NUBIAN PHARAOHS AND MEROITIC KINGS by NECIA DESIREE HARKLESS

Author:NECIA DESIREE HARKLESS [HARKLESS, NECIA DESIREE]
Format: epub
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Published: 2010-05-13T16:00:00+00:00

SACRED SITES

Philae: Cult of Isis

On the ancient border of the Ethiopians and the Egyptians at the First Cataract, the long revered Earth mother, Isis, had her seat of worship. It was on the island of Philae that the sacred site of Isis recreated the primeval world when the sun god Ra ruled on earth. On the opposite island of Biga was one of the many tombs of Osiris, the father of Horus and the brother and husband of Isis. Each of the deities had an island, but Osiris overshadowed Isis in earlier dynastic reigns because of the Osiris myth and the mortuary rites. Isis, although respected and worshipped as a fertility goddess since the beginning of time, did not gain ascendancy until the Greeks in Ptolemaic Egypt. The Romans in time spread her cult as far as the British Isles.

The buildings on the island of Philae date back to Roman and Ptolemaic periods when it became known as the “City of Island or the “Holy Island”. The architectural triumph of Philae is the beautiful Temple of Isis and the grandeur of its temple complex that grew with the spiritual power of Isis and the temporal power of her priests. Apuleius, the Roman author, stated the Ethiopians worshipped Isis by her true name Regina Isis, although many other peoples worship her under many other names. Plutarch, the Greek historian, considered Isis as both wise and philosophic. To R.E. Witt: A very important bridge between paganism and Christianity ... the speculative system of the Hellenizing Jew, Philo of Alexandria and in it the cornerstone was “Holy Wisdom” (Hagia Sophia) Mother of the Divine Logos, rightly identified with Isis-Sophia could be thought to produce Harpocrates (Horus) as the Logos.”

The regenerative powers of Isis are recounted in the Osirian Myth where she is said to have reincarnated Osiris in the form of Horus. It is through her love that she is able to give back his life. In the Mysteries of Isis, the initiate sought to become Osiris and thus be raised from the dead. With such power Isis is associated with healing, much as the Black Madonna and the Holy Mother of God.

The Ethiopians (Nubians) played an enormous role in the spread of Isiac worship in antiquity. They were the key to Nubian and Egyptian Condominium in the Dodekaschoenos according to W.Y. Adams. “In theory it was the private estate of Isis, and the Nubian and Egyptian monarchs who were consignors of the temples of Nubia... In practice it was a semi-autonomous buffer zone- a feudal principality administered by the priesthood of Isis as nominal vassals both of Egypt and Nubia.”122 This buffer zone was somewhat like the estate of Amon administered by the Theban priests at Karnak.

The status of the Dodekashoenos was clarified by the text of Ergamenes, the king, who formally offered to the goddess Isis twelve Schoenoes of land on each side of the river from Aswan to Takompso. Millet explains that his is the first official statement regarding the land in question.

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