A temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis was probably established in the Theatre district towards the end of the second century bc, reflecting the trading and cultural links between the town and Alexandria. The harbour town of Puteoli (modern Pozzuoli), further north-west on the Bay of Naples, also had a temple to an Egyptian deity, Serapis, by 105 BC, and evidence for the cult of Isis has been found in the nearby towns of Herculaneum and Stabiae.
Following earthquake damage, the small temple, set within an enclosure, had been completely rebuilt by the son of a freedman from a prominent Pompeian family (C5). The opportunity was also taken at this time to take over part of the adjacent Samnite Palaestra. The popularity of the cult is reflected in the discovery of statuettes of Isis and several cult-rattles (sistra) in private houses. Furthermore, some twenty household shrines (lararia) were decorated with images of Isis, and several individuals donated statuettes within the sanctuary enclosure (E4-6). In addition, the actor Norbanus was honoured with a portrait bust in the sanctuary, perhaps in connection with his appearances in the adjacent Theatre (D70). The notion that the cult’s popularity was the result of some kind of religious crisis, with the rise of a belief-based cult requiring initiation at the expense of ‘traditional’ public cults, is no longer tenable, although the cult was regarded with suspicion at Rome until the first century ad. The reference to ‘worshippers of Isis’ in electoral notices (E7—8), however, certainly implies that some at least of her adherents had a sense of group identity not found with other cults.
The discovery of the temple in the 1760s, early on in the excavation of Pompeii, caused a great stir and captured visitors’ imaginations. Their interest was aroused not only by the unusual discovery of an ‘Egyptian’ temple in Italy, but also by the vividness of the remains uncovered in the sanctuary. These included carbonized remains in pits and on the altar, a dead body (presumed to be the priest), statuettes and well-preserved paintings (cut away from the walls, and transferred to the royal collection) (J6—10). Much of the sanctuary’s decoration was calculated to emphasize the foreignness of the goddess. For example, a tablet inscribed with genuine hieroglyphs was discovered in front of the temple itself, and paintings depicted Egyptian gods, including the dog-headed Anubis, Bes, Osiris, Harpocrates and Isis herself, and Egyptian landscapes peopled with strange creatures, such as the crocodile, ibis and pygmies. Finally, a small structure (purgatorium), with steps leading down to a well, was believed to have provided purifying water for the religious ceremonies.
Figure 5.1 E3 Plan of Temple of Isis
A Living quarters B Theatre
C Herm of Norbanus (D70) and Statue of Venus Anadiomene D ‘Purgatorium’
E Main altar F Harpocrates niche G Celia
H Statue of Bacchus (E4)
J Hieroglyphic inscription K Refuse deposit L Portico
M Statue of Isis, dedicated by L. Caecilius Phoebus (E5)
N Main entrance and
Architrave inscription (C5)
Statuette of Bacchus (E4)
The marble sramerre (NM inv. 6312) depicts Bacchus with a panther, as a version of the Egyptian god Osiris. It was displayed in a small niche incorporated into the rear wall of the temple, which had ears in stucco on either side, a symbol of the deity’s responsiveness to prayer. Its dedication, inscribed upon its plinth, reveals that it was set up by the father of the child who had nominally rebuilt the temple.
E4 CIL X 847
Numerius Popidius Ampliatus, father, at his own expense.
Statuette of Isis (E5)
The marble statuette (NM inv. 976), executed in an archaizing style, depicts the goddess holding a sistrum (the rattle used in her worship) in her right hand, and the key of the Nile in her left. Traces of gilding can still be seen on the marble.
E5 CIL X 849
Lucius Caecilius Phoebus erected (this statue); space granted by decree of the town councillors.
Dedication to Isis of a statuette (E6)
This inscribed pilaster, which once supported a (now lost) statuette, was removed from the site into a private collection. Consequently, its original location is unknown, but it may have come from the temple.
E6 Tran Tam Tinh (1964), 176 no. 148
To Augustan Isis. Manilia Chrysa [fulfilled] her vow [willingly to the deserving deity].
Electoral notices of the worshippers of Isis (E7—8)
Both of these notices date from the last decade before the eruption. E7 was displayed on the road outside the Temple of Isis, E8 on the Stabian Street, some 50 metres from the temple.
E7 CIL IV 787 = ILS 6420b
All the worshippers of Isis call for Gnaeus Helvius Sabinus as aedile.
E8 CIL IV 1011 = ILS 6419f
Popidius Natalis, his client, with the worshippers of Isis, call for Cuspius Pansa as aedile.
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