EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY - ISIS The goddess Isis, the Great Mother of the Gods - an image partly based on the famous print illustrating the works of Kircher. In this case, the emphasis is on her rule over the sea (hence the two ships): she stands with one foot in the sea, the other on land, and the crescent Moon marks her private parts, to show her rule over birth, and descent into matter (hence, perhaps, emphasis on mater). From M. Gregorii Michaelis, Notae in Jacobi Gaffarelli Curiositates, 1676.