Provenance: Collected by Gustave Jéquier (1868-1946)

Upon close examination of the history and culture of Nubia, it becomes apparent that women played an important role. In the Nubian valley, worship of the queen of all goddesses, Isis, was most important. Across Egypt and Nubia, the cult of Isis had a strong and devoted following. Isis was not only the Egyptian goddess of magical powers, she was the representation of the queen mother. Although Isis, Osiris, and Horus are then established as a trinity, Isis became the most important of the three figures. This was attributed to her role as the devoted, nurturer of the land and culture of Egypt and Nubia. The Cult of Isis again was the most important religion in Nubia. The worship of Isis began with the Meroitic period starting in approx. 300 BC. Therefore many Nubian rulers of the time were shown with Isis on their crowns. This was considered a homage to her as the "Queen of All Gods, Goddesses and Women". Since the ruler of the time would have been considered to be born of the gods, it would have been natural that the "mother" should be paid such a tribute. Many today believe the worship of Isis worship has actually influenced the practices of the Virgin Mary for many Christians. Note, especially her relationship with her son, Horus. There is an uncanny resemblance to the depiction of the seated Isis holding/suckling the child Horus and the seated Mary and baby Jesus. It has been suggested then, that the reason Isis worship abruptly ended, despite the vast number of followers was due to her having been replaced by "Mary" and having her temples simply renamed. If true then we can say Isis is still worshipped to this day. This would make it a religion of 5000 plus years! Something certainly to think about.