The cult of Isis during the Hellenistic period

The cult of Isis is one of the most interesting phenomena from the historical-religious point of view that the period of Hellenism recalls. To understand the various syncretisms and the diffusion that interested this cult it is good to go back to its origins, to finally arrive at the feast of Sant'Agata in Catania, which of the Isiac celebrations is presented as a Christianized continuation.

di Clare Torregrossa

cover: detail of the temple of philae, egypt

Il cult of Isis it is one of the most interesting phenomena from the historical-religious point of view that the period of Hellenism recalls. To understand the various syncretisms and the diffusion that interested this cult it is good to go back to its origins. The original cult was born in Egypt and continues to be celebrated until the VI AD when the Philae temple (Philae) it was closed following an edict by Justinian. The goddess acquires particular importance during the period of the New Kingdom, during which she assimilates some characteristics of the goddess Hathor. Isis is characterized as the bride of Osiris, according to the myth she is the one who provides the bridegroom of her immortality and guarantees her lineage through her son Horus. The characteristics of her that distinguish her from her are those of bride, mother, but at the same time she is also distinguished by her properties as a healer and by the knowledge of magic.

However, this previous Egyptian origin of the goddess is subsequently flanked by an ever greater multiculturalism of her figure which is widespread on the coasts of the Mediterranean. This is due to the advent of the Ptolemies, who during the period of Hellenism will try to reunite the Greek and Egyptian soul in the figure of Isis. Thus makes the appearance of her the Ptolemaic Isis, who is given in marriage to Serapis, another fundamental deity of Ptolemaic Egypt. This new Isis appears with more Greek characters, the aspect of mother and bride is accentuated while she overshadows the aspect of sorceress and healer. Isis and Serapis are two deities who embody the royal will and are therefore imposed from above.

Alongside this phenomenon, however, we are also witnessing the creation of new cults and the growing popularization of the two divinities which, on the contrary, start from below. Among these syncretisms it can be remembered Isis-Thermouthi, from the Greek name of Renenutet, snake goddess associated with harvest. In Greece Isis is assimilated to Demeter and is associated with the initiation rites that took place in Eleusinian mysteries with a soteriological role. To better explain what has been stated, it is good to trace a possible influence on the Eleusinian mysteries by the Egyptian ultramundane conceptions. Scholars argue that in Egypt there is a change in ultramundane conceptions from the eleventh to the eighth BC Before death was substantially perceived as a simple passage. Later a different view arises, death is felt with greater concern and the desire to prolong earthly life becomes apparent. Added to this is a complex vision of what it is the fate of the soul after death. In fact, once the soul has left the body following the ritual of opening the mouth, it must go to the afterlife where the god Osiris is waiting for it. The journey ends with the soul receiving a new body similar to the gods and can return to live eternally on earth.

Votive statuettes to Isis-Thermouthi

The structure of the journey appears very similar to what to all intents and purposes were the tests that the initiates of the mystery cults had to face. They too, in fact, like the soul of the deceased, had to go through a death, which in their case had only a virtual and symbolic role, and subsequently be reborn in a new condition. The similarity therefore between funerary literature and initiation rites appears exemplified above all by the central role of death and rebirth. But the direct influence of the Egyptian ultramundane conceptions on the Eleusinian mysteries it can be traced back to the same myth. The founder of these rites according to the myth was precisely Eumolpus, who for a period of his life had lived in Ethiopia which at the time was assimilated to Egypt. Eumolpus is therefore a figure who passes from Greece to Egypt and then returns to Greece. In this mythical path we find what recurs as a classic in the life of the first Greek philosophers and their formative path, namely the trip to Egypt. It is therefore probable that with this myth the Egyptian influence on the Eleusinian mysteries is witnessed. In them, as mentioned, the figure of Isis appears mainly in the guise of a soteriological role syncretically with other female divinities.

However, the expansion that the goddess knows does not stop only in Egypt and Greece. According to historians, it in fact reached the coasts of the eastern Mediterranean and the Turkey around III BC, and that just from Turkey, from the city of Of the has spread to southern Italy. The Isis that arrived in Italy is therefore the Alexandrian one and no longer the original pharaonic Isis. Later it is also accepted in the Imperial Rome, in which the goddess is transformed again, now appears increasingly represented as a modest Roman matron. Her attributes are the sistrum in the right hand and the cornucopia in the left hand, it goes down in history as theImperial Isis, however there is a cohabitation with thePharaonic Isis up to II AD In imperial Rome the cult was officially recognized under Nero. A further syncretic passage to remember is the birth ofIsis Marina, that is, the goddess assumes the role of protector of sailors. This is to be considered in relation to commercial exchanges. In fact, this new Isis takes on importance when ships with wheat begin to arrive in Rome from Egypt.

Fresco in the temple of Isis in Pompeii

From all that has been said, we are witnessing the birth of the cult of the goddess who subsequently, for political and cultural reasons, passes to identify with foreign divinities and becomes the emblem of the new Alexandrian multicultural period. However, there is still an interesting phenomenon that can be counted. As we have seen, Isis knows a notable diffusion also near the Sicilian coasts. In many cities such as Syracuse and Catania bronze coins were found depicting the effigy of the goddess and a dedication to Isis and Serapis was found in the church of San Pancrazio in Taormina. The exchanges between Syracuse and Alexandria are attested since the time of Gerone II, when his son Agatocle had married Teossena, stepdaughter of Ptolemy I. However, later the tyrant of Syracuse had sent Teossena back to Egypt because he wanted to guarantee the throne to Agatocle. But later relations improved and already Theocritus in Syracusans mentions the feast of Adonis celebrated at the Alexandrian court.

There is therefore evidence of contamination in the two realities of the Mediterranean. Furthermore, when she arrived in Sicily, Isis was immediately assimilated to the figure of Proserpina. These contaminations could also be the basis of a festival still very much felt in Catania, the feast of Sant'Agata, saint made martyr during the proconsulate of Quinzano, which occurs on two different dates and which commemorates the martyrdom of the saint. The first date is that of February 5 and is the oldest, the second that of August 12 was introduced later to commemorate the date on which the relics of the saint returned to Catania. The feast has some features in common with what was the feast of theIsis navigium, which was practiced in the first centuries of the imperial age and subsequently supplanted by Christianity. The feast ofIsis navigium it provided for the descent of the people from the temple to the sea where a ship was consecrated to the goddess. Similarly, on the feast of the saint, the people go to the sea to remember the arrival of the relics. Furthermore, the coffin that is carried in procession recalls the ship that was consecrated to Isis. Further elements in common are the strong female participation and the usual white clothes: in fact, white was also the color with which the initiates of the cult of the goddess dressed. To conclude also the use of lights it is an element present in both holidays.

Feast of Sant'Agata, Catania, 5 February

All these elements therefore testify to the various forms of syncretism that the figure of Isis has encountered. All this has certainly been able to verify by virtue of the multicultural climate in which the ideas of the Jewish tradition, Greek philosophy, and pagan divinities found themselves coexisting. By virtue of this, therefore, we are witnessing phenomena of syncretism that start both from above and from below, and initiatory cults spread under the influence of ultramundane conceptions and soteriological visions.


REFERENCES

Capriotti Vittozzi G. Isis lady of the sea between Egypt and the ancient Mediterranean in Giglio Cerneglia R. (edited by), The cult of Isis in the Mediterranean between Lilibeo and Alexandria in Egypt: conference proceedings, Marsala 13-14 May 2011, in Mare internum: archeology and cultures of the Mediterranean, no. 7-8, Pisa: Greenhouse, 2017.

Ciaceri E. (1905). The feast of S. Agata and the ancient cult of Isis in Catania. Catania: Giannotta.

Tiradritti T. Some considerations about the cult of Isis in Giglio Cerneglia R. (edited by), The cult of Isis in the Mediterranean between Lilibeo and Alexandria in Egypt: conference proceedings, Marsala 13-14 May 2011, in Mare internum: archeology and cultures of the Mediterranean, no. 7-8, Pisa: Greenhouse, 2017.

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