Aretalogy  Aretalogy (), from ἀρετή (aretḗ, “virtue”) + -logy, is a form of sacred biography where a deity's attributes are listed, in the form of poem or text, in the first person. Often each line starts with the standard "I am …". Usually, aretalogies are self praising. They are found in the sacred texts of later Egypt, Mesopotamia and in Greco-Roman times. Aretalogies of Isis would be recited every day by an aretalogist who would have to memorise a huge list of attributes which he/she would have to recite.(Priests and priestesses of Isis had equal rank in the temple.) The aretalogies of ancient Egypt provide some the most complete information extant about their deities. Aretalogies are found as early as the Coffin Texts. In a Ptolemeic aretalogy, Aset (Isis) says about herself: