Egyptian mythology and religion

Isis, Hathor and the Black Madonna

3rd millennium to 1st millennium BC, Ancient Egypt | Medieval France

The Black Madonnas in the south of France are depictions of the Ancient Egyptian goddess Isis

"In her capacity as Mistress of the West, Hathor welcomed the dead into the Afterlife. She is shown in many of the royal tombs, especially on the pillars around the burial chamber, where she is depicted embracing the king and holding out to him the ankh, or sign of life, used here as a symbol of the new life that awaits him."

Lorna Oakes andf Lucia Gahlin, 2003, 2004. Ancient Egypt. Hermes House, an imrint of Anness Publishing Limited. Hathor, Mistress of the West, p 182.

"Like Hathor, Isis was a mother goddess and was identified more specifically as the mother of Horus, and thus of the king. The image of her suckling Horus (especially found in the form of numerous bronze figurines dating to the Late and Graeco/Roman Periods) is reminiscent of the Christian mother-and-child icon."

Lorna Oakes andf Lucia Gahlin, 2003, 2004. Ancient Egypt. Hermes House, an imrint of Anness Publishing Limited. The Egytian Pantheon: Isis p 286.

"Statues of the black virgin, so highly venerated in certain French cathedrals during the Middle Ages, have proved upon examination to be basalt statues of Isis."

Timothy Freke and Peter Gandy, 1999. The Jesus Mysteries: was the Original Jesus a Pagan God? Thorsons, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers, London. Mother of God, p 71.

Isis – Wikipedia

Hathor – Wikipedia

Black Madonna – Wikipedia