The Isis cult in Pompeii - an analysis of the role of the temple of Isis for the city of Pompeii
Pompeii, the famous Roman city that lies in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius and still ignites hearts today. The city is a beautiful and clear example of a Roman town. It's beauty was made infinite during the eruption of the Vesuvius in 79 CE. The ashes that covered the town for almost 2000 years both covered and elevated it. Since its excavation in the middle of the eighteenth century the remains of the city have spoken to many, both archaeologists and tourists. The building that inspired them the most is perhaps the Temple of Isis. The temple, still standing and lavishly decorated, was one of the first buildings to be excavated and visited by tourists. Even famous people visited the temple and were inspired by what they saw. Mozart got his inspiration for his famous opera 'The Magic Flute' after a visit to the temple. This research focusses on this temple and the cult it housed. Did the Isis cult in Pompeii inspire the ancient Romans the same as it does the modern visitors?
The focus of this research lies on the cult of Isis in the city of Pompeii, and it's focal point, the temple of Isis. How important was this cult really for the ancient city of Pompeii. What role did it play in the religious network of the city? How did this small, foreign cult grow to become one of the most important religious cults of the city?
A lot has been written about the Isis cult in general (Wortham 2006, Swetnam-Burland 2015, Bricault 2014) and about the temple in Pompeii (Balch 2003, Moormann 2005, Walker 2005), but the importance of the cult on local level has so far eluded the attention of scholars. With this research I will try to link the local within its wider context. This 'case-study' will analyse the role and importance of a religious cult for a city and link this with the role of the cult in general. By doing this we will get insight into the role local cults played for a city and for the cult in general, thus showing us how these religious networks work and how important they are. In this research of religious networks, I will use terms from the 'Social Network Analysis', a recent development in historical studies, which focusses on the role of smaller 'nodes' in a larger 'network'. |
Results - The rise of the cult of Isis
The Isis cult came to Pompeii as it spread out through the Roman empire. This spread seems to coincide with the rise of pro-Egyptian politics in Rome. After the victory of August over Marc Anthony at the battle of Actium at 31 BCE, the Romans changed their politics towards Egypt. Egyptian art became increasingly popular in the city and so did the religious cult of Isis, which originated in Egypt. The cult spread through the empire in a number of ways.
First, it was adopted by soldiers, merchants and sailors who took it with them to their homeland. Isis is the goddess of a great many things, and therefore she was popular for almost everyone. It also meant that she could be changed fairly easily to suit the needs of local communities. The Isis cult was nowhere exactly the same. Secondly, the cult was exported from Egypt by conquerors. Egypt had always been a vast and rich kingdom. Conquerors took spoils of war to show their might. The Isis cult was one of those spoils. The legend of Isis was one of love and vengeance, but also one of succession and kingship. The son of Isis, Horus, would one day sit on the throne of Egypt. This is a theme that really spoke to the Roman conquerors, as is visible in many works of art. In the temple in Pompeii we also see this. The temple was lavishly decorated. One of the murals shows Isis with her son. Another one shows Isis and the Greek goddess Io, whose legend is almost the same. She also gives birth to a king. |
Results - The Isis cult in Pompeii
We now know why the cult could rise, but we do not yet know why it happened. An answer is given to us by Wortham (2006). He links the spread of the cult with the gaps in local religious cults. The new cults gave new answers. Do we see this in Pompeii? Probably, yes. Just years before the eruption of the Vesuvius, Pompeii was largely destroyed in an earthquake. The temple of Isis was rapidly rebuilt after this incident. The one who payed for this, Numerius, was rewarded with a place in the city council for the rest of his life. This shows that the cult was of great importance to the city. The temples of the local deities, like Jupiter, Minerva and Juno, were not rebuilt. Those temples were probably still damaged at the time of the eruption, the statues of the gods housed in a much smaller temple. This shows that the cult had become the most important node in the religious network of the city of Pompeii
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Results - Conclusions
What can we conclude from this? First, we learned that the cult of Isis spread through the Roman empire as the politics in Rome became more pro-Egyptian. Secondly, we learned that this most definitely was the case in Pompeii, where the cult of Isis became the most important religious cult of the city. But why did this happen in Pompeii, why was the cult so important for the city? The answer lies in the link between the local network and the broader, Mediterranean network. The politics from Rome were leading. People and cities tried to behave according to the wish of Rome. This also meant following their 'hypes'. The cult of Isis had therefore become the leading religious cult in the Mediterranean. Because of this, the Isis cult in Pompeii became important as well. Not for the cult as a whole, but for the city of Pompeii. The cult had become the link with the rest of the Roman empire. It served as a 'weak-tie' between the local and the Mediterranean religious network. If this tie between these networks did not exist, Pompeii would lose it's link with the larger Roman religious, and political network. Just like now, the temple was one of the main attractions of the city.
Furder Reading
Balch, D. “The Suffering of Isis/Io and Paul's Portrait of Christ Crucified (Gal. 3:1): Frescoes in Pompeian and Roman Houses and in the Temple of Isis in Pompeii.” In The Journal of Religion, v. 83, No. 1, 24-55. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press Journals, 2003.
Beard, M. Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. Londen: Profile Books Ltd, 2008.
Bricault, L. Power, Politicis, and the cults of Isis: proceedings of the Vth International Conference of Isis studies, Boulogne-sur-Mer, October 13-15 2011. Boulogne-sur-Mer: Colloque international sur les études isiaques , 2014.
Moormann, E.M. “The temple of Isis at Pompeii.” In Nile into Tiber: Egypt in the Roman world. Proceedings of the IIIrd International Conference of Isis Studies, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, May 11-14, 2005, eds. Bricault, L. en Versluys, M.J. en Meyboom, P.G.P. Leiden: Brill, 137-154.
Swetnam-Burland, M. Egypt in Italy: visions of Egypt in Roman imperial culture. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Walker, S.E.C. “Cleopatra in Pompeii?” In Papers of the British School at Rome 76, 35-46. Londen: British School at Rome, 2008.
Wortham, R.A. “Urban Networks, Deregulated Religious Markets, Cultural Continuity and the Diffusion of the Isis Cult.” In Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, Vol. 18, Issue 2, 103-123. Leiden: Brill, 2006.
A.W.S.
03-06-2016
Beard, M. Pompeii: The Life of a Roman Town. Londen: Profile Books Ltd, 2008.
Bricault, L. Power, Politicis, and the cults of Isis: proceedings of the Vth International Conference of Isis studies, Boulogne-sur-Mer, October 13-15 2011. Boulogne-sur-Mer: Colloque international sur les études isiaques , 2014.
Moormann, E.M. “The temple of Isis at Pompeii.” In Nile into Tiber: Egypt in the Roman world. Proceedings of the IIIrd International Conference of Isis Studies, Faculty of Archaeology, Leiden University, May 11-14, 2005, eds. Bricault, L. en Versluys, M.J. en Meyboom, P.G.P. Leiden: Brill, 137-154.
Swetnam-Burland, M. Egypt in Italy: visions of Egypt in Roman imperial culture. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2015.
Walker, S.E.C. “Cleopatra in Pompeii?” In Papers of the British School at Rome 76, 35-46. Londen: British School at Rome, 2008.
Wortham, R.A. “Urban Networks, Deregulated Religious Markets, Cultural Continuity and the Diffusion of the Isis Cult.” In Method & Theory in the Study of Religion, Vol. 18, Issue 2, 103-123. Leiden: Brill, 2006.
A.W.S.
03-06-2016