I. Name

Isis (ʒst, Gk. Εἶσις, Ἶσις, Copt. ēse, isi), perhaps a theophoric element in the personal name Ἰαμβρες, Iambres (2 Tim. 3.8–9, var. Mambres); the identification seems very doubtful. Like Osiris, Isis does not belong to the early attested deities but makes her first appearance only in the Pyramid texts where she plays, however, a very prominent role (end of the 5th dynasty, over 70 occurrences). The etymology of her name is not clear. Her sy…