Wikipedia:Today's featured article/September 12, 2018
Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion. She first appeared in the Old Kingdom as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her slain husband, the divine king Osiris, and produces his heir, Horus. She was believed to help the souls of the dead enter the afterlife, and her maternal aid was invoked in healing spells. In the Hellenistic period, her worship spread into the wider Greek world, and she took on traits of Greek deities, as the inventor of marriage and the protector of ships at sea. As Hellenistic culture was absorbed by Rome, the cult of Isis became a part of Roman religion, with distinctive festivals and initiation ceremonies. Her cult may have influenced aspects of Christianity, such as the veneration of Mary, but the evidence for this influence is ambiguous. Isis continues to appear in Western culture, particularly in esotericism and modern paganism, often as a personification of nature or the feminine aspect of divinity. (Full article...)