The Isis

There used to be ornate wooden barges on the river bank at the southern end of Christ Church Meadow to house rowing facilities and for viewing races.

One morning, going down to the river an hour or two earlier than usual, we were astonished to find the experimental philosophic angler with his face blacked after the most approved style of the Christy's Minstrels.

[3]The name of the river likely has Brittonic origins, influenced in its evolution by later interest in the Egyptian goddess Isis.

[8] The association between Oxford and the Egyptian goddess Isis might be explained by her role as Stella Maris – "Star of the Sea" and "divine protector of sailors and fishermen".

[10] The conflation theory was proposed and endorsed by antiquarians and scholars during the middle ages, including Ranulf Higden,[11] John Leland,[4] and William Camden (1551–1623).

[4] In the late 17th century, the Welsh scholar Edward Lhuyd – second Keeper of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford – endorsed the conflation theory in Parochailia (1695).

It may also have been influenced by the revival of interest in classical Roman antiquities during the Renaissance in the 16th century, and the conflation theory endorsed by the antiquarian John Leland.

Each of the Formula Student cars manufactured by the Oxford Brookes University racing team used the name ISIS in the beginning of its chassis number.