The Egyptian Myth of "Osiris and Isis" and the "Demeter" Myth contain elements appropriate for a feminist re-reading that contradicts the patriarchal societies that created them. Both goddesses are victims of a male-dominated society that suppresses women. In order to protect their loved ones, they adopt the traits of heroes and power-brokers who subvert the patriarchal institution as a means of self-empowerment. Such roles, while not uncommon in myths, would be considered unusual for either an Egyptian or a Greek woman.
The Goddess-Heroine's Role
Desperation drives the two goddesses to act decisively in the absence of the male hero's support. At first, Isis can only "[tear] at her hair in grief"(Dee 37) as Set drives her away from the palace. Her beloved Osiris trapped forever in the box, she is destitute and little more than a "bedraggled spectre" wandering in search of Osiris's corpse. Isis "[wails] to the four winds" while searching the delta swamps and is covered with "bloody welts"(37). Grief and horror drive her "insane".
Despite her plight , Isis "conceive[s] a plan so bold that no one who was sane would have dared contemplate it"(Dee 37). Her only allies are humans and the minor deities who assist her in restoring Osiris and avenging herself. The horror and loss intensify when she learns how Set, upon finding Osiris's remains, "became [like] a wild animal and tore the corpse...to pieces"(Dee 43). Set intends to bar Osiris's spirit from "eternal rest". Isis's victimization and anguish recall Demeter's.
Edith Hamilton calls Demeter a "suffering god"(56) because like Dionysus, she feels "pain". When Hades kidnaps Persephone, Demeter experiences "terrible grief" and withholds "her gifts from the earth"(Hamilton 57) turning it into a lifeless tundra. Persephone is her mother's world. For "nine days Demeter wandered" without tasting "ambrosia" and "nectar"(57). Isis and Demeter are of one mind and experience. They are victimized and alienated from their divine societies. Such exile and alienation reflect human experience.
The Goddess Heroine and Power-broker
The heroine-goddesses adopt 'heroic' traits and compensate for an impotent, or absent, male presence. In the Demeter myth, there is no competent, heroic presence. Zeus is the ultimate coward father who allows Persephone's kidnapping. Hades seizes the girl and the scene is dominated with phallic imagery. His chariot is "drawn by coal-black steeds"(Hamilton 57) indicative of masculine aggression and warfare. Horses symbolize lust; the sundered earth, a violation.
Osiris's failure to protect his family from Set and his ensuing mutilation suggest failure and impotence. Isis searches for his remains and assists Anubis in "joining the fragments together" whereupon she breathes "the breath of creation into [Osiris's] nostrils"(Dee 44). A fish has devoured the dead god's genitals and Isis makes a subsitute. It is ironic that the god of fertility and agriculture should need her assistance. The link between agricultural and fertility symbols is evident. Without his phallus, Osiris cannot bring Horus into existence let alone control agriculture.
Like Isis, Demeter relies on her own devices. She uses her "divine radiance"(Hamilton 58) to arouse the awe and reverence of Queen Metaneira and her subjects. Her loyal followers, Celeus's sons, describe Persephone's abduction (Graves 92-93). Demeter blackmails the world by threatening creation with eternal winter. She forbids "the trees to yield fruit and the herbs to grow"(Graves 93). Humanity stands "in danger of extinction"(Graves 93) and Zeus must pacify her. Neither Isis nor Demeter relies on weaponry. Their weapon is power and influence.
The Heroines as Subversive Forces
Isis and Demeter are subversive forces that disarm or undermine an oppressive patriarchal regime. Isis blackmails Ra by poisoning him with a serpent and forces him to reveal his " true name that [she] may cast a potent spell to end [his] pain"(Dee 41). If he fails to comply, he faces "eternal" agony. She uses trickery to gain "the powers of creation"(Dee 42) as the means of restoring Osiris, placing Horus on the throne, and gaining power against Set.
Set represents patriarchy. To him, women are chattel. No deity prevents him from assaulting the Osiris family. As punishment for betraying Ra, Isis is condemned to "a house of women" to "spin flax" for her "daily bread"(Dee 46). To Ra's establishment, she is a traitor, regardless of Set's misdeeds.
Isis's ability to advocate before the gods demonstrates a power usually denied women. After she interferes in Horus's duel with Set, Horus upbraids her over Set's escape. Horus then "sliced offer her head"(Dee 54). Even Horus, her child, embodies the vicious misogyny permeating the text. If Isis is heroic in a Greco-Egyptian sense, it is because of her ability to overcome every adversity her enemies dole.
Similarly, Demeter humiliates Zeus who is "too ashamed"(Graves 93) to apologize and bribes her with hosts of gods bearing "conciliatory gifts"(93). But Persephone cannot be restored. She returns to her mother an agent of "darkness," embittered and evil.
Isis' and Demeter's resistance against a cruel Patriarchal order makes them heroic. Yet one cannot deny that Isis provided a model for the Greeks to incorporate into their myth.
Works Cited
Dee, Jonathan. Chronicles of Ancient Egypt. London: Prospero Books, 1998.
Graves, Robert. The Greek Myths. 8th ed. London: The Folio Society, 2000.
Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. New York: Back Bay Books, 1998.
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