is in this entire temple complex.

Approaching the Temple of Hathor at Denderah

I knew that, just as Hathor has a small temple at Isis’ great Philae sanctuary, so Isis had a small temple at Hathor’s great sanctuary at Denderah. But I didn’t know how present Isis is within Hathor’s temple itself.

The remains of the Isis temple at Denderah

So, today I’d like to share with you some of the praises and epithets of Isis found within the great Hathor temple. They can be used and/or adapted through your own creativity for ritual use. The translations come from Egyptologist Sylvie Cauville’s Dendara: Hymnes à Hathor et à Isis. So they are my English translations (with help from Google Translate) of her French translations of the hieroglyphs. I’m awaiting an interlibrary loan of her book on all the texts from Isis’ small temple at Denderah. I’ll share those with you in the future.

But for today, let’s look at some of the ways Isis was understood at Denderah. Since most of the remains at Denderah are Ptolemaic, we won’t be surprised to find Isis expressing Herself there in many of Her ten thousand names. Here’s an example:

Isis the Great, Mother of the God, Mistress of the Birth Mound, Who takes Her place in Denderah, Lady of the Beginning of the Year, Queen of Messengers, Who appears at the New Year to open the Beautiful Year. [She is] Amunet (the Goddess counterpart of Amun) at Thebes, Menhit (a Lioness Goddess) in Heliopolis, Renpet (“Year”) is Your name in Memphis, Sothis (Sopdet, the Star Goddess) in Elephantine, Hededyt (a Scorpion Goddess) in Edfu, the Venerable Vulture (the Goddess Nekhbet), the ruler of Hierakonpolis (Nekhen), the Feminine Heliopolitan One in Denderah, Daughter of Nuet, brought into the world in the Birth Mound on the beautiful day of the Child-in-His-Nest, the One Who takes flight again towards the sky; Heqet (the Frog Goddess) in Abydos, Seshat (the Scribe Goddess) in Hermopolis, Djedet (“Word” or “Great Word,” Djedet Weret) is Your name in Busiris, the Mysterious One in Bubastis, Ipyt (a Hippopotamus Fertility Goddess) in Pe, Depet (“the One of Dep”) in Dep, Neith in Sais, Wadjet in Nebecheh (the location of a temple of Wadjet), Hathor in all the land. She is the One Who dwells in every city and in every nome with Her son Horus and Her brother Osiris.

Those of you who have seen the Oxyrhynchus aretalogy of Isis will recognize this format: give Her name and then the place in which She is called by that name (or vice versa).

“Isis of 10,000 Names” from the Isis Oracle; art by Jim Manton

On one of the pylon doorways at Denderah, where both Goddesses are invoked, we learn this of Isis’ power:

She is the Sovereign of the Palace, the Ruler, the Mistress of Writing. She announces what will happen in the future. Life is in Her hand, health is in Her fist, one does not oppose what comes from Her mouth. She takes care of the one who is not unfaithful to Her and defends the one She loves on the day of the “fight in the arena” (I assume this means during challenging times; but I supposed it could be something more specific, too). She is the irreproachable protector of those who have nothing and those who have everything. What She conceives happens forever. She comforts the unfortunate with Her word at the closing gate. She is Seshat the Great, the Primordial, the First Who Inaugurated Writing, the First Who is Brought into the World Among the Goddesses.

On the doors of the “Mysterious Corridor,” Isis is praised as the Powerful One. Re is said to shine in the horizon (akhet) when He sees Her and human beings come to Her to make Her heart joyful. In the Isis Chapel within the Hathor temple, She is called by many of the titles we have already seen, but She is also the Queen of Egypt in its Entirety, the Great One in Heaven, the Powerful One on Earth, the Primordial One Who Created the First Time (Zep Tepi) and All Good Things—which She shares with those She loves. She “dispenses the Commandments in the places of worship.” What must happen “happens when You [Isis] order it.” She is “excellent and beautiful.” She is “the Female Ibis Without Her Equal, the Mistress of Writing, the Sovereign of the Library.” She is the ruler of the orb of the sun and of the stars. As Sothis, She is the One Who Brings the Flood to “create life for the living.” She is the Eye of Re and the Unique Uraeus serpent.

Isis of Corinth by Stuart Littlejohn; purchase a copy here; I have my copy, just gotta get it framed

She is also called Horet, the Female Horus. Her favors to Her devotees are great as is Her love. She is the Hand of God with inexhaustible benevolence. And Her true name is Isis (but also The Golden). This is very reminiscent of Apuleius’ aretalogy of Isis in which the Goddess lists many of the names by which human beings know Her, but finally states that Her true name is Queen Isis.

Quite a few of the Isiac hymns in the Denderah temple repeat many of the epithets we’ve already seen, so I’m trying to pick out the ones I find interesting and that I think you may also find interesting.

For instance, epithets from the Denderah Chapel of Water and Chapel of the Crown call Isis the Great Oracle Who Arrived at the Beginning and the Oracle Who Announces What Will Happen in the Future. These would be perfect epithets to use when reading Tarot or using another divination system under Her auspices. The Chapel of Water also says that She makes the Inundation flow to “invigorate the hearts of the Guardian Gods;” so another protective function. Her Ka is praised and She is called the Living Ba. She is the Lady of East, South, West, and North.

Isis the Magician, according to WordPress AI

In the Chamber of Fabrics, Isis is identified with Tayet, the Weaving Goddess. The text says that the Divine Fabric is made for Her Ka and that She is Mistress of the White, Green, Purple/Blue, and Red fabrics.

One of the things especially celebrated at Denderah is the birth of Isis. Her birth is connected to the epagomenal days when She rises as Sirius before the sun to mark the New Year.

In the Chapel of the Sistrum, it is said that Isis “took possession of the royal office even before She left the womb; She ruled the throne from Her swaddling clothes.” I’m guessing we’ll learn more about Her birth when I get that interlibrary loan of the texts from the small Temple of Isis.

Isis the Magician, according to Roman-era Egypt

On the exterior temple walls, Isis is said to be born “in the form of a black-haired woman, full of life, Sovereign of the Ennead, Ruler of Magic.” More of Her ten thousand names are added in the pronaos of the temple: She is Amunet, Menhit, Renpet, Sothis, Nekhbet, Tanenet (a Goddess of brewing and childbirth), Isis, Seshat, Heqet, and Wadjet. She is also the One Who Loves the Embrace, the Mistress of Life, Tayet, She Who Hears Everything, the Mysterious, Pyt (possibly a variation or misspelling of Ipyt), Depet, Neith, Khensyt (a Goddess of the royal crown), and Isis in every nome. She is the Mistress of Offerings, the Feminine Disk (of the sun), Mistress of Bread, Who Prepares Beer, and Lady of Exultation and Joy. She is the One Who is Rejuvenated in the Faiyum, Mistress of Life in Metenou (couldn’t find out where that is). In Mendes, She is the One Who Speaks. In Busiris, She is the One Who Hears Everything. And She is still The Mysterious in Bubastis.

The pronaos also notes that on the birthday of Isis, joy breaks out in Denderah and in Edfu. (Remember that these two temples are connected by the love connection between Hathor and Horus.) Heavenly Nuet gives birth to Isis—the Scholar for the Ennead—so that She may give birth to Horus the Avenger. The text says that Isis “was initiated into Wisdom as the Great One” and that the Goddesses come to see Her birth, wearing the menat-necklace and bearing the sistrum, “to appease the heart of The Magician (that is, Isis).”

That’s a lot of (hopefully) new and interesting epithets to work with for today. Any one of these epithets of Isis or Her identifications with other Goddesses would be a worthy subject for invocation and meditation.

Who is Aperet-Iset?

The last few weeks have led me to several new connections with Isis that I hadn’t known about previously. I’m sharing the second one with you today. Admittedly, the associations do get a bit obscure, but that’s okay with me. I love teasing out those threads of connection to and for Her.

Today we meet a Goddess named Aperetiset, Aperet-Iset, or Aperet-Isis. She is, apparently, a local Goddess from Akhmim, aka Khemmis, aka Panopolis, in Upper Egypt. There, Her consort is the God of the Upright Phallus, Min, and Their child is Horus the Child. She is also in evidence in Osiris’ cult center of Abydos and at Athribis in Upper Egypt near the edge of the western desert. Great Isis was worshiped with Min at Koptos, not too far from both Upper Egyptian locations. Aperet-Isis is known as far back as the New Kingdom, and then we find Her more frequently throughout the Ptolemaic and later periods.

We have maybe a couple dozen references to Her, and the ones we do have seem rather colorless. She is called the Lady of Akhmim, Mother of the God, Lady of the Two Lands, and The Great—fairly common epithets. But there are two other, more interesting, epithets that I’ll get to in a moment.

This map shows all the locations we’re discussing

First, let’s see if we can color outside the lines a bit and bring some additional tinting to our Lady Aperet-Isis.

Aperet Iset

First of all, Her name. The word “aper” means “to equip.” Aper-et is just “aper” with the feminine ending appropriate for a Goddess or a woman. And so, in the article I’m reading, it is translated as “She Who Equips the Throne,” (remembering that Iset means Throne). With what does She equip the throne? We don’t know. The article doesn’t speculate on that.

Perhaps with sovereignty? Sovereignty is always part of the discussion when it comes to the name of Isis Herself. If Isis IS the Goddess Throne, then to rightly rule, the king must sit in Her lap, on the throne, as Her child. That’s okay, as far as it goes. But Isis is far too expansive a Goddess to be confined to such a limited role. And, as all of you who have been reading along with this blog well know, She never was so confined. In fact, She eventually became The Goddess, the Encompassing All-Goddess, for so many, many of Her worshipers.

The king offering to Horus the Child, Min, and Aperet-Iset

I happen to be studying something right now that I believe can shed some light on Aperet-Isis.

You might be familiar with some of the forms of the human being, especially prominent after death, such as the ka and the ba. There’s another one called the akh. The dead “become akh” when they have successfully passed through the weighing of the heart during the Judgment of Osiris. You might see them described as “transfigured spirits.” When you’re akh, you have, in essence, become divine. You have all your powers and may travel between the worlds—heaven, earth, or underworld—at will, dwelling with the Goddesses and Gods. Naturally, the Deities are Akh, too, and have even more akh-power than humans who are akh.

There are two adjectives that are almost always used to describe akhs: iqer and aper. In the briefest of definitions, iqer is “effective” and aper is “equipped.”

The king offering to Min, Aperet-Iset, and Repyt

And with what are the divine akhs equipped? This we do know specifically. They are equipped with magical knowledge and power. Because they are aper—equipped—they are also iqer—effective—in doing whatever it is they wish to accomplish.

So, I think Aperet-Iset is not “She Who Equips the Throne,” but is instead the “Equipped Throne” or—taking Iset as a name rather than an object—”Equipped Isis.” To confirm that, some scholars have indeed understood Aperet-Isis as a form of Great Isis. As we know, being equipped with powerful magic is entirely within the natural purview of the Great Magician Goddess Isis. As Great of Magic, Our Goddess is incredibly competent and fully equipped with all Her magic. In tombs, we sometimes see human akhs describe themselves as “a lector priest who knows his spells.” And we know that Isis the Magician is perfect in casting Her spells, never hesitating or stumbling over a word. So I think we can take Aperet-Isis as a form of Isis that focuses particularly on Her magical strengths.

Isis the Mother of the God

Equipped Isis may use Her magic in service to “the throne,” that is, the kingship. Under Her epithet of Lady of the Two Lands, this makes sense. And Great Isis was always concerned with maintaining the legitimate rule of Her son Horus over Egypt.

While usually shown in woman-form with horns-and-disk crown, vulture headdress, and sometimes two plumes, Aperet-Isis is also occasionally shown as a lioness-headed Goddess. She is usually in the company of other Deities, such as Min, Osiris, Horus, Isis, and Nephthys. In the mammisi, or birthhouse, at Edfu, She is shown with 13 other Goddesses, including two Isises and three Hathors. In Egyptian theology, it is no contradiction to have duplicates of the same Deities shown together, nor is it a contradiction to have a minor form of Isis, Aperet-Isis, shown with other forms of Isis.

Isis magically reviving Osiris

We also find Aperet-Isis at Abydos, where Her powerful magic would be needed to resurrect and maintain Osiris. In the area around Akhmim, Her name is listed on funerary stelae, as well as being included in the offering formulae for tombs. This again connects Equipped Isis with the afterlife, where Her magic is required for renewal. And this is where the first of those more interesting epithets come in. One says, “Aperet-Isis, Her Face Coming Forth from the Land of God.” The Land of God, in this case, is the otherworld, the land of the dead, as well as the land of the Deities. As She emerges from this place, She is able to assist the dead in their transition to the next life. It is very valuable to have a Goddess Who is equipped with magic and knowledge available to help us in that great change.

The second of our more interesting epithets is “Aperet-Isis in the Temple of the Moon.” This is through Her connection to Min, Who is considered a Moon God. He is called Defender of the Moon and He Who Dwells in the Temple of the Moon. Generally, His sanctuaries were known as the Hwt I’ah, the House or Temple of the Moon—and this included Akhmim. As the Lady of Akhmim then, Aperet-Isis is also a Moon Goddess. So if you’re looking for a particularly lunar (and magical) form of Isis, Aperet-Isis may be the one for you. (More on Isis as a Moon Goddess here.)

At Athribis and Akhmim, Aperet-Isis is connected with the Goddess Repyt, known to the Greeks as Triphis (which sounds like an epithet of Hekate, but isn’t). More likely, this Greek rendition comes from combining the Egyptian feminine article, ta, with the Egyptian term rpyt, meaning “lady” and adding the Greek grammatical ending. So, the Goddess Repyt is simply The Lady. Repyt is often lioness-headed, too, and is paired with Min as consort. All three Deities, Min, Aperet-Isis, and Repyt, might be represented together. If Repyt is The Lady and Aperet-Isis is The Lady of Akhmim—and both are mothers of a Child God, Horus or Kolanthes (the Greek version of a little-known Child God)—we begin to see how the Goddesses come together. Ah, the glorious mess that is Egyptian Deities and how They refuse to have impermeable borders!

But now, I think we have at least a bit more color for our Goddess, “Equipped Isis.” She is a magically powerful Mother Goddess, a Queenly Goddess of the Two Lands, a Goddess of Magical Renewal, and a mystic Goddess of the Moon. She is most known from the New Kingdom onward, which is the same period when the worship of Great Isis was growing and spreading throughout the Mediterranean and further. It was, no doubt, inevitable that these two Goddesses would meet and unite.

Magic flows