Goddess Isis, c. 664 BCE - 30 CE, 5 7/8 x 1 5/8 in. (14.9 x 4.1 cm), Bronze, Egypt, 8th century BCE - 1st century CE, Many world religions and belief systems have a sacred mother figure, personifying a strong, caring characterlike the Hindu goddess Parvati, the Greek goddess Gaia, or the Christian Virgin Mary. Isis is the sacred mother figure of ancient Egypt, known as the Mother Goddess, with a dramatic backstory: to conceive her son, she resurrected her murdered husband. In this statuette, Isis holds Harpocratesthe child Horusto her breast, a position that represents the mother figure as the nurturer and protector of humankind.