Ἶσις

See also: Ίσις

Ancient Greek

Etymology

Borrowed from Egyptian ꜣst,

Pronunciation

 

• IPA^(key): /îː.sis/ → /ˈi.sis/ → /ˈi.sis/

• (5^th BCE Attic) IPA^(key): /îː.sis/
• (1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈi.sis/
• (4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.sis/
• (10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈi.sis/
• (15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈi.sis/

Proper noun

Ἶσῐς • (Îsis) f (genitive Ῑ̓́σῐδος or Ῑ̓́σεως); third declension

1. (Egyptian mythology) Isis
   • Marble stela found in Piraeus :

     ἐν ᾧ ίδρύσονται τὸ ἱερὸν τῆς Ἀφροδίτης καθάπερ καὶ οἱ Αἰγύπτιοι τὸ τῆς Ἴσιδος ἱερὸν ἵδρυνται

     en hôi ídrúsontai tò hieròn tês Aphrodítēs katháper kaì hoi Aigúptioi tò tês Ísidos hieròn hídruntai

     in which they will build for themselves the temple of Aphrodite exactly as the Egyptians have built for themselves the temple of Isis

   • Apollodorus, Library 2.1.3:

     ἱδρύσατο δὲ ἄγαλμα Δήμητρος, ἣν ἐκάλεσαν Ἶσιν Αἰγύπτιοι, καὶ τὴν Ἰὼ Ἶσιν ὁμοίως προσηγόρευσαν.

     hidrúsato dè ágalma Dḗmētros, hḕn ekálesan Îsin Aigúptioi, kaì tḕn Iṑ Îsin homoíōs prosēgóreusan.

     • Translation by Sir James George Frazer

       And she set up an image of Demeter, whom the Egyptians called Isis, and Io likewise they called by the name of Isis.

Inflection

Third declension of ἡ Ἶσῐς; τῆς Ῑ̓́σῐδος (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Ἶσῐς hē Îsis
Genitive	τῆς Ῑ̓́σῐδος tês Ī́sidos
Dative	τῇ Ῑ̓́σῐδῐ têi Ī́sidi
Accusative	τὴν Ῑ̓́σῐδᾰ tḕn Ī́sida
Vocative	Ἶσῐς Îsis
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension. Nominative singular -ς (-s) arose by reduction of the original cluster *-ds.

Third declension of ἡ Ἶσῐς; τῆς Ῑ̓́σεως (Attic)

Case / #	Singular
Nominative	ἡ Ἶσῐς hē Îsis
Genitive	τῆς Ῑ̓́σεως tês Ī́seōs
Dative	τῇ Ῑ̓́σει têi Ī́sei
Accusative	τὴν Ἶσῐν tḕn Îsin
Vocative	Ἶσῐ Îsi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Ἶσις

Derived terms

• Ῑ̓σῐ́δωρος (Īsídōros)

Descendants

• Greek: Ίσις f sg (Ísis), Ίσιδα f sg (Ísida)
• → Latin: Īsis f sg
  • → English: Isis (learned)
  • → French: Isis f sg (learned)
  • → Spanish: Isis f sg (learned)

References

• “Ἶσις”, in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “Ἶσις”, in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
• Woodhouse, S. C. (1910) English–Greek Dictionary: A Vocabulary of the Attic Language‎^[1], London: Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, page 1,014
• Plato Cratylus 401 C
• Apollodorus 2,9
• Plutarch Osiris and Isis 60-62