Ast (Isis), wife and sister of Osiris, breastfeeds her son Horus

Ast, the Egyptian goddess, did not belong to Hellenic or Roman mythology, but her worship extended across all the Greco-Roman world under the name of Isis. She was often represented breastfeeding her son or symbolically as a cow whose horns represent the Moon.

In the Egyptian pantheon, Isis is the wife of Osiris and mother of the Sun-god Horus, and was venerated as wife and mother, goddess of love and fecundity and protector of women. She has all the attributes of the midwife, because she protects fecundity and pregnancy, looks after children both before and during delivery, and she is the guardian of lactation.

Photo, Raúl Fernández Ruiz

Roman representation of Isis (Spain)

Isis is the name by which Ast is known in Roman culture. Around her a religious syncretism formed of different female divinities who synthesised a universal feminine principle which extended to other societies. Her worship and her representations breastfeeding her son Horus were widespread and also influenced depictions of the Virgin Mary in Christianity.

Photo, Raúl Fernández Ruiz

1-200 [AD]. Amulet representing the goddess Isis. Roman culture. Extremadura (Spain). © Museo Arqueológico Nacional.