The Cult of Isis Among Women in the Graeco-Roman World

162 Pages·1975·10.68 MB·English

by  Sharon Kelly Heyob

THE CULT OF
ISIS AMONG WOMEN IN THE
GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD
ETUDES PRELIMINAIRES
AUX RELIGIONS ORIENTALES
DANS L'EMPIRE ROMAIN
PUBLlEES PAR
M. J. VERMASEREN
CINQUANTE-ET-UNIEME
SHARON KELLY HEYOB
THE CULT OF
ISIS AMONG WOMEN IN THE
GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD
LEIDEN
E. J. BRILL
1975
SHARON KELLY HEYOB
THE CULT OF
ISIS!AMONG WOMEN IN THE
GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD
LEIDEN
E. J. BRILL
1975
ISBN 90 04 04368 3
Copyright 1975 by E. J. Brill, Leiden, Netherlands
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
translated in any form, by print, photop rint, microfilm, microfiche
or any other means without written permission from the publisher
PRINTED IN BELGWM
Ioanni Viro Carissimo

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface . IX
Abbreviations XI
Bibliography XIII
I. Historical Perspectives
11. The Essential Nature of Isis 37
Ill. Isis as Perceived by Women in the Graeco-Roman World 53
IV. The Participation of Women in the Cult of Isis 81
V. Morality and the Cult ofIsis III
Conclusions . 128
Index Nominum et Rerum 131
Index Auctorum Antiquorum 135
Index Inscriptionum 138

PREFACE
In recent years a good deal of scholarly interest has been aroused on
the subject of the oriental religions as they developed outside of Egypt
in the Greek and Roman spheres. New archaeological finds have con
tributed to this interest and in some cases have allowed new interpreta
tions of past thinking. The object of this work is to investigate the role
of women in one of the most widespread of these oriental cults, the cult
of Isis. My initial curiosity about this subject grew out of the remarks
of the elegiac poets about their mistresses' involvement with Isis. Of
primary interest to me is the degree to which women participated in the
organizational aspects of the cult. This work seeks to investigate in what
light women viewed Isis and what aspects of her character appealed most
to them. Finally, a study of the morality of the cult was made in view
of the implications of the elegiac poets in this regard.
My study was aided considerably by Ladislaus Vidman's recent
collection of all of the inscriptions pertaining to the cult into one volume,
SyUoge inscriptionum religion is Isiacae et Sarapiacae. His precise and
thorough commentaries on these inscriptions have been invaluable to
me as is evident at every point in this work. Likewise, the works of
M. Malaise (Les conditions de penetration et de diffusion des cultes egyp
liens en Italie and Inventaire preliminaire des documents egyptiens decou
verts en Italie) and of F. Dunand (Le culte d'Isis dans le bassin oriental
de la mediterranee) have proved to be extremely helpful to me throughout
this publication. J. Gwyn Griffiths' recent edition of Plutarch's De
lside et Osiride with its English translation and very thorough commen
tary is also an extremely valuable piece of recent scholarship in this
field, as are all of the works pertaining to the oriental cults continually
being produced in this series (Etudes preliminaires aux religions orientales
dans ['empire romain) edited by M. J. Vermaseren.
I wish here to express my gratitude to Rev. Thomas P. Halton of
The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C., for introducing
me to Isis, for guiding me patiently during the preparation of this work
in its original form as a doctoral dissertation, and for obtaining for me
copies of a number of important bibliographical items. I am greatly