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The Ankh, Isis,
and Cleopatra
In the shape of a mirror or a knot, the ankh is the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic symbol meaning “eternal life.” It
also has been characterized as the “key of life,” the “key of the Nile” or the “crux ansata” (Latin for “cross with a
handle”).
The ankh was often carried by Egyptians as an amulet. In ancient Egypt art, typically only dieties and members of
the aristocracy (kings, queens, high priests and court officials) were shown carrying the ankh, indicating that
they had the power to give life or take it away from lesser mortals. In numerous ancient representations, Egyptian gods and deceased rulers are often depicted holding an
ankh by the end, by the loop, or bearing one in each hand, sometimes with arms crossed over their chest.
A frequent feature of ancient Egyptian tomb inscriptions, the ankh is often carried by deities or
people in a funeral procession, or offered to the king as the breath of life.
Some representations show a god or goddess holding the ankh in front of the king’s nose. Life was breathed in through the nose or mouth. A common plea from Egypt’s defeated foes to the king was, “do
not take away the breath of life from our noses.” This indicates that the gods and the king were the
ultimate dispensers of life in ancient Egypt.
Temple of Kom Ombo (Ptolemaic)
Sakhmet, the lion-headed goddess who represented the
force of violence and unexpected disaster. Egyptian physicians saw the treatment
of illness in part as appeasement of Sakhmet. In withholding her power, she
bestowed life, which is symbolized by the ankh in her
left hand.
(c. 1390-1352 BCE)
Next slide:
The jackal-headed god Anubis, god of the dead and embalming, feeds the ankh to Pharaoh Amenophis II, on a
wall of the pharaoh’s tomb.
Valley of the Kings, Luxor(18th Dynasty; 1427-1401 BCE)
In death, a person lost power over the body. In order pass safely into the
afterlife, the mummy’s sensory functions had to be restored. This was done in the
“Opening of the Mouth” funerary ceremony, described in the Book of the Dead. The purpose of this ritual was to
return the use of the organs to the deceased in the afterlife. He had to be
able to feed himself, recite magical spells, and give commands.
Horus, the Falcon-headed god of the sky, points the ankh towards Ramses II
(19th Dynasty, 1279-1213 BCE)
Next slide:
Pharaoh Amenhotep III (c.1388-1351 BCE) in a chariot wearing a crown with a cobra. The
goddess Nekhbet (a white vulture, the patron of Upper Egypt) is depicted hovering with her wings spread above the royal image, clutching an ankh in her claws. The ankh is attached to a
“djed” symbol and a “shen ring.”
Mortuary Temple of Merneptah (1213-1203 BCE).
A shen ring is a circle with a line at a tangent, which was used in hieroglyphics as a stylized loop
of a rope. The circle represents eternity or infinity. As the protectress of the king, Nekhbet is
represented as a vulture, often extending one wing to the front, the other to the ground, flying above
the person she is protecting. She is frequently portrayed accompanying the pharaoh into battle.
In art, Nekhbet was depicted on the front of pharaoh’s double
crown with the cobra.
Pharaoh Amenemnat I (1991-1962 BCE) on the right as the Ba (soul) of the god Horus, wearing the crown of Egypt,
being given an ankh by his son, now the new Horus and new king of Egypt. The cobra behind is encircled by a shen ring.
Relief block from the mortuary temple of
Amenhotep III featuring
ankhs
(Temple of Merneptah)
When the ankh first appeared in ancient
Egypt is unknown, but it seems to have existed
before the dynastic times. There is evidence of its possible use in this ivory comb from the First
Dynasty (c. 3150 BCE)!
Pharaoh Sahure, seated on a throne, accompanied by a
smaller male figure personifying a local god of Upper Egypt. The deity offers the king an ankh with
his left hand. (c. 2458–2446 BCE)
The origins of the ankh remain a mystery to Egyptologists, and there is no widely-accepted
hypothesis. In tomb paintings and other art depicting the afterlife, the ankh often appears at the fingertips of a god or goddess in images that
represent conferring the gift of life on the deceased. When the gods hold the ankh, it showed
that they were immortal and commanded the powers of life and death. In ancient Egypt, the
ankh seems to have transcended illiteracy, being understood even to those who could not read. It appears, for example, as a craftsman’s mark on
pottery work from that time.
Theories on What the the ankh represents:
• A sandal strap, with the loop going around the ankle, as representative of the soul’s journey.
• The sun crowning over the eastern horizon.• The path of the sun from east to west (with the
loop representing the Nile).• In funeral rites, it suggested the shape of a key
that opened the gateway of the tomb into the realm of eternity.
• The belt-buckle or girdle of the goddess Isis, also known as the “Knot of Isis,” which symbolizes the inexhaustible essence of the life force identified with her.
• The combination of the male and female symbols of Osiris (the cross) and Isis (the oval or “womb”) respectively, thus signifying the union of heaven and earth.
• The ankh is often associated with water, the sustainer of all life.
Above: Isis knot amulet
(c. 1295–1070 BCE)
Roman period relief of the “Baptism of
Pharaoh,” a purification ritual part of Egyptian
coronation ceremonies. Here,
the ibis-headed Thoth pours water, represented by a stream of ankhs,
over the king’s head (most probably
Emperor Claudius or Nero).
• As a fertility symbol, the ankh may represent the union of Isis and Osiris, which would cause the annual flooding of the Nile.
• The oval head of the ankh may represent the Nile delta, with the vertical mark representing the path of the river, and the East and West arms representing the two sides of Egypt and their unification.
• When the Christian era emerged, the ankh was adapted by the Coptic church as its unique cross, which is very similar in shape, having a circle instead of a loop at the top of the cross.
Since the ankh is composed of a “T” cross with a circle on top, it was an easy step for early
Christians to associate it with the eternal life promised by Christ.
Wooden amulet in the
form of an ankh
New Kingdom(1550-1069
BCE)
Next slide: Glazed composition mould-made amulet in the shape of an ankh.
Superimposed in raised relief on its front are three other hieroglyphic
symbols: a “was” sceptre placed on the pillar-like “djed” sign, and the
kneeling figure of the “Heh” sign on the top of the djed pillar.
(700-500 BCE)
“Was” scepters, associated with the gods, the pharaoh, or priests, were staffs used as symbols of power or dominion. They often appeared in
relics, art and hieroglyphics associated with ancient Egyptian
religion. In a funerary context, they were responsible for the well-being
of the deceased and were sometimes included in the tomb or
in the decoration of the tomb or coffin.
They appear as long, straight staffs, with a stylized canine head
on top and have a forked end.
The “djed” symbol is one of the more ancient and commonly found symbols in Egyptian mythology. It is a pillar-like symbol in hieroglyphics representing stability. It is associated with Osiris, the Egyptian god of the afterlife, the
underworld, and the dead. It is commonly understood to represent
his spine.
Facsimile from the Book of the Dead. The sun disk
of the god Ra is raised into the sky by an ankh-
sign (signifying life) and a djed-pillar (signifying stability and the god
Osiris) while adored by Isis (left), Nephthys
(right), and baboons. The motif symbolizes rebirth
and the sunrise.
Life (ankh), dominion (was), and stability (djed) over all (neb) means order (maat)
on Earth and in the universe.
Heh, the “Lord of Time,” whose name denotes an incalculable number,
personifies unlimitedness, especially in the sense of unlimited time as
reckoned by heavenly cycles. Heh is depicted usually kneeling atop a collar of beads (the sign for gold, regarded as an incorruptible metal), and grasping in each hand a notched palm-branch
representing the marking off of time.
Depictions of Heh
Green glazed composition ankh with a
column of text on either side of
the stem
(600-550 BCE)
Mirrors were often made in the shape of an ankh. Note this wooden mirror case from the
tomb of Tutankhamun (c.1341-1323 BCE)
Made of gold-plated wood and inlaid
with semiprecious stones, it is inscribed with Tutankhamun’s names, epithets, and
relationship to specific gods around the loop and in the
vertical column.
Right: Tutankhamun’s
cartouche, featuring an ankh as part of
his name.
King Tut’s name:
Tut (meaning “image”)+ ankh (meaning “life”)+
(the god’s name—Amun or Aten)=“Living Image of the God”
“Tut ankh aten”: “Living image of Aten”
“Tut ankh amun”: “Living image of Amun”
The goddess Nut, offering protection to the deceased on a coffin. She holds an
ankh in each hand.
Nut was the goddess of the sky and the mother of Isis, Osiris, Set and Nephthys. She is often depicted
carrying a round water pot, symbolic of gestation and the uterus, on her
head. Since she is the embodiment of the celestial cycle, this association is appropriate. Nut sometimes holds an
ankh, due to her association with gestation and the cycles.
Next slide:
Wooden figure of Nephthys (goddess of lamentation and sister
of Isis and Osiris) kneeling with the hands raised to the face in
mourning. Around the base is a frieze of ankh symbols.
Next slide: Fragment of painted limestone temple relief depicting a winged sun disc with
“uraei” (sacred Egyptian spitting cobras, asps, or serpents—an emblem of royalty,
and divine authority or sovereignty, depicted on the headdress of Egyptian rulers and deities). Ankh symbols hang
from them above the crown of King Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II (11th
Dynasty).
Below: Uraei and ankhs
Egyptian cobra or “asp”
(Naja haje)
Next slide:
Red quartzite block statue of Teti, Viceroy of Kush. Around his neck he wears a pendant formed of the ankh
sign. He holds a lotus flower in his left hand.
(18th Dynasty, c.1475 BCE)
In Egypt, two native species of lotus grew, the blue and the white lotus. A
third type, the pink lotus was introduced to the country from Persia
during the Late Period. All three species were depicted in Egyptian art
(the pink lotus showed up in Hellenistic artworks). However, the
sacred blue lotus was the flower most commonly depicted in hieroglyphs. The lotus closes at night and sinks underwater. In the morning it re-
emerges and blooms again. Thus the flower became a natural symbol of
the sun and creation.
As a symbol of rebirth, the lotus was closely related to the imagery of the funerary and Osirian cult. The Book of the Dead contains
spells for “transforming oneself into a lotus” and thus fulfilling the promise of resurrection.
The lotus was also commonly used in art as a symbol of Upper Egypt. It was often shown
with its long stems intertwined with papyrus reeds (a symbol of Lower Egypt) as a representation of the unification of the
two lands.
Next slide:
Bronze figure of Neith (aka Net), goddess of creation, hunting, and the dead, wearing the red Deshret crown
of Lower Egypt (in the shape of a honeybee proboscis). The left arm is
outstretched, and the right arm is down clutching a moveable ankh.
Next slide:
Bronze Ptolemaic period figure of Amun-Ra, creator of the universe and king of the gods, wearing the sun-disc and ostrich plumes. Wearing a short
kilt, he holds an ankh in his right hand and a scepter (possibly a “was” staff)
in his left.
Next two slides: Shabtis (funerary figurines) of Pharaoh
Amenhotep II wrapped like a mummy with only head and hands emerging. He wears the
royal wig cover (a “nemes”), made from either dyed leather or possibly gold with lapis lazuli
inlays. On the king’s forehead is a reared cobra, symbol of kingship, and on his chin the
long royal beard. He holds two ankhs, symbolizing life and the desired life after
death.(18th Dynasty; c. 1427-1400 BCE)
Two shabtis of Pharoah Akhenaten holding ankhs in different positions
(c. 1353–1336 BCE)
Next slide:
Red granite sarcophagus of Pahemnetjer, High Priest of Ptah at
Memphis. Bearded, he holds a djed-column in his right hand and an ankh
in his left.
(19th Dynasty, c.1250 BCE)
Limestone shabti of Renseneb, an official escort or retainer. He holds an ankh in his left hand and a vase in his right that can be read as
“favor.”
(1730-1720 BCE)
Next slide:
King Ramses III (right) depicted in full regalia before the holy family of the ancient city of Memphis. He faces Ptah, the patron of craftsmen, wrapped like a mummy, who wears a skullcap and straight divine
beard, and holds a multiple scepter composed of an ankh and djed pillar. Behind Ptah is the lion-headed
goddess Sekhmet, holding an ankh and a papyrus scepter. The third member of the divine family is Nefertum, god of the lotus; his stylized image is
crowned by two tall plumes is worn on his head. He carries an ankh and a was scepter.
(c.1150 BCE)
Next slide:Wooden funerary stele of Deniuenkhons,
worshipping a falcon-headed god named Ra-Horakhty-Atum, a composite or synthesis of all
the main solar gods. The all-inclusiveness of this figure is borne out by his regalia: in
addition to the cobra-encircled sun disk on his head and the ankh sign in one hand, he holds a crook and flail, usually associated with Osiris. The was scepter in his other hand is crowned
by the feather of Maat and another ankh.(c.1070-664 BCE)
Next slide:Stele showing the god Ra-Horakhty seated behind an altar holding lotus
flowers. The god holds a blue ankh in his right hand and a green was scepter in his left. A deceased woman stands on the right. Above are eight columns of text containing a prayer on behalf of the deceased and a winged sun-
disk.
(760-656 BCE)
A similar depiction
Next slide:
Sycamore fig wood stele depicting Ra, who stands on the left, with the
deceased on the right. The god has a blue wig and body; his face is white
with a red eye on yellow, with a green cheek and black beak. The ankh in his right hand is blue and his was scepter
is green.
A similar depiction:
Next slide:Limestone stele depicting Ptolemy II
and his sister-wife Arsinoe II (far right). Both royal figures carry an
ankh. The king, holding a staff, wears the double crown of united Egypt. His
wife wears the tall plumes, cow’s horns and disc of a goddess. The two
divine beings at the far left hold ankhs as well.
(222-204 BCE)
Next 2 slides:
Ptolemaic stele depicting Neswy
In the second register Neswy (right) kneels in adoration of the solar barque. A “ba”bird on
the prow worships the gods Ra, Atum, Khepri, Shu, Tefnut, and Geb who are seated, holding
ankhs upward, with a helmsman standing behind.
In the third register, the deceased (right) stands in worship before an altar on which rests an offering cooled by a lotus-flower.
Behind stand the gods Osiris, Isis and Nephthys (ankhs upward), and Hornedjitef, Hathor, Anubis, and Wepwawet (ankhs down).
The several deities hold ankhs in various positions
Next two slides:
Sandstone stele depicting two
images of Caesarion (far left
and far right) making an offering
to the deities
(31 BCE)
At the far left, Caesarion offers wine to Geb, prince of the gods, who wears the White Crown of Upper Egypt, and to crocodile-headed Sobek. Both gods
carry was scepters and ankhs.
At the far right, Caesarion, wearing the Double Crown, presents two lettuces to the fertility god,
Min, who wears two plumes on his head holds a flail over his upraised arm. Behind Min stands Isis, the divine mother, wearing a vulture headdress and
cow's horns and disc; she carries a papyrus scepter and ankh.
Image of Isis painted on a
coffin. She holds two ankhs. Near her head are two
jackals, representing the
god Anubis, protector of the
dead.
Ptolemaic wooden stele depicting Isis (fourth from left), supporting the base of a blue ankh. She has a blue wig, blue and red headdress, green body, and red dress.
Ptolemaic wooden stele
depicting Isis in the bottom
register (third from right),
holding an ankh by the loop.
Figures holding ankhs, depicted on the Temple of Isis a Greco-Roman temple, at Philae. It was started by
Ptolemy (c.200 BCE), and completed around 200 AD.
L-R: Isis, Ptolemy, Horace, and his sons, Haroeris and Sobek, the crocodile/Nile god.
The elusive search For images of
Cleopatra VII and her
connection to isis
National Geographic,
July 2011
Cleopatra’s cartouche
“Despite her reputed powers of seduction, there is no reliable
depiction of her face. What images do exist are based on unflattering
silhouettes on coins. There is an unrevealing 20-foot-tall relief on a temple at Dendera, and museums
display a few marble busts, most of which may not even be of Cleopatra.”
Syrian coin
featuring likeness
of Cleopatra
VII
Female portrait head similar to Cleopatra VII
(50-40 BCE)
British Museum(London)
This portrait head, with a strongly
aquiline nose, was one of the first portraits to be identified as
Cleopatra VII using coins as a
comparison. However, there is no diadem, which would
indicate royalty.
It is now widely believed to represent a woman who closely modeled herself on Cleopatra's
image, perhaps a member of the queen’s entourage who
travelled to Rome with her from Egypt. During Cleopatra’s stay in Rome between 46-44 BCE, her
notoriety and public appearances would have made
her a celebrity, and her style and fashions were imitated by
Roman women.
The hair is brought in waves to each
side, and ends in a long plait, which is
coiled at the back of the head. Two small ringlets fall in front
of each ear. The lobes of the ears are pierced for earrings.
Alternatively, if this is to be identified as a portrait of
Cleopatra VII, it may indicate the queen’s desire to be
shown in Roman fashion with no royal insignia. A
fundamental problem in establishing a comparison is that different coins showing
Cleopatra's portrait vary considerably, particularly in the rendering of the nose.
Furthermore, coins may not be an accurate reflection of
her real face.
Roman bust identified as Cleopatra VII
(Vatican Museum, Rome)
Found at the Villa of the Quintilii on the Via Appia, this portrait resembles coins of Cleopatra
minted at Ascalon and Alexandria. Cleopatra wears a melon hairstyle with a bun and the royal diadem, a
ribbon of cloth tied around the hair first worn by Alexander the
Great that came to symbolize Hellenistic kingship. The hair is
damaged in the front; the knob at the top may have been part of her hairstyle or a headdress such as a
lotus crown or uraeus (cobra headdress).
Parian marble bust of Cleopatra
VII(50-30 BCE)
Staatliche Museum (Berlin);
Acquired in 1976
Fragment of granite statue (50-30 BCE), identified as
Cleopatra VII in 2001
Royal Ontario Museum
Intaglio Glass with portrait of Cleopatra VIIPtolemaic Period (1st century BCE)
British Museum (London)
This portrait shows a royal woman, identified as
Cleopatra VII. The hair and dress are of Greek fashion,
but the headdress is Egyptian and features the triple ureaus and cobras with sun discs on
their heads. The hairstyle and broad diadem indicate that
this is Cleopatra VII. This piece provides important
support for the re-identification of several
Egyptian-style statues with a triple uraeus as Cleopatra VII.
Basalt statue of Cleopatra
VII
Rosicrucian Egyptian Museum
(San Jose, California)
Cleopatra and her son, Caesarion, depicted on the
exterior back wall of the
Temple of Hathor, Dendera
Dressed in a long kilt and double
crown with rams horns, Caesarion stands in front of
his mother to offer incense to
the gods. Behind him stands a tiny male figure, his “ka” or spirit.
“Standing behind her son’s ka, Cleopatra wears a tight sheath dress, tripartate wig and modius with multiple
uraeai, solar disc, cow horns and double plumes. She carries a sistrum and the
stylized necklace known as the menyt, which is
associated with Hathor.”Cleopatra: Last Queen of
Egypt (2008) By Joyce Tyldesley
Ceasarion, son of
Cleopatra and Julius
Caesar
Statue of a Ptolemaic queen, believed to be Cleopatra VII, holding
an ankh
State Hermitage Museum(St. Petersburg)
This black basalt statue of a Ptolemaic queen represents a striding woman in a long,
tight-fitting dress. She wears a tripartite wig with three
royal cobras. In her left hand, she holds a horn of plenty, and an ankh in her lowered
right hand.
Identified as Arsinoe II for many decades, in 2001 it was
attributed to Cleopatra VII.
“Cleopatra VII was born in Egypt, but was descended from a lineage of Greek kings
and queens who had ruled Egypt for nearly 300 years ... Cleopatra embraced Egypt’s traditions ... the Ptolemies were genuinely intrigued by the Egyptian idea
of an afterlife. Out of that fascination emerged a hybrid Greek and Egyptian
religion that found its ultimate expression in the cult of Serapis—a Greek gloss on the Egyptian legend of Osiris and Isis.”
Ptolemaic stele showing Cleopatra
VII (at right) dressed as a male pharaoh, placing offerings on an altar before the
seated Isis
(c.51-30 BCE)
“By Cleopatra's time a cult around the goddess Isis had been spreading across
the Mediterranean for hundreds of years. To fortify her position, and like other queens before her, Cleopatra
sought to link her identity with the great Isis (and Mark Antony’s with Osiris), and to be venerated as a goddess. She had
herself depicted in portraits and statues as the universal mother divinity.”
“Beginning in 37 B.C., Cleopatra began to realize her ambition to enlarge her
empire when Antony restored several territories to Egypt and decreed
Cleopatra’s children their sovereigns. She appeared in the holy dress of Isis at
a festival staged in Alexandria to celebrate Antony’s victory over Armenia
in 34 B.C., just four years before her suicide and the end of the Egyptian
empire.”
The Ankh and Tyet Symbol (“Isis Knot”)The origin of the Isis knot is unknown. It
seems to illustrate a knotted piece of cloth, though initially its hieroglyphic
sign was perhaps a variant of the ankh. This symbol closely resembles the ankh,
except that its transverse arms are curved downward. In written sources,
the meaning and symbolism of this object, known as the tyet (tiet, thet) by
the ancient Egyptians, seems to be similar to those of the ankh, and the
sign is often translated as “life” or “welfare.”
In representational contexts, the tyet is found as a decorative symbol as early as the 3rd Dynasty, when
it appears with both the ankh and the djed signs, and later with the was scepter. However, the symbol
itself is much older, appearing at least as early as the Predynastic period.
By the New Kingdom, the symbol was clearly associated with Isis, perhaps due to its frequent association with the djed pillar. The two symbols
were used to allude to Osiris and Isis, and the binary nature of life itself. The association with Isis led to it
being given the name, “the knot of Isis,” as it resembles the knot or “buckle,” which secures the
garments of the gods in many representations.
Also called the “Girdle of Isis,” the Isis knot was worn to obtain her
good will and protection. Symbolizing her strength and power, it was frequently made of Carnelian (and often called “the blood of Isis” as well). It was believed to protect its wearer from every kind of evil
and to secure the good will of Horus. The sign was considered a potent
symbol of protection in the afterlife; the Book of the Dead specifies it be made of blood-red stone and placed
at the neck of the deceased.
Statue of a Ptolemaic Queen, thought to possibly be Cleopatra VII
(200-30 BCE)Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
Given the association
of the Ptolemaic
queens with Isis, the knot in the fabric
is often called an Isis
knot.
Ptolemaic statue of a standing
female figure, holding a wreath and double
cornucopia (identifying her as Arsinoe II or Cleopatra VII). She wears a knotted costume and corkscrew
hairstyle
(80-30 BCE) Fitzwilliam Museum,
Cambridge
Knots were widely used as amulets because the Egyptians believed they
bound and released magic. When placed at the neck of the dead on the
day of the funeral in the soul’s journey through the underworld, it opened up
all hidden places and procured the favor of Isis and Horus forever. A
number of variants on the tyet sign are found in the Late Period, but they all
appear in contexts relating to resurrection and eternal life.
Cleopatra VII presenting
Caesarion to the gods.
She carries a sistrum in one hand and a menit necklace, associated with
Hathor, in her right.
(Temple of Dendera)
Detail of Cleopatra VII with menit and sistrum
Menit (menat, menyet)
necklace
Relatively prominent in Egyptian art, the menit
was a heavy bead necklace with a crescent
front piece and a counterpoise attached at
the rear. Like the sistrum, this
elaborate necklace may have functioned as a
kind of percussion instrument in certain
religious contexts.
Sistrum: An ancient Egyptian percussion instrument, similar to a metal rattle. Shaped like an ankh, the typical sistrum consists of a handle topped with a
metal or wooden loop.
The loop contains wires strung with metal plates that jingled when shaken. The Egyptians attributed
to it the power of dispersing and terrifying evil spirits.
Ptolemy II with sistrum (285-246 BCE)
Consisting of a metal frame in the shape of an egg fastened
to a handle, the sistrum is often surmounted by a
grotesque head or by a figure of the sacred lioness Sekhet. The frame is crossed by four
horizontal metal rods passing through holes large
enough to allow them to rattle when the sistrum is
shaken. The rods are prevented from slipping out
by metal stops .
Symbolism of the sistrumPlutarch, Moralia
Book V: “Isis and Osiris”“The sistrum also makes it clear that all things in existence need to be shaken, or rattled about, and never to cease from motion but, as it were, to be waked up and agitated when they grow drowsy and torpid. They say that they avert and repel Typhon by means of the sistrums, indicating
thereby that when destruction constricts and checks Nature, generation releases and arouses it
by means of motion.”
“The upper part of the sistrum is circular and its circumference contains the four things that are shaken;
for that part of the world which undergoes reproduction and destruction is contained underneath
the orb of the moon, and all things in it are subjected to motion and to change through the four elements: fire,
earth, water, and air. At the top of the circumference of the sistrum they construct the figure of a cat with a
human face, and at the bottom, below the things that are shaken, the face of Isis on one side, and on the
other the face of Nephthys. By these faces they symbolize birth and death, for these are the changes and movements of the elements; and by the cat they symbolize the moon because of the varied coloring,
nocturnal activity, and fecundity of the animal.”
Apuleius describes the sistrum as a bronze rattle consisting of a narrow plate curved like a sword-belt through which
passed a few rods, that rendered a loud shrill sound.
He says that these instruments were
sometimes made of silver or even of gold. He also seems to intimate, that the shakes were three together. They
were held in the right hand.
Rattles such as this were used in religious
ceremonies and rituals, and were particularly associated with the worship of Isis. They
were used extensively used by priests in the
temple of Isis to attract the attention of worshippers to
different parts of the ritual. Isis with sistrum
According to history, Cleopatra made use of a large number of sistra at the battle of Actium,
and the instrument was satirically called Cleopatra’s “war trumpet.”
The introduction of the worship of Isis into Italy shortly before the commencement of the Christian era made the Romans familiar with this instrument. Rome’s conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE, following the death of Cleopatra and Mark Antony, helped spread the cult of Isis
throughout the Mediterranean and the rest of the Roman world.
Two examples of bronze sistra (79 AD) discovered in the Temple of Isis, Pompeii. The sistrum is used in
Nubia and Abyssinia to the present day.
Next 2 slides:Fresco depicting Isis (seated, right)from the Temple of Isis (Pompeii)
Isis (seated, holding a snake with a crocodile at her feet) welcomes Io (on
the left, with horns) in Egypt. Io is carried by a river god, setting her
down at Kanopus near Alexandria.
The devotees of Isis (in the rear)
wield sistra
Temple of Isis, Pompeii
Reconstruction of the Temple of Isis, Pompeii
Two Roman statues of Isis
with a sistrum.(117–138 CE)
Original (right) and copy of a marble statue found in the Capitoline museum in
Rome.
Concluding slides:
The worship of Isis depicted in two wall paintings from Herculaneum (79 AD).
In the first, the high priest stands at the entrance to the temple and looks down on the ceremony,
supervised by priests with shaven heads. One priest tends the sacred fire and another behind him leads
the faithful (gathered in two ranks) in worship. In the foreground of the painting can be seen two ibises,
sacred to Isis, and to the right is a flautist.
THE END
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