Aset (Isis) Heals
Aset in Kemet and Isis in Egypt and throughout the Greek and Roman worlds was known as a healer of magical power, particularly to heal the bites and stings of scorpions and snakes. With the knowledge She gained from learning the Secret Name of Ra, by Her connection to the Deity Serqet, She of the scorpions, and by the help of the god Djehuty (Thoth), Aset (and later Her son Heru (Horus)) was called upon for the power and ability to remove poison and heal the wounds.
Two stories, both from the Late and Ptolemaic periods, tell how all this happened. The tales come from two extant sources. One is inscribed on a Stela, now called the Metternich Stela, which dates to about 400 BCE, the time of Nectanebo II, the last native King of Egypt before the Hellenistic Ptolemies brought their rule over Egypt. Part of the same tale is also inscribed on the base of a statue fragment, now called the Magical Statue Base, one of a type of statue covered in spells against the bites of scorpions and snakes. This fragment is dated to the Ptolemaic period.
The stories are each paraphrased by Khenmetaset from the sources cited below.
Sources: Gods of Ancient Egypt by Barbara Watterson
Metropolitan Museum book of Egyptian and Near Eastern Art
A Magical Statue Base in the Museum of Antiquities at Leiden by A. Klasens
Copyright May 2002 by Khenmetaset and Marie
Parsons. All texts contained herein are from annotated sources unless otherwise
stated. This website is for educational purposes only. Any comments may be
directed to Khenmetaset or Marie Parsons at khenmetaset@per-aset.org.