Isis is a goddess many people are vaguely familiar with. Her worship seems to have originated in the Fourth Dynasty (roughly 2613 to 2494 BCE), from what evidence we have. In later times the island of Philae was the center of her cultus, from where her worship spread throughout much of the Western World, from Nubia to London, from Gaul to Iraq.
In the early periods of Egyptian history she was seen as a goddess of royalty, the protector of the throne's power and the person who sits upon it; which is unsurprising since in Egyptian, her name, which is commonly spelled Aset (Isis is the Greek transliteration of the Ancient Egyptian) means she of the throne. She is the daughter of Nut & Geb, the Sky and Earth. And married to her brother Osiris, who was the Pharaoh of Egypt. In the earliest accounts of the myth, which is only alluded to in the Egyptian texts, Osiris drowned in the Nile. But the most well recorded myth from Greco-Roman sources is where Osiris is tricked by his jealous brother Set and killed; then dismembered and the pieces scattered around the lands. Isis, mourns her husband, her tears causing the annual flooding of the Nile, then with the help her sister Nephthys finds the pieces of their brother and uses her magic to restore him to life, conceiving a son off him, before he goes down to the underworld to rule as the Pharaoh of the afterlife (thereby creating the afterlife itself).
Isis hides in a field of reeds from her blood-thirsty brother Set even after she gives birth to her son Horus. She travels about with him, protecting him with her magic. One mythic spell recounts how the Child was stung by a scorpion and neared death, Isis' anguished cries shook the entire earth and even stopped the Sun-Barque in the sky, causing Thoth to come down and assist her with his magical knowledge, and helps her restore her child to health.
Eventually Horus contends with his uncle Set and wins the throne of Egypt after a lengthy series of trials. Isis is thus the wife of the King of the Dead, and the mother of the King of the Living.
Another myth recounts how Ra once ruled the land before Osiris, but he had grown old and drooled as he slept. Isis, in her cunning took some of his spittle as he slept and kneaded it into some clay to form a serpent, which she placed in the path of the god's daily procession. As he passed by the snake bit him and caused unbearable agony, he screamed and writhed calling his attendants to him. His best healers and magicians could do nothing for his pain. Isis, taking her chance steps forth and claims she will be able to remove the venom from him if reveals his secret name to her - which is a very important thing, in Ancient Egypt the true name of things was believed to confer control and power to those who know them. So, Ra told her that he was the one who created all things, and with the opening and closing of his eyes light came upon the earth, or darkness shrouded it. He is called Khepri in the morning, Ra at midday and Atum in the evening. But the poison did not abate, and she told him that none of those were his secret name. Finally Ra relented and spoke his true name to her, giving her his powers.
Thus, Isis was seen as one of the most powerful of gods, she was called Great of Magic, and She Who Gives Birth to Heaven & Earth. Historically as time went on she absorbed other goddesses in terms of functions and powers. She became associated with the sky and love as Hathor was, she also was identified with the protective scorpion goddess Serqet, and even the primal creatrix Neith. By the time of the Ptolemaic rule she had been seen as the Egyptian Demeter and Aphrodite. Her cult was brought to Rome by sailors and quickly took hold. Hers was a mystery religion where people were initiated into the sacred mystery where she grants her followers immortality and protection from fate, just as she did with her husband and son.
The Greco-Roman worship of Isis differed from her original Egyptian form, she became a universal savior goddess who listened to all people - both slaves and emperors joined each other in worship of her. She was called the Star of the Sea, because the star Sept, or Sirius was connected with her. She is the Lady of Green Crops, and the One Who Hears the Orphan and the Widow.
Conservative Romans disliked her cult because it was heavily connected with the Hellenistic dynasty that ruled Egypt in opposition from Rome. Her colorful annual processions in port towns were considered uncouth by more traditional Romans. Even so, her worship spread across the entire Empire - until the decrees of the Christian emperors outlawed her cult, she was one of the principal divinities.
In one of the only complete Roman novels, her mercy is the culmination of the story, it can be read here:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/lucius-assa.asp
In her aretalogy (a list of proclamations of a god to assert their powers) , she is seen as a powerful goddess with a massive sphere of influence:
I am Isis, ruler of every land
I was taught by Hermes (Thoth) and with Hermes devised
letters, both hieroglyphic and demotic, that all might not
be written with the same.
I gave laws to mankind and ordained
what no one can change
I am the eldest daughter of Kronos
I am the wife and sister of King Osiris
I am the one who discovered wheat for mankind
I am the mother of King Horus
I am the one who rises in the Dog-star
I am the one called Goddess by women
For me was built the city of Bubastis
I separated the earth from the Heaven
I showed the paths of the stars
I regulated the course of the sun and the moon
I devised the activities of seamanship
I made what is right strong
I brought together woman and man
I assigned to women to bring into
light of day their infants
in the tenth month
I ordained that parents should be loved by children
I imposed punishment upon those unkindly disposed
towards their parents
I with my brother Osiris put an end to cannibalism
I taught men the initiation into mysteries
I instructed them to revere images of the gods
I established the sacred cult places of the gods
I abolished the rules of the tyrants
I put an end to murders
I compelled women to be loved by men
I made the right stronger than gold and silver
I ordained that the true should be considered good
I devised marriage contracts
I assigned to Greeks and barbarians their languages
I made the good and the bad to be distinguished by nature
I made that nothing should be more fearful than an oath
I have delivered him who unjustly plots against others into
the hands of the one against whom he plotted
I impose retribution upon those who do injustice
I decreed that mercy be shown to suppliants
O honor those who justly defend themselves
With me the right has power
I am the mistress of rivers and winds and sea
No one is honored without my consent
I am the Mistress of War
I am the Mistress of the thunderbolt
I calm the sea and make it surge
I am in the rays of the sun
I attend the sun in its journey
What I decree, that is also accomplished
All yield to me
I set free those who are in bonds
I am the Mistress of seamanship
I make the navigable un-navigable, whenever I so decide
I founded enclosure walls of the cities
I am called the Lawgiver
I brought up islands out of the depths into the light
I am the Mistress of rain
I conquer Destiny
Destiny obeys me
Hail, O Egypt, that nourished me!
It's unsurprising to see why she was, and is, such a popular and magnificent goddess. She has a myriad of powers and great knowledge. What is more, she is disposed to listen to the prayers of all, and grant her favor on those who beseech her. She is the One Who Is All, the Queen of Heaven, The Mother of the Gods. She of The 10,000 Names.
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