Articles

The Cult of Isis at Ancient Messene

The Cult of IsisThe Cult of Isis at Ancient Messene

Petros Themelis

Vexilium: The Undergraduate Journal of Medieval and Classical Studies, Vol.3 (2013)

Abstract

The location of a sanctuary dedicated to the cult of Isis and Sarapis close to the theatre of ancient Messene is reported by Pausanias (4.32.6), who wrote: “Not far from the Theatre, there is a sanctuary of Sarapis and Isis” ( τοῦ θεάτρου δὲ οὐ πόρρω Σαράπιδός έστι καὶ Ἴσιδος ἱερόν ). Several artefacts connected with the Sarapis and Isis sanctuary found in various parts of the archaeological site of Messene but mainly in the area between the theatre and the stadium are presented as follows a) Two almost identical mantle-clad herms made of marble, found by villagers to the north of the stadium and delivered to the Museum before the systematic excavations began in 1986 1 : 1. Inv. no. 54, herm of a young male made of fine crystalline marble, preserved height 1.20 m. Below the thighs, the figure takes the form of a stele (fig. 1a), but the lower part of the shaft and the left arm are missing. The head is broken above the forehead and the face is badly weathered (fig. 1b).



Despite this damage and the fact that lips, nose and eyes are missing, the young male’s fleshy, rounded cheeks and childish features are still apparent. Wrapped tightly around the torso and both arms is a mantle that also covers the head. Names of Messenian ephebes who had trained in the Gymnasium of the city for three years and were called trietirenes are inscribed on the shaft and right shoulder of the figure . In their free time, the ephebes would sit on the steps of the propylon, the main entrance to the west stoa of the Gymnasium, and play at dice; they scratched their names everywhere they could, especially on the statue bases erected in the west stoa . The main body of the ephebic inscriptions found in the west stoa date to the Augustan period.

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