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ISIS AND SARAPIS IN ROME
186 B.C.-A.D.68

BY

David Walter Leinweber

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

Department of History

1989

Sam/4%

ABSTRACT

Early in this century, Franz Cumont's book §g§
Religions Orientales dans la Paganisme Romaine argued that
by later antiquity, the eastern faiths wielded a greater
allure than their western counterparts. The great old
deities of the Graeco-Roman pantheon had become dry remnants
of a tradition rapidly being supplanted by virile and living
mystery cults. Since then, Cumont's assertion has been
harshly criticized from many quarters.' Most recently,
Ramsey Macmullen has scorned the "Spiritual-Fortitude,
Spiritual-Weakening" school of interpretation as simplistic
and shallow.

His harsh tones are not well taken. A critical
analysis of the extant evidence left by literary and
archaeological sources reveals much truth in Cumont's 1906
thesis. The example left by the penetration rof Isis and
Sarapis into Rome is particularly germane in this regard.
This process of diffusion clearly reveals an intense
spiritual thirst among Rome's inhabitants. The sick and

dying gods of the old age were no longer sufficient.

We returned to our places, these kingdoms,
but no longer at ease there,

in the old dispensation,

with an alien people clutching their gods.

T.S. Eliot

iii

TO MY WIFE MARY

iv

 

 

.».._

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Producing this work has been one of my life's great
learning experiences. I need to thank many of those who
have helped along the way. The thesis, in its entirety, is
dedicated to my lovely wife Mary. Without her, I simply
would not have finished. My parents have provided much love
and support. I owe them everything. Also, many thanks to
Grandma Leinweber, who has likewise helped me immensely.
Thanks again, to all my beloved family.

Here at Michigan State, Jace Crouch has provided good
insights, bibliographical information, and cassette tapes of
the Grateful Dead. His commitment to human spirituality's
historical significance has provided a source of inspiration
for my own work. Gordon Morrell and Chris Hamel have always
given me sound advice, academic and otherwise.

I am also deeply grateful to Dr. David Loromer for his
gracious cooperation, under less than ideal conditions.
His good guidance and keen insights were a. most useful
resource. Finally, it has been an honor and privilege to
work with Dr. Eleanor Huzar. Her belief in elegance of
style, and solidity of content, is indicative of the finest
scholastic tradition. In this regard, she has set for me a
standard which I can only hope to someday attain. I thank

her for all her help and support.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION...... .............. . ....... . ..... . ........ 1
1.THE SOURCES. ......................................... 6
2.THE PENETRATION INTO ITALY ....... .. ................. 14
3.THE ORIENTAL ALLURE. ................................ 34
4.THE LATE REPUBLIC AND PRINCIPATE .................... 53
5.THE JULIO-CLAUDIAN RULERS. .......................... 68
CONCLUSION. ........................................... 91
BIBLIOGRAPHY.. ........................................ 93
vi

Introduction

The current century has witnessed much scholarship
focusing on Egyptian religion in the Graeco-Roman world.
Yet important questions remain unresolved. In his 1983
article "Cultes Egyptiens hors d'Egypte," Francois Dunand
discusses these lingering problems.1 Among the important
issues he describes is that of interpreting the Egyptian
cults in their new, hellenistic context. The central focus
of this problem asks to what extent were the oriental cults
genuinely oriental, and what remained of the older religious
tradition?2 The question has received little direct
treatment. One notable exception is a study' by Dutch
scholar Vandebeek. In a 1946 work, he argued that the Greek
Isis 'was almost. completely' Greek. and little: of ‘the old
Pharonic heritage remained.3

In large part, this historiographical debate has
resulted from the classic work of French scholar Franz

Cumont, and his still definitive 1906 volume Les religions

Orientales dans le Paganisme Romaine.4 Cumont had argued

 

1.Francoise Dunand, "Cultes Egyptiens hors d'Egypte;
nouvelles voies d'approche et dflinterpretation," in Studia
Hellenistica, 27, (1983), 75.

2.ibid.,pg.86.

3.Vandebeek, I, "De Interpretatio Graeca van de
Isisfigur," in Studia Hellenistica, 4, Louvain, 1946.

4.Cumont, Franz, Les religions orientales dans le
paganisme romaine, (Paris: 1906).

2
that the incoming oriental cults were freshly exotic
replacements for what were increasingly perceived as dry and
cold ancient faiths.5 Cumont's opponents immediately began
attempting to display the superior hellenistic component of
Graeca-Oriental religions. Vandebeek is just one example.6
More recently, Ramsey Macmullen has critiqued Cumont.
Referring to him as the "high priest of oriental cults,"
Macmullen labels Cumont's assertion as the "Spiritual-

Fortitude, Spiritual-Weakening" school of interpretation.7

 

5.A second major question, though beyond the scope of
this work, merits at least peripheral attention here. This
concerns the extent to which the oriental cults penetrated

into the various provinces. Cumont had, probably
erroneously, seen the diffusion of the eastern cults as a
geographically universal process. After Les Religions

Orientals was published, J. Toutain tried to show that
archaeological evidence simply does not support Cumont in
this regard. Many of the Empire's more rural regions offer
no evidence whatsoever of eastern cults. cf. Toutain, J.,
Lgs Cultes Paiens dans l'Empire Romain, (Paris: 1911), vol.
2., 5-34; Cumont's review of Toutain in Revue de l'histoire
des Reli ions, LXVI (1912), 125-129; for a sound critique
and summary of the problem, see Heuten, G., "La diffusion
des cultes égyptiens en Occident," in Revue de l'hist:oire
des Religions, 104, 1931, 409-16; finally, Macmullen,
Ramsay, Paganism in the, Roman Empire, (NeW' Haven: Yale
University Press, 1981), 116.

 

6.From the French summary which concludes Vandebeek's
article: "I1 y a pen d'années on considerait comme un dogme
historique la théorie de Fr. Cumont et de son école:
l'Orient avec sa vitalité religieuse exubérante a submerge
l'Occident religieusement peu développé et passif." 145.

7."The terms of description themselves are useless as
too vague; useless a second time as normative according to
prejudices which are not divulged, perhaps never examined;
and useless a third time as applied to a population whose
moral attributes and inner thoughts are not only almost
entirely hidden from us but not even investigated through
such few data as could be used." Macmullen, Paganism in the

Roman Empire, 123.

3

But the question remains: Why were the Greeks, then the
Romans, increasingly led to desert their traditional faiths
for foreign gods?8 Does the syncretism of the period
reflect mere absorption of the Egyptian deities by a
cosmopolitan, hellenized world? Or was there a sharp and
clearly' defined infusion. of the eastern cults into the
West?9

According to Dunand, the most recent decades of
historical scholarship have not sufficiently addressed such
interpretative questions. This is largely due to a
significant shift in methodological approach. In 1961, V.
Wessetzsky produced Die agyptischen Kulte zur Rémerzeit in

Ungarn.10 It was the first volume in a useful and important

 

8.Dunand praises Cumont for raising the issue.
However, he also cautions that "...1es réponses qu'il
proposait se situaient au niveau d'une psychologie un peu
élémentaire: ces religions exercent une 'force
d'attracation,‘ elles ‘aggisent sur les sens,'...Nous ne
sommes pas sortis de cette vision qui oppose 1a ‘froideur'
de la religion gréco-romaine a la ‘seduction' des cultes

orientaux."Dunand, 92; cf. Cumont, Les Religions Orientales,
23.

9.A.D. Nock, in ‘words similar' to those of Cumont,
argues:"The Capitoline gods meant nothing to them (the
religiously zealous of the lower class), not even the
patriotic emotions which they inspired in skeptical
Senators. They worshipped Isis and the Syrian goddess and
were so lacking in any feeling of Roman propriety as to
erect shrines to their favorite deities on the Capitol,
which was like holding a Salvation Army meeting in the
square before St. Peter's." Nock, A.D., Conversion: The Old
and the Neg in Religion from Alexander the Ggeat to

Augustine of Hippo, (Oxford, 1935), 123.

10.Wessetzsky, V., Die agyptischen Kulte zur Romerzeit
in Ungarn, Leiden, 1961.

4

publication WWW
dans l'Empire Romain (EPRO), edited by M. J. Vermassen. The
series has given increased weight to archaeological
evidence. IMoreover, it has somewhat limited itself to
empirical data and largely focused on regional studies. The
wealth of evidence EPRO has offered to the field provides
opportunities to address the broader questions which have
again been raised.

This paper's central contention is that the penetration
of the Egyptian cults into Italy cannot be understood apart
from an ethos of syncretism characterizing the period.
Moreover, the invaluable addition of modern, hard-nosed
empirical scholarship seems to have affirmed the assertions
of earlier synthetic works. An analysis of oriental
religions' diffusion into Rome clearly displays the "allure"
described by Cumont. Despite frequent reactionary efforts
of the Senate and other conservative elements in Roman
society, the new and foreign deities swept rapidly into the
Empire. That percentage of any population which always
tends to fervent theism was, in Italy, clearly more
attracted to the new and exotic eastern gods. The example
of Isis and Sarapis typifies this widespread and frequent
occurence. Between the post-Hannibalic period and Nero's
death, Sarapis and Isis passed from obscurity into major
theological components of Roman society. Indeed, the old

gods were already on their deathbeds. It was only a

5
question of which eastern faith would come to dominate the

new religious age.

 

The diffusion of Isis and Sarapis into Italy can be
divided into three stages. First, faith in the gods
penetrated into Italy much as it had earlier come to
Greece. Second, there was a period in which the Egyptian
cults were intensely politicized and viewed by conservatives
with hostility. Finally, by the end of the Julio-Claudian
period, Roman society adjusted and the Alexandrian deities
became major and standardized fixtures of religious life.

THE SOURCES

In an analysis of Sarapis and Isis in Rome, scholars

must largely draw on scattered references in the literary

sources, and shadowy evidence unearthed by modern
archeology. There are few truly direct statements made by
the ancients. While clearly a central feature of Roman

life, religion was often mentioned only in passing by the
various ancient authors. Moreover, the zealotry associated
with later antiquity's :mystery cults ‘was too frequently
found only among society's unlettered members. Often
historians must glean significance from second and third
hand accounts, rendered by generally hostile or
condescending pens. Nonetheless, by pulling together the
fragmented extant evidence, scholars can learn and
understand'much.

Several, invaluable works shed important light on

general characteristics and attributes of the Egyptian

 

7

cults.ll Some of these works comprise our most direct
contemporary accounts of Isis and Sarapis. Plutarch's De
Iside et Osiride provides some of the most thorough
treatment of the mythological origins of the deities, and
the way they were perceived by the Hellenistic World.
Diodorus Siculus' On Egypt (20-25,83-88,96) also offers
important information in this regard. Similarly, the
second chapter of Herodotus gives eyewitness glimpses into
religion and culture along the Nile. Equally worthwhile is
Apuleius' Metamorphoses. Here, the journeys of poor Lucius
provide some of our most candid glimpses into the largely
obscure rites and customs of the Isis cult.12 Several of
Juvenal's satires (6,8,9,13) make scornful reference to
various customs and characteristics found in Egyptian
religion.

Later Antiquity's Christian writers also provide
relatively thorough and specific treatment. Often these
took the form of apologetics, designed. to display

Christianity's inherent superiority. Jesus was depicted as

 

11.The numerous, specific citations providing relevant
insights are sporadic at best. No attempt has been made to
compile a systematic and comprehensive listing of such
varied passages. For a full listing of known literary
references regarding Egyptian cults in the Roman Empire, see
Michel Malaise, Les Conditions de Penetration et de
Diffusion des Cultes Egyptiens en Italie, (Leiden: E. J.
Brill, 1972), 495-505.

12.As with Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride, Apuleius
Metamorphoses is invaluable as a whole. For this work,
chapters 11-13 have been drawn on extensively for their
description of the sacred ceremonies.

8

superior to the various combinations of ancient gods
produced by syncretism. Hence, these Christian works
inadvertently informed subsequent generations about the old
pagan deities being condemned. Tertullian's Apologeticus
(Apology to the Roman Governors) (11,8) and Firmicus
Maternus' De Errore Profarum Religonum (13) both distinguish
Sarapis from other "saints." St. Augustine of Hippo, in his
immortal De Civitate Dei (XVII,4,5), also offers passing but
significant commentary, particularly on the god's
relationship to harvest and corn, Rufin of Aquileai's
Ecclesiastical History (XI,23) gives information as to
Sarapis' link to sun-worship, and also to his role as a god
of fertility.

As to the actual history of Isis and Sarapis in Rome,
the evidence is even more scattered. Brief but important
passages found in Plutarch's Alexander (LXXVII) and Arrian's
Anabasis Alexandri ( VII,26), have prompted some debate as
to dating Sarapis' origin. Tacitus (Historia, IV) gives us
a controversial account of the cult statue's arrival in
Alexandria, as does Plutarch's ever 'useful De Iside et
Osiride (28). In modern commentaries, Wilcken's Urkenden
der Ptolemaerzeit provides some documentation of the god's

early development in a Memphis shrine to Apis.l3 Equally

important is Roussel's Les Cultes Egyptiens a Delos du IIIe

 

13.Wilcken, U., Urkenden der Ptolemaerzeit, (Berlin:
1927,) pg.19.

 

9
a Ier Siecle. This provides the best archaelogical evidence
of Egyptian religion's diffusion into the Aegean island,
which acted as an intermediary between Alexandria and
Rome.14

As for the cults' penetration into Italy, the sources
are again numerous, though scattered. Frequently the
examples offered by the arrival of other foreign faiths can
be instructive in this regard. Livy faithfully provides
general commentaries regarding the religious climate of
Rome, both during the Hannibalic invasion (XXV,1), and
during the Republic's decline (XLIII,13). (Such insights
are sorely lacking in Polybius.) It is also Livy (XXIX,10)
who gives us the major account of Cybele's introduction to
Rome in 205 B.C. Dionysus of Halicarnassus (II,19)
chronicles the debacle surrounding' the arrival of the
Bacchic rites.

Unfortunately, the presence of Sarapis and Isis worship
is not as clearly documented at this early stage. Much
detective work must be applied to the shadowy references to
slaves, painters and other Alexandrians living in Rome
during the, early second century B.C. ‘Valerius Maximus

(IX,14,3) tells us of a slave named "Serapio" living in the

 

14.Roussel, P., Les Cultes Egyptiens a Delos du IIIe a
Ier Siecle, (Paris: 1916); for an excellent treatment of the
Egyptian cults' diffusion into Greece, see Thomas Brady's
"The Reception of the Egyptian Cults by the Greeks, (330—30
B.C.)," in University of Missouri Studies, vol. 10,
(Columbia Missouri: 1935).

10
city in 138 B.C. In Epistulae ad Atticum (XI,4;X,17,1),
Cicero also provides similar information. Likewise with
Pliny, Naturalis Historia (VII,10;XXI,7).

The late Roman Republic is not much better. The period
of Marius and Sulla offer little hard evidence. Plutarch
(Marius, XVII:XXXI,1) tells us of Marius' receptiveness to
the Syrian gods, and of Sulla's odd name of Felix

(Sulla,IX,6). Regarding the turmoil surrounding the cult of

 

Isis during the fifties and forties, Cicero's _D_e Dong) Sua
(33,89), De Legibus (II,8), and De Haruspicum Responsis
(II), all provide candid, eloquent and hostile insights.
Contemporary fragments from Varro have been preserved in
Tertullian's second century A.D. work Ad Nationes (1,10,18),
while Tertullian himself reports on incidents in
Apologeticus (VI,8).

More substantial evidence marks the final decades of
the first century B.C., and then the reign of Augustus.
Cassius Dio (43), Suetonius (Caesar, 76) and Appian (M
Civilia, 2, 148), report Caesar's flirtation with
hellenistic style monarchy. Similarly, Plutarch (Antony
50:54,6) tells us of Antony's flirtation with deification.
Moreover, the religious overtones of Actium are implied in
Virgil's Aeneid (VII,675-713). For the events of the
Principate, Suetonius and Cassius Dio continue to be the
most thorough sources. Dio (51,16;52,36) and Suetonius

(Augpstus, 93) tell us of Augustus' attempt to restore to

11
Rome her traditional religion. Here we also read of
Augustus' penchant for Apollo (Suetonius, epgpeppe,
18,70:Cassius Dio,53,1,3), which is sometimes said to reveal
the seeds of Emperor worship.

Sources offer still more solid information for the
remainder of the Julio-Claudian period. Indeed, although
there is scant reference to Egyptian deities, it is probably
safe to assume the gods were thriving peacefully. But this
was not always the case. A variety of sources refer to the
persecution of Jewish and Egyptian believers in A.D. 19.
Of these, Suetonius' Tiberius (36) and ‘Tacitus' Annales
(II,85), merely report the persecution. From Flavius
Josephus (Antigpates Judaicae, XVIII,65-85) however, we read
the rather dubious tales allegedly compelling the
governmental actions.

With Caligula, there is also much evidence, though it
is still not enough, and must be pieced together from
sporadic and often casual references. It seems clear the
Emperor was fond of oriental faiths, especially Egyptian.
Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride reports that Gaius
established the Isiac festivals in Rome (13).
Archeological evidence has also revealed a room under the
Palatine, full of Egyptian religious iconography. Datum
from the excavation have been recorded in Monumenti della
pittura antica, Rome: IL. Le pitture dell'aula isiaca de

Caligola, a work produced in 1936. Seneca (De

12
Tpengpillitepe Apimi 14,9) notes the ritual sacrifices of
exotic birds he performed daily. Flavius Josephus (Flavius
Josephus, Anti itates Judaicae, XIX) gives accounts of the
bizarre compulsions of the Emperor. These fragmented bits
of evidence have prompted many questions regarding
Caligula's religious beliefs.

Precious little information is given regarding Isis and
Sarapis in Rome during this period. Hence, studies are
dependent.<n1 more general imperial attitudes regarding the
foreign cults. Many of the same sources are relevant for
our study of religions during the reign of Claudius.
Suetonius (Claudius, 22, 1) and Tacitus (Annales, 11, 15),
state that Claudius sought a return to Augustan religious
policy. Moreover, Cassius Dio (40, 6, 6-7) asserts that the
new emperor abolished the colleges, while Flavius Josephus
(Antigpitates Judaicae, XIX, 5, 3) speaks of Claudius'
desire for religious toleration. Josephus (Bellum Judaicum,
7), and. Tacitus' Annales (14, 31) report 'the ‘temple to
dedicated to the Emperor at Camuldonum, in Britain. A
vaguely documented persecution of the Jews also occurred
during this period, probably the one mentioned in Acts,
18:2. It is mentioned all too briefly, by Suetonius
(Claudius, 25) and Cassius D10 (60, 6, 6).

For Nero, there are again few overt references to Isis
and Sarapis, but some to general religious activity. By

now, the Egyptian deities were a dominant force in Roman

13

theism. Suetonius and Tacitus provide our major accounts of
the Neronian period. From Suetonius' biography Nepg (56),
we read that the Emperor harbored no particular love for any
religion. Eusebius (Praepartio Evangelica III, 4), asserts
that one of Nero's teachers had been Chaeremon of
Naucratis, a former director of the library at Alexandria.
The Einsiedeln Ecologues (4,5,87), based on a tenth century
text and published in 1879, are often attributed to Nero's
contemporary Calpurnicus Siculus, though this cannot be
proven.15 In these fragments, Nero is depicted as the sun,
which some scholars have interpreted as a return to the
hellenistic style monarchy flirted with by Antony and ‘
Caligula.

The various sources are insufficient to respond
satisfactorily to the important questions concerning Isis
and Sarapis in Rome. Yet when extant evidence is gathered
into a cohesive whole, the dominant western fascination for

oriental deities is more than clear.

 

15.Poetae Latini Minores, ed. by E. Baehrens, 5 vols.,
1879-83, iii.

THE PENETRATION INTO ITALY

In 1960, P.M. Fraser published "Two Studies on the Cult
of Sarapis in the Hellenistic World."1 .The article has had
a major impact. While providing fresh insights on many
specific levels, perhaps Fraser's most sweeping achievement
was to drive the final coffin. nail into the embattled
imperialistic theory. This theory had declared that Sarapis
was invented by Ptolemy I. The cult's immediate popularity
was then used by the monarch to achieve a more facile
control of his subjects. The imperialistic theory produced
a great litany of believing scholars.2 While few doubted
the cult's genuine appeal, a good bit of emphasis was still
placed on the function of political intercourse between
nations. One such historian was the great French scholar
Franz Cumont, who ‘wrote that "1'action politique de la
dynastie égyptienne tendait a faire reconnaitre partout des

divinités dont 1a gloire etait en quelque sort liée a celle

 

1.Fraser, P.M., "Two Studies on the Cult of Sarapis in
the Hellenistic World," Opuscula Atheniensia, 3 (1960) 1-54.

2.Not all scholars have viewed the issue in black and
white terms. Vidman wrote that "aber nicht einmal diese
antiimperialistische Theorie, obwhol sie in der letzen Zeit
einen grossen Biefall gefunden hat, ist allgemein anerkannt.
Die Wahrheit liegt etwa in der’ Mitte: Die ptolemaische
Herrschaft erméglichte doch das Eindringen des Kultes in
fremde Lander, auch wenn man von keinem direkten Eingriff
aus der Macht sprechen darf." Vidman, Ladislav, "Isis und

Sarapis," in Die Orientalischen Religionen im Romerreich.
ed. by Maarten J. Vermaseren, (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1981), 123.

14

15

de leur maison."3 Similarly, Thomas Brady asserts that
"While Isis and Ammon were brought to Athens by Egyptians
living in the Peiraeus for business reasons, Sarapis came in
largely as a result of political events."4

Fraser, however, declares that "the theory of Ptolemaic
inspiration must be abandoned in its entirety. The cult
spread spontaneously, unaffected by' political factors."5
He goes on to assert; "the cult of Sarapis was spread in the
main through private action, by traders, mercenaries,
priests and travellers who had acquired a personal interest
in the cult."6 The article concludes by wondering if the
cult was not, in fact, resisted by various states, merely
because it represented Alexandria.7

I will use Fraser's basic assumptions as a framework
with which to examine the cult of Sarapis in Republican
Italy, focusing on two basic questions: When did the god
reach Italy, and how did this development happen? A

subsidiary question involves the extent to which Roman

 

3.Cumont, Les Religions Orientales, 74.
4.Brady, 21-22.

5.Fraser, 47.
6.ibid., 49.

7."The cult was evidently no more popular in Ptolemaic
possessions than elsewhere, indeed rather the reverse. The
situation in Cyprus and Cyrene may well make one wonder
whether there was not a resistance to the cult in Ptolemaic
possessions, just because Sarapis symbolized Alexandria."
Fraser, 46-49.

16
politics effected he spread of the god onto the Italian
peninsula.

Three central themes seem evident. First, the
religious evolution described by Fraser occurred in Rome
after the Second Punic War. During this period the trickle
of evidence concerning Sarapis becomes more substantial.
Second, the cult was indeed spread by "traders, mercenaries,
priests and travellers." Finally, the Senate greeted the
Alexandrian cults with suspicion and vainly sought to battle

the encroaching foreign elements in Roman life.
HOW AND WHEN DID THE CULTS COME TO ROME?

A full century ago, French historian Georges Lafaye
wrote a short article entitled "L'Introduction Du Culte De
Sérapis :5 Rome."8 One of the article's more important
assertions was that there was a period between. popular
acceptance of the cult and official awareness of the cult.
This period, according to Lafaye, was between 150-80 B.C.9
However, the conditions affecting change are evident a full
half century earlier -- in the latter years of the Second
Punic War. -

The early second century witnessed great changes in

 

8.Lafaye, Georges, "L'Introduction du Culte de Sérapis

3 Rome," in Revue de l'Histoire des Religions 11 (1885) 327-
29.

9.Lafaye, 328.

17
Italian religion, almost certainly involving the Alexandrian
deities. (In Sicily, the appearance of Sarapis and his
consort Isis occur even earlier.) The first known formal
establishments of the cult appear towards the end of the
second century. By the beginning of the first century
B.C., it was a force to be reckoned with. How much can we
know about this important transformation in Roman religion?

Clearly Isis and Sarapis gained adherents on the
Italian peninsula during the period subsequent to the great
Hannibalic invasion. Indeed, in so many ways, the war was a
watershed in Roman history, and the following decades were
to leave Rome forever changed. The great influx of peoples
coming into Italy permanently altered the social and
economic structure of what had heretofore been a relatively
homogeneous world. The political effect of these
developments accounted for' the rise of the Gracchi and
culminated in the very downfall of the Republic itself. Yet
the impact upon religion was no less pivotal and no less
significant.

But we must first consider Sicily. The island has
revealed much important evidence concerning Isis and
Sarapis' arrival in Italy. As with the Italian peninsula
itself, dating the god's diffusion into Sicily has sparked
debate. Moreover, the problem is something of a double
edged sword. There is not only the question of just when

the god came to the island, but also the problem of

18
ascertaining the degree to which Sicily served as an
intermediary between the Alexandrian deities and Rome.

For many years scholars assumed that the Alexandrian
deities were introduced to the West by the Syracusan tyrant
Agathocles. Gaining control of Syracuse in 317 B.C.,
Agathocles' expansionist policies soon made him a
Hellenistic style monarch over much of eastern Sicily.
Around 300 the tyrant. wed the. daughter of Ptolemy II,
Theoxena. During the heyday of the imperial theory, when
scholars generally assumed that Ptolemaic policy purposely
nurtured the cult of Sarapis, the wedding of Agathocles and
Theoxena was seen as the point of contact between Sarapis,
Isis and the West.10

This notion was first introduced by Wilcken, whose work
is still generally regarded as the seminal force in modern
studies of Sarapis. Aside from offering what remains the
accepted view concerning the god's origins, Wilcken forged
the imperialistic theory and with it, the notion that
Agathocles had brought Sarapis to Italy.]-1 The weight of
‘Wilcken's reputation persuaded a full generation of
scholars to accept this view. Nock wrote: "it certainly

does appear that Agathocles introduced the worship in Sicily

 

10. For primary source accounts of Agathocles see
Diod. Sic., 19-21; Just., 22-23.

11.Wilcken, Urkunden der Ptolemaerzeit 1, 82.

19
on marrying Ptolemy's daughter."12 Salem also believed that
Alexandrian deities were brought to Italy, "probably in the
train of Theoxena, wife of Agathocles and step-daughter of
Ptolemy Soter."13 Thomas Brady, though voicing some- of
caution, maintained: "literary evidence connects a knowledge
of the cult at least with Agathocles."14 Franz Cumont

accepted the theory as well.15
Fraser's work seems to have all but discredited this
formerly common view. He asks of Brady; "what does he mean
by literary evidence?"16 In citing "literary evidence,"
Brady had referred readers to the Pauly-Wissowa (I, 748-757)
where, in fact, Sarapis is not mentioned at all. Clearly
the Agathocles thesis remains unable to withstand scholarly
scrutiny.17 But Fraser's sweeping assertion that "little of
the evidence for Sicily is anterior to the first century

B.C. and nothing whatsoever connects it with Agathocles,"

 

12.Nock, A.D., Conversion, 55.

13.8alem. "Ennius and the Isiaci Coniectores," in
Journal of Roman Studies 28, (1938) 57-59, 58.

14.Brady, 9.

15.Cumont, Les Religions Orientales, 75.

16.Fraser, pg.47.

17."L'ipotesi che il matrimonio di Agatocle con
Teossena, figliastra di Tblomeo Soter, celebrato intorn al
306 A.C., abbia agevolato la introduzione del culto pubblico
delle divinita egizie in Siracusa appare molto seducente, ma
purtroppo resta indimostrabile...Manganaro, G., "Ricerche di
epigrafia siceliote. I. Per la storia del culto divinita
orientalia in Siclia," Siculorum Gymnasium, XIV,2, (1961),
176

20

has perhaps overstated the point.18 Some of the earliest
evidence for the cult's presence in Italy is found in
Sicily.19

Sarapis and Isis appeared on Sicilian coins in 212
B.C.20 Sometime around this same period, an altar found in
Tauromenium mentions the Alexandrian pair.21 The early date
of the altar and its equation of Isis with Hestia seems to
verify Cumont's assertion that during the heyday of the
Hellenistic age, Sicily was already more than half
hellenized.22 Fraser himself has left the altar's origins
in doubt, claiming that it is either late Hellenistic or
Roman. The general date of the inscription, however, seems
to be a matter of mutual consensus. There also exist coins,

pressed in Catana (Catania) in the early second century,

 

18.1bid., 47.

 

19."Fraser, riassumendo in breve i termini del
problema, riconosce 1a mancanza di elementi concreti che
autorizzino l'attribuzione ad Agatocle di una volonta
politica nel promuovere il culto degli d‘ei egizi. Questa
pur doverosa cautela, peraltro, si accompagna ad una
semplificazione certo eccessiva del problema nella
conclusione che 'little (sc. del ‘materiale sicilano) is
anterior to the first century B.C." Gasparro, Guilia
Sfameni, I Culti Orientali In Sicilia,(Leiden: 1973), 3-4.

20.Manganaro, Giacomo,"Ricerche di antichita e di
epigrafia Sicelote," in Archeologica Classica, 190-91.

21.Heybob, Sharon Kelly, The Cult of Isis Among Women

in the Graeco-Roman World,(Leiden: 1975), 11: Inscriptiones
Graecae(IG),14.443.

22.Cumont, Les Reli ions Orientales, 75.

21

bearing the images of Sarapis and 1515.23 Fraser consulted
E.S.G. Robinson, who ascribed Ia 175 B.C. date to the
coins.24

This relatively substantial body of evidence seems
solidly to refute Fraser's claim that we have little cause
to place the cult of Sarapis in Sicily "anterior to the
first centuryu" :rt is clear that Alexandrian deities were
a presence in Sicily by the end of the third century and
that during the second century the new gods gained a
sizeable number of adherents. By Cicero's time, the great
orator referred to the Serapeum at Syracuse as being the
"celebrimus et religiosissimus locus" of the town.25

If the imperialistic theory is entirely discredited, it
follows that the spread of the gods happened naturally over
a period of years. It follows that the cult of Sarapis must
have existed in Sicily earlier in the third century than
Fraser and others have claimed. At the same time, there
seems to be a general consensus that Sicily played only a
minor role in the diffusion of Sarapis north into Italy.
The Greek city-states on the island had been both more
hellenistic and closer to Alexandria. Hence, they had come
into contact. with the new god first. But except for

Sicilian ports which. served as intermediaries in trade

 

23.Salem, "The Isiaci Coniectores," 58.
24.Fraser, 47.

25.cic., Verr., II. 2.26.

 

' 22
between the East and the West, the link between Egyptian
gods and the Romans must be considered largely separate from
Sicily.26

Yet if the earlier part of the third century had left
Rome relatively unmolested by the dramatic changes sweeping
the East, the calm was at best a temporary respite. The
period's latter’ decades 'were to ‘witness fundamental and
permanent changes in the very fabric of Roman life.

The religious desperation which gripped the Roman
people during the Hannibalic War cannot be overemphasized.
The same is true for' the first. great. waves of foreign
influence. Livy tells us that in 213 B.C. Rome swarmed
with a host of religious Charlatans preying upon fearful
citizens who "were seized with such a passion for
superstitious Observances, and those from the most part
introduced from foreign countries, that either the people or
the gods seem to have undergone a sudden change."27 These
swindlers came to the attention of the authorities, who
strowe to act in the public's behalf. Even at this early
date however, the foreign cults must have been popular. A
group of aediles and triumvirs were physically threatened

upon trying to rid the Forum of these foreign priests. The

 

26."Le roule joue par cette ile (Sicily) dans la
diffusion isaiaque semble donc réduit et de toute facon ne
se serait exercé que par l'intermédiaire de Pouzzoles,
étroitement liée a Syracuse, ou du reste vivaient de tres
nombreux Putéolans." Malaise, Les Cultes Eyptiens, 263.

27. Livy, xxv, I.

23

Senate then took up the task, but probably achieved no more
effective results.28

It is clear that these priests of doubtful integrity
and intention represent the coming torrent's first trickle.
An M.S. Salem article has addressed questions raised by
references to these religious Charlatans haunting the
shadows of the great Roman temples. If correct, his
calculations place adherents of Sarapis' consort Isis
squarely in Rome during the first half of the second century
B.C.29 In question is a reference from Cicero's pe
Divinatione which states "non habeo denique nauci Marsum
augurem, non vicanos haruspices, non de circo astrologos,
non Isiacos coniectores, non interpretes somniorum:"30

Salem points out that early editors of Cicero had often
attributed this passage to the great Roman poet Ennius (239-
136). Admittedly the words are not metrical and it is
senseless to attribute them, literally, to Ennius. Yet
Salem maintains that "the possibility that they contain a
more or less close paraphrase of Ennius is suggested by the

use of 'non habeo...nauci,' a phrase which Cicero never

 

28.M. Aemilio praetori urbis negotium ab senat datum
est, ut eis religionibus opulum liberaret...et edixit
ut...ne quis in publico sacrove loco novo aut externo ritu
sacrificaret.ibid.,XXV,I.

 

29.8a1em, "The Isiaci Coniectores," 57-59.

3°.cic., Div., 1.58.

24

used.31 Moreover, the passage is linguistically Italian
(Marsus augur, de circo astrologi), so Greek. origin is
virtually impossible to claim.32 Salem is not arguing for
the Ennian origin of this Ciceronian passage. Indeed, there
is simply not enough conclusive evidence to do so. The
article's strength lies in its successful refutation of a
school of scholarship which had rejected the passage's
Ennian origin on merely chronological grounds.33 It was
thought that Ennius could have had no knowledge of Isis.

We know, however, that Rome in the early years of the
second century B.C. was well acquainted with alien gods.
We have already noted Livy's account of fraudulent foreign
priests and the Senate's action against them in 213 B.C.
More, the Syrian goddess Cybele, the Magna Mater, was
brought to Rome in 204.34 In 186 the. Greek. rites of
Bacchus, newly introduced, induced such raucous behavior in
the streets that the Senate was compelled to forbid all
further celebration of the rites.35

Salem has asserted that "it is extremely probable that

 

31.Salem, "The Isiaci Coniectores," 56.
32.1bid., 56.

33.Bothe, F.H., Poetae Scenici Latinorum, I
(Halberstadt, 1832), 62 f.

34.Livy, XXIX, 10.
35.Malaise, Les Cultes ‘Egyptiens, 282; for' "Senatus

Consultum de Bacchanalibus" see C.I.L., l, 196 and X, 104;
cf. Dion. Hal., Ant. Rom., II, 19.

25

in the wake of the Isiaci coniectores came the true priests
and pious worshippers."36 It is difficult to believe
otherwise, despite the paucity of evidence. Few if any
religions are greeted by literate contemporaries with full
and immediate documentation. Christianity itself was
scarcely mentioned by non-Christian authors until a century
or so after the death of Christ. Moreover, we have much
evidence concerning the "religious crisis" and heavy influx
of foreign faiths which characterized Rome after the Second
Punic Wars.37 All of the Charlatans listed in the passage
are obscure social misfits, not likely to elicit much
serious consideration from the mainstream of Roman society.
So if arguments are to be posed as to the impossibilty of
the Ennian origin of Cicero's words, chronology should not
be among them. It is entirely possibly, even probable, that
vagabond disciples of Isis were a presence in Rome in the
early second century before Christ.

Indeed, more evidence exists clearly indicating the
presence of individual Alexandrines in Rome during the
second century B.C. From a few scattered bits of literary
evidence, we can piece together an image of the great city's
emerging diverse and cosmopolitan character. The once tiny
town on the Tiber was rapidly becoming the cultural center

of the Mediterranean world. Even by the middle of the

 

36.Salem, "The Isiaci Coniectores," 59.

37.Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 282.

26

second century, we have evidence that Rome harbored artists
from around the ancient world, including Alexandria.38

An important early example comes to us from the account
of Ptolemy' VI Philometer (186-145 B.C.). This monarch
succeeded to the Egyptian throne in 180 and married his
sister Cleopatra II in 175. During’ a power struggle,
Philometer was forced to flee from his brother Ptolemy VIII
Eugertes. His escape brought him to Rome, where he urgently
solicited protection from the Senate. Diodorus tells us,
however, that during his stay in Rome, Philometer felt more
inclined to stay with an Alexandrian artist (Demetrius the
Topographer) living in Italy than with other equally
hospitable Romans.39

More significant is a brief passage in Gaius Valerius
Maximus. Here, we learn that Cornelius Scipio (consul in
138 B.C.), was dubbed "Serapio" because of his striking
resemblance to a slave of the same name.40 Georges Lafaye
notes that the rather "proletarian" label is particularly
ironic, since Cornelius Scipio was a staunch aristocrat who

had led the Optimates' attack on Tiberius Gracchus.41

 

38.Pliny the Elder tells us of a painter named
Serapion.Plin., HN., XXXV, 113.

39.niod. Sic., XXXI, 18.
4°.Val. Max., IX, 14, 3.
41..."le sobriquet de ‘Sérapion,' bien loin d'exposer

Scipion aux risées de la foule, contribua a le rendre
populaire.Lafaye,328-29; cf. Pliny, HN., VII,10 and XXI,7.

 

27
Lafaye concludes that the passage from Valerius Maximus
provides a precise date in the history of religions: by 138
B.C. worshippers of Serapis could be found in Rome -- even
if those worshippers were largely foreign slaves.

In fact, slaves seem to have played a key role in the
cult's initial introduction into Rome. It was only natural
that many of them practiced foreign religions. By the time
of Cicero, such slaves appeared fairly frequently. Cicero
owned a slave named "Egypt," whom he held in high regard.42
Moreover, in a letter to his friend Atticus, Cicero speaks
of a messenger named "Isodorus" who has brought news.43 In
another passage of the letters to Atticus, Cicero refers to
a slave named "Serapion" who is to deliver a message.44

Commerce provided the other important avenue by which
Sarapis came to Italy. The Italians had become massive
consumers of eastern goods.45 The resulting increased
interaction between East and West could only enhance the
cultural exchanges which served to bring Sarapis and Isis to

Rome/3’6 The trade route between Delos and Puteoli seems

 

42.Malaise, Les Cultee Egyptiens, 317; Cic., Fam.,
XVI,1 5,12; Att., VII, 15, I; XII, 37,I; XII,3,2.

 

43.cic., Att., XI,4.
44.cic., Att., X,17,l.

45.Rostovtzeff,M., The Social and Economic History of
the Hellenistic World,(Oxford: 1941), v.2, 918.

46."Des Egyptiens ont pu apporter leurs cultes dans les
villes portuaires, grecques ou italiennes, on 115
s'établissaient, généralement a des fins commerciales;

 

28

particularly crucial. Indeed, this is the very same route
by which the Apostle Paul brought Christianity into Rome.47
As the traditional birthplace of Apollo, Delos was already
an important religious center in the Graeca-Roman world.
The enormously important work of Roussel has revealed much
about the presence of Egyptian cults on the island.48 His
work has shown that Delos housed one of the ancient world's
most thriving cults consecrated to Sarapis and Isis.

There were many sailors on the island. After the
destruction of Corinth in 146 B.C., Delos emerged as one the
Aegean's chief ports. Italian merchants and sailors flooded
Delos.49 Here undoubtedly, many learned of the Alexandrian
deities. 131 one ‘telling' example, an Italian family' on
Delos, the Aemilii, presented a cult idol to the priestly
attendants of Sarapis.50 Isis herself became known as a

protector of navigation. In a has-relief found on a marble

 

c'est des ‘marchands égyptiens' du Pirée, des Eyptiens de
Ertrie;c'est sans doute aussi ce qui se passe en Campanie,
on a Ostie." Dunand, 78.

47.Paul stayed on one of the Cyclades, the string of
islands surrounding Delos. An Alexandrian boat had docked
for the winter. (The boat had the twin deities Castor and
Pollux adorning it as figureheads.) In the spring they set
sail. After brief stops at Syracuse and Rhegium, they
entered Puetoli. From there, it was only a short journey to
Rome.Acts 28: 1-14.

48.Roussel, Les Cultes Egyptiens a Delos.

49.Ferguson, William Scott, Hellenistic Athens:an
Histopical Essey, (New Ybrk: 1969), 355; Iaidlaw, W.A., A
Histopy pf pelos, (Oxford: 1933), 203.

5°.Ferguson, Hellenistic Athens, 395.

 

29
floor, and on a lamp, she is seen giving her coat to a
sailor.51 To the weary seafarer between dangerous voyages,
such an image would seem particularly compelling. After
their long months at sea, the great and beautiful Delian
goddess may indeed have elicited a heartfelt thank-you from
the sailors.

Much of the Italian presence on Delos seems to have
come from Campania, Puetoli in particular. Most of Rome's
imports and exports from the East passed through Puteoli.52
Since Delos was one of the East's major ports, something of
a cultural bond was soon fostered between the two cities.
Writing about 125 B.C., the Roman poet Lucilius described
Puteoli as the "little Delos."53 The oriental cults would
have rapidly arrived in Italy through such direct contact.
Certainly a pool of merchants and sailors would have
established a cult to honor their newfound faiths in the

homeland.54 Moreover, many eastern foreigners had by now

 

51.Bruneau, Phillipe, "Isis Pelagia A Delos," in
Bulletip de ngrespopdance Hellenigpe, 85 (1961) 435—436;
see also, Taylor, Lily Ross, The gulps of Ostie, (Boston:
1912), 71.

52.8trab., 3, 145.,17,793; Plin., flu, 36,70.
53.Luc., Carm. Rel., 111,143.

54."A peine arrivées, elles recontrerent déja -- chose
merveilleuse -- des vieux amis qui leur avaient rendu des
honneurs a Alexandrie, a Delos. Les premier contact fut
facile. Les indigenes se rendaient vite compte que ces
divinités venues d'Orient leur apportainet, en outre des
ceremonies somptueuses exotique, une spiritualité nouvelle,
une conception oecuménique de la religion. Plusieurs se
joignaient aux anciens fideles orientaux." Tran Tam Tinh,

30
certainly come west.

Rome's indigenous population soon acquired a taste for
the incoming oriental cults. At first the new faiths seem
to have taken root in urban areas.55 The more remote rural
areas no doubt remained less influenced by this dramatic
change in Graeca-Roman religion. But in the larger cities
an increasingly exotic blend of world cultures provided that
eclectic allure which had already proved so compelling
throughout the hellenized world. Inn Ostia, a Serapeum was
dedicated in 123 B.C.56 In Campania, the cult also seems to
have been established relatively early. A law in 105 B.C.
provided for the construction of walls in front of a
Serapeum at Puteoli.57

Elsewhere on the peninsula, Sarapis and Isis also seem
to have appeared early in the first century. The fertile
archaeological excavations at Pompeii and Herculaneum have
revealed much evidence concerning the presence of Egyptian

gods in those cities prior to A.D. 79. Still, questions

 

Les Cultee des Divinités Orientales en Campanie: en dehors
de Pompéi, de Stabies et d'Herculanum, (Leiden: 1972), xviii.

 

55.Malaise, Les Cultee Egyptiens, 375.
56.1bid., 243;cf. Taylor, 66.

57.Tinh, Le Culte des Divinités Orientales en
Cam anie,(Leiden: 1972),3;cf. CIL,10.1781; Nock doubts that
the temple in Puteoli was "due in any measure to Italians
returning from Delos," and asserts that most Italians living
on Delos were fairly conservative. But he offers no
evidence whatsoever to support this claim. Nock,
Conversion, 67.

31
remain regarding the cult's initial development during the
Republican period. Neither city has unearthed the wealth of
specific priestly inscriptions or religious documents for
which scholars had. hoped.58 Moreover, while the sites
abound in ‘various statuary’ displaying oriental stylistic
elements, this does not clearly indicate the extent to
which eastern sects flourished as vibrant, living faiths.
During the second century B.C., Italy was flooded with new
trade goods coming from the hellenized world. But Lily Ross
Taylor' warns that. much Egyptian. iconography’ dating from
this period may well have been mere decoration, purchased by

Romans for aesthetic reasons.59
Nonetheless, evidence would seem to indicate the
establishment of Egyptian cults in Pompeii and Herculaneum
by sometime in the early first century B.C. Cumont asserts
that a temple to Sarapis, destroyed by an earthquake in A.D.
62, had been built in Pompeii around 105 B.C. This would

imply the near simultaneous construction of Egyptian temples

 

58."Pompéii est different. Si les autres Cites
abondent en inscriptions, Pompei, elle, est tr‘es avare de
manifestations de ce genre...les murs longeant les rues sont
couverts d'inscrptions politiques et de programmes
électoraux...mais les épigrammes religieux sont bien rares.
Prenait-on les choses sacrées au sérieux, ou 1'éruption du
Vésuve a-t-elle interrompu ici l'enthousiasme religieux qui
se manifestera dans les autres villes d'Italie sous les
Empereurs plus attaches au culte d'Isis." Tran Tam Tinh,

Essei sur le Culte d'Isis a Pompei, (Paris,1964), 9.
59.Taylor, 11.

 

32

in Pompeii and Puteoli.60 Cumont pointed out decidedly
similar architectural styles marking. the two separate
temples. Tran Tam Tinh, however, maintains a slightly more
cautious stance. Citing artistic and architectural style,
he asserts only that evidence of the cult pre-dates Sulla's
founding of the Roman colony there in 80 B.C.61 At
Herculaneum, the evidence is even more problematic. As at
Pompeii, there are virtually no documents or inscriptions
providing specific, literary information.62 However,_ a
wealth of beautiful frescoes and statuary, some depicting
actual religious rites, betrays the existence of an Egyptian
cult, roughly corresponding to that of Pompeii.

Except for Agathocles, the imperialistic theory was
never seriously applied to the cult of Sarapis in Italy.
Nonetheless, an analysis of the cult's initial diffusion
into Italy clearly follows the Hellenistic pattern described
by Fraser and others. The rapid rise of Sarapis in Italy
must be predominantly attributed to his popularity among
the various classes, more vigorous cultural and economic
intercourse and a world increasingly receptive to new and
foreign ideas. What little role the state actually played

was negative, reactionary and even repressive. The

 

6°.Cumont, Les Religions Orientales, 76.

61.Tran Tam Tinh, Le Culte des Divinités Orientales a
Hepculaneum, (Leiden: 1971), 10.

62.ibid., 4.

 

33
penetration of Sarapis and Isis into Italy was clearly a

product of popular culture.

THE ORIENTAL ALLURE

The turbulent years following Hannibal's invasion were
marked by a major infusion of foreign elements into Latin
culture. This trend continued after the war, with foreign
slaves and merchants playing a key role. By the final
decades of the second century, the cults of Sarapis and Isis
had gained adherents among the native population. In the
early first century B.C., Egyptian cults could be found in
some of Italy's largest and most important cities. This
religious evolution would continue throughout the latter
decades of the Republican period.

But why did these Egyptian cults prove so hypnotically
attractive? In order to answer this question, we must‘
examine mystery cults in general and the Egyptian faiths in
particular.

Mystery and religion cannot be separated. The dogged
belief that there is some reality beyond man's ability to
rationally understand comprises the very core of theism.
When a faith loses that element of the miraculous and the
unknown, the people turn elsewhere. This is what happened
in Rome. The mystery cults were the dominant faiths of
later paganism because they offered the most vibrant divine
experience. The great deities of the Italian past continued
to play an important role in civic tradition. But it was
the new and exotic foreign sects which compelled the most
zealous segments of Roman society. Here, the common man or

34

35
woman experienced the full fascination of religious
excitement.

The final decades of the Republic were marked by
increased apathy toward the traditional faith. Franz
Altheim rightly notes that "towards the close of the
Republic, then, things had reached such a pitch that the
attention of the age was diverted not only from the
principal figures of the Greek world of gods, but also from
the revered institutions of native Roman religion."1 The
great Capitoline temple was burnt in 83 B.C., and was not
fully restored for twenty-one years.2 Cicero also
describes the Roman mood at this time as indifferent. He
tells us that the old cults had become largely irrelevant in
practical affairs. The auspices were mere pawns in
political struggles, and the augural discipline was no
longer favored with widespread respect.3 Similarly, Livy
frankly concedes that by the first century B.C., men no
longer believed that gods could disclose future events.4

It seems apparent that Roman society had encountered

 

1.Altheim, Franz,A History of Roman Religion,trans. by
H. Mattingly, (London:1938), 331.

2.Nock,A.D.,"Religious Development from the close of
the Republic to the Reign of Nero," in Cambridge Ancient
History,10, 496.

3.Cic., D_iv., I, 16, 29; see also Lily Ross Taylor's
fine chapter "Manipulating the State Religion," in Party
Politics in the; Age of Caesar, (Berkley: University of
California Press, 1964), 76-97.

 

4.Livy,XLIII,13,I.

.5”...

36

another religious crisis, equal in scope to the one just
following the Second Punic Warn The earlier 'watershed
however, had produced an infusion of new deities, like the
Magna Mater and the Bacchus rites. But, according to
scattered literary references, the new theological climate
now verged on agnosticism. Was this in fact the case? Only
to a degree. Certainly Rome at this time was developing the
kind of intellectual cynicism which had gripped Greece a few
centuries earlier. Sophisticated hellenistic philosophies
were serving to undermine the legitimacy of the traditional
deities. Yet other evidence clearly indicates what was, in
fact, a renewed religious zeal among several sectors of
Roman society. Moreover, these newfound religious feelings
manifested themselves in a virtual rejection of the old
gods, and a hearty embracing of the new eastern sects.

This great shift was characterized and facilitated by
the development of syncretism. Syncretism was the practice
of fusing two or' more formerly distinct gods into. one
relatively homogeneous whole. In point of fact, it was
little more than an intermediate phase in the blurry
transition between polytheism and monotheism. Frequently,
the merged deities hailed from what had been vastly
different cultures and geographical regions. In the late
centuries of antiquity, syncretism provided Mediterranean
religion with an increasingly universal quality. Certainly

this paved the way for the monotheism which evolved.

.~__-__. .

 

37

The Egyptian gods Sarapis and Isis are among the best
examples of this fascinating phenomenon.5 Both had their
origins in the ancient faiths of the Nile. Isis was an
important goddess from the old Pharonic faith. She was
given hellenized features by the Greeks. The origins of
Sarapis were more complex. The generally accepted theory
asserts that he was a fusion of the god Osiris and the Apis
bull.6 Upon the death of each Apis, the bull's spirit was
believed to merge into the more generalized soul of Osiris.
Eventually, workers building the tombs housing the mummified
Apis bulls began worshipping the dead beasts proper.
Consequently, a new collaboration between the two gods was
created, called Osiris-Apis. When the Macedonians came to
rule Egypt, the term was bastardized to "Osarapis," and
finally, "Sarapis."7

As would the Christian church only a few centuries

 

5."Serapis offre a chacun l'aspect ou philosophique
qu'il desire." Bonneau, Danielle, La Crue du Nile: Divinité
Egyptienne a travers mille ane d'histoire (3;; av. 641 an.
J.C., (Paris: Libraire C. Klinck Sieck, 1964), 321;"It (the
Isiac faith) was, or at least it became, a complex religion
with a wealth of mythological, philosophical, and
eschatological elements which, though never systematized and
brought into agreement, yet offered to all classes of
believers something which their religious aspirations
craved." LaPiana, "Foreign Groups in Rome," in Harvard

Theological Review, 20, (1927), 303.

6.For information on the Apis bull, see Diod. Sic.,
84,85,88,96.

7.Wilcken, Urkenden der Ptolemaerzeit, 19; Bevan, E.R.,
The Houee of Ptolemy: a hietorv of EQVDt under the
Ptolemaic d nast ,(Chicago:Argonaut, 1927), 40-41.

38

later, the Egyptian cults cut across political and cultural
lines, greatly contributing to the period's new and
eclectic zeitgeist.8 This enabled newly-created deities
like Sarapis and Isis to undermine established paganism.

By the later Imperial Period, Lucius, in The Golden Ass, was
warmly greeted as a fellow disciple of Isis in both Rome and
Africa.9 .Apuleius also describes a 'procession of. Isis
devotees comprised of men and women of all ages and class
(viri feminaeque omin dignitatis et omnis aetatis).10 This
egalitarian quality appealed to the mass populace. Many
inscriptions reveal that most adherents of the Egyptian
cults in Rome were freedmen and poor people of oriental

extraction.11 Similarly, both LaPiana and Cumont point out

 

8."There is no doubt that the adherents of the cult of
Isis throughout the Empire had a certain consciousness of
forming a religious unit, distinct from all others and in
their opinion better than these because their religion
claimed to be a superior and universal synthesis of the
whole religious wisdom of the past. The Isiac believer and
initiate was received, wherever he went, by the
confraternities of his religion without distinction of race
or caste." LaPiana, 337.

9.Apu1., Met., XI,29.

10.1bid.,XI, 29;cf. Schmitt, Paul, "The Ancient
Mysteries in the society of their time, their transformation
and most recent echoes," in The Mysteriee: Papers from the
Eranos Yearbooke, ed. by Joseph Campbell, (NeW' Jersey:
Princeton University Press, 1955), 93-119.

11.C.I.L. VI, 2247;0f the early Imperial Period LaPiana
wrote: "Toward Rome, where the Egyptian gods had splendid
temples and shrines, patronized by the emperors, served by
numerous priests and officials and. Isiac. societies, and
worshipped by a motley throng of foreigners, slaves and
freedmen, as well as by ladies of the old and new Roman
aristocracy, the eyes of all devotees of the goddess

39

the Isiacs called themselves "soldiers," and were part of a
collective community.12 This is similar to imagery and
custom employed by early Christians.13

Egyptian religion had not been altogether unknown to
the Romans, even in far earlier’ periods. Early Greek
colonies on the peninsula have displayed some awareness of
the Nile's ancient deities. Greek colonial sites at Cumae
and Ischia have unearthed scarabs, referring to Ammon or
Ammon-Ra, buried in the graves of children.14 These
scarabs date from. between the eighth and sixth century
B.C.15 By and large however, Egypt's bizarre deities were
seen as strange and even repulsive by the Graeco-Romans. In
a. world. where. gods had evolved into human-like beings,
eastern animism seemed crude and primitive. Western culture
was steeped in the glory and brilliance of Apollo, or the
sensual and erotic heat of Aphrodite. The idea of
worshipping dog-headed Anubis must have seemed little less
than appalling.

We know, however, that the Egyptians were extremely

 

throughout the Empire were turned." LaPiana, "Foreign
Groups in Rome," pg.308; see also, 292.

12.LaPiana, 357; cf. Cumont, Les Religions Orientales,
156.

13.See St. Paul's use of this imagery in 1 Cor. 9:7;
Philippians, 2:25;2 Tim. 2:3-4;Phil, 1:2.

14.Tinh, Divinitiés Orientales en Campanie, 1.

15.1bid., 1.

40

serious about the worship of animals. Diodorus Siculus
tells us that anyone unfortunate enough to kill a cat in
Egypt would pay with his life.16 Similarly, Herodotus
asserts than anyone who killed an ibis or a falcon, even
unintentionally, had to die.17 Indeed, the ibis was a
particularly important image in Egyptian religious
iconography. The sacred bird has been linked with other
gods, including Isis and Osiris.18 Ibises are depicted on
two frescoes at Herculaneum, walking in the scene of a holy
shrine.19

These customs clearly offended the more pious holders
of the Graeco-Roman tradition. Even in the imperial period,
when Egyptian religion had gained more widespread

acceptance, sardonic Juvenal would still write:

What won't those mad Egyptians use for Gods?
One district worships the green crocodile,
another ibises gorged full on snakes,

and in another, apes are still the style...
Here cats, there riverfish are thought divine,
dogs tool but our Diana gets no mention

where eating leeks and onions are made sin.

 

16.Diod. Sic., I, 83.
17.Hdt., 2, 65.

18.In Egypt, probably more than four million of these
birds were mummified and interred in the Necropolis north of
Saggarah. They were embalmed at the rate of about 10,000
annually. Smelik, K.A.D., "The Cult of the Ibis" in Studies
in Hellenistic Reli ions, ed. by M.J. Vermaseren, (Leiden:
E.J. Brill, 1979), 225-243.

19.Tran Tam Tinh, Les Cultes a Herculaneum, cat. no
58,59 (fig. 40,47).

41

How shrewd to make a shrine of one's own garden.20

But if certain elements of Egyptian religion were
offensive to mainstream western culture, other aspects could
seem particularly attractive. The Nile gods represented one
of mankind's most ancient faiths, undoubtedly shrouded in as
much mystery then as now. Drifting sand had already begun
to bury the majestic temples, lending an ancient air of
mysticism to the old holy places.21 Moreover, a pleasing
aesthetic quality permeated Egyptian art which, as we have
already noted, was a frequent presence in Italy. Statues
were often imported from the Alexandria or sculpted in
conscious imitation of Egyptian style.22 Still, the
diffusion of Isis and Sarapis 'would. probably' have been
impossible without the. creation of hellenized iconography
for the deities. For example, the well-known statue of
Sarapis (frequently attributed to the sculptor _Bryaxis)

offered an austere hellenistic exterior.23 'Ehis Ihelped

 

20.Juv. _Sa_t_., XV, "Those Mad Egyptians,: trans. by
Jerome Mazzaro, Ann Arbor, 1965;Cumont notes that "Parmi les
vegetaux, l'oignon est particulierement sacré. La raison
supposée en est qu'il provoque le ‘flatus ventris,‘ c'est a
dire l'expulsion des demons malfaisants avales avec la
nourriture." Cumont, Les Religions Orientales, 74., ff.
#11.

21.8trab., XVII,32.
22.Tinh, Isis a Pom ei, 4.
23.Amelung, W., "Le Sérapis de Bryaxis," in Revue

Archeologigpe, II, (1903), 1759; Cumont asserts that the
statue was "...fut une des dernieres creations divine du

42

homegenize Egyptian religion while managing to preserve
those foreign features which Romans found attractive.24

Yet in many important ways, the cults were to retain
their Egyptian flavour, far into the Imperial Period.
LaPiana reminds us that "the Hellenistic cult, though it
made use of the Greek language, remained essentially an
Egyptian cult and kept its traditional rites and
ceremonies.”5 He notes that Roman inscriptions indicate
that the sacred objects of the holy temples were generally
maintained by Alexandrians and Egyptians.26 Thomas Brady
points out that the Egyptian spelling of the Sarapis' name
always remained Egyptian.27 Apuleius also reveals that the
cults did not relinquish significant portions of their
Egyptian heritage. In Metamor hoses, his hero Lucius meets
up with an Isiac priesthood obviously well-versed in
Egyptian language and custom. LaPiana asserts that this
implies that an intimate knowledge of ancient Egyptian

ritual and liturgies was necessary to become a priest of the

 

genie hellénique. La téte majestuese, d'une expression a la
fois sombre et bienveillante...rappelait le double caractere
du dieu qui régnait a la fois sur la terre feconde et sur ,
1e lugubre royaume des morts." Cumont, Les Religions
Orientales, 72.

24.Amelung, 1759.

25.Lapiana, 305.

26.C.I.L., XIV,352;c.f. C.I.G., 5973, XIV-917.

27.Brady, 10.

43

sect.28

The new deities of the age were often accompanied by
the miraculous and the bizarre, the dark and scandalous.
Sarapis himself had been born in an ancient Memphis tomb
and was frequently associated with death, the -greatest
mystery of all. This was a logical extension. of his
connections ‘with. Osiris.29 Diodorus. Siculus notes 'that
Sarapis was equated with both Osiris and Pluto, the Greek
god of the underworld.30 Pdutarch's important De Iside et
Osipide refers to the death aspect of Sarapis, and links the
god with Pluto/Hades.31 Similarly, there were those in
Plutarch's day who believed the word Sarapis literally meant

"coffin of Apis."32 A worshipper of Sarapis was considered

 

28.Apul., Met., XI,22; LaPiana, 305.

29.We are also told of some attempts to make Osiris
the son of Zeus and an Egyptian girl from Thebes.cf. Diod.
Sic., On Egypt, 25; "Serapis et Osiris furent ou identique
des l'origine, ou identifes immediatement." Cumont, Lee

Religions Orientales, 70.

3°.Diod. Sic., On E t, 25.

31.Plut., De Ie. et O§., 28.

32.1bid.,XXIX; Diodorus tells of an ancient link
between Osiris and the Apis bull. This focuses on the
famous tale of Osiris' dismemberment. According to this
account, Isis gathered up all the various pieces save her
husband's reproductive organ. She then delivered one to
each Egyptian district for burial. Individual priests were
instructed to choose a local animal to represent Osiris, and
the Apis bull was selected as a more universal embodiment of
the god.cf. Diod. Sic., On Egypt,XXI,XXII;cf. August. E
civ. D, XVIII, 5.

44

an omen of Alexander the Great's death.33 Moreover,
Apuleius describes rituals overtly centering on death.34
His Greek adherents often depicted Sarapis with wheatstalks
and Cerebus (the afterlife and fertility).35

Closely linked to this death aspect were strange
rituals of which we know but little. Such secret mysteries
undoubtedly added greatly to the shadowy, exotic allure of
the eastern cults. Our best source for information in this
regard is Apuleius. His protagonist Lucius is transformed
into an ass after seducing a powerful sorceress' young
servant. Seeking' to regain. his original shape, Lucius
encounters Isis and the vast network. of her followers.
After the goddess restores his human form, Lucius becomes a
fervent devotee, undergoing initiation into her cult. The
ceremony clearly involved some rite of symbolic death.

Lucius tells us that he entered the threshold beyond death,

 

33.Plut., Alex., LXXVIII;cf. Arr. Anab.,‘ VII,26.
Sarapis is now believed to have made his appearance during
the early years of Ptolemaic reign in Egypt. Hence, his
appearance in Persia during the campaigns of Alexander seems
anachronistic. This account has led some to believe that
Sarapis was really the Babylonian deity "Shar-Apsi."(cf.
Cumont, Les Religions Orientales, 70) More plausible is
the theory that the deity referred to in the narratives was
some now unknown god whom men of Plutarch's or Arrian's time
would have equated with Sarapis.Stambauugh,John, Sarapis
under the Early Ptolemies, (Leiden:E.J. Brill, 1972), 9-
11;cf. Brenk, Frederick, In Miet Apparelled: Religious
Themes in Plutarch's Moralia and Livg,‘ (Leiden: Lugdini
Batavorum, 1977), 198.

34.Apu1., Met., XI,23.

35.Hani, Jean, "Sarapis Dieu Solaire," in Revue des
Etudes Grecgpes, I, 83 (1970), 52.

45

where he encountered and worshipped many gods.36 The next
day he emerged and was presented to onlookers in brightly
colored, exotic garb, decorated with flowers and various
animals. In his right hand was a torch. Most important, on
his head he ‘wore an impressive headdress, implying the
radiant sun.37

Evidently this ritual symbolized some kind of death and
resurrection. Earlier, in chapter 21, Apuleius had referred
to the initiation ceremony as a "voluntary death."38 (The
ceremony itself is, in theory, not entirely unlike the
coffin rituals involved in modern masonic liturgy.)
Moreover, the Lucius account clearly brings to mind St.
Paul's imagery regarding the Christian's death to self and
subsequent rebirth.39 Also, the ritual described in
Metamorphoses bears some connection to an Egyptian myth
concerning the death and resurrection of Osiris. This
important. myth. comes to 'us from. Plutarch's De Ieide et
Osiride.4o As a mortal Pharaoh, Osiris is tricked by
enemies into lying down 111:: coffin, whereupon the lid is
suddenly sealed and the entire box thrown into the Nile.

Isis ultimately retrieves her brother/husband, and Osiris

 

35.Apu1., pee., X1,23.
37.;p1g.,x1,24.

33.;p;g.,x1,21.

39.Romans, 6:5-11; I Cor. 15:42.

40.Plut., De Is. et 08., 11-15.

 

46

becomes a major god of both fertility and the afterlife.
Plutarch asserts that one of Osiris' first acts was to bring
cultivation to the barren land.41 Hence, the mythological
link between funerary rites and resuscitation.42

Another important component of the initiation ritual
described by Apuleius are symbolic references to the sun.
The sun was a traditional part of the Egyptian afterlife.
The Egyptians believed that the sun traveled through the
underworld at night. This corroborates the blinding and
brilliant image of the spirit realm which Lucius narrates.43
Moreover, Sarapis was also frequently linked with the sun.
Weber has asserted that Sarapis was initially considered a
son of the god Helios, then a manifestation of. Helios
himself.44 Indeed, there was an entire sub-sect of Sarapis

centering around the sun. Perhaps the crucial account of

 

41.ibid., 13.

 

42.Also from Plutarch we learn that a holy ceremony
marked the flooding of the Nile. In the holy rites, a jar of
Nile water headed a procession honoring Osiris and
fertility. Moreover, at the "Pamylia" festival, a statue
wielding a greatly exaggerated phallus was carried. This
iconography seems to have been related to the Osiris
myth.Plut., De Ie. et O_s_., 36;see also, Peuckert, Will-
Erich, Geheimkulte, (New York: Georg Olms Verlag, 1984),
497.

43.Apu1., Met., XI,23.

44.Weber, Drei untersuchungen zur égyptischgreischer
Reli ion, 1911, 8; "On a pensé pendant longtemps avoir

affaire la a une conception purement grecque et sans racine
dans la théologie égyptienne...(mais) Sarapis avait d'bord
été fils d'Helios, comme Osiris, son modele, avait été fils
de Ré et, a l'epoque tardive, etait devenu Ré. Sarapis, en
somme avait suivi 1e méme chemin." Hani, 52.

 

47

the solar cult comes to from Rufin's Eeeleeieepigel
Histopy(XI,23). Each year, on a certain day following the
Nile's annual flood and the New Year, a festival was held at
Alexandria. The temple was structured so that at a precise
moment in this festival, a single ray of sunshine would
strike the god's image, which normally was nestled in
shadows and darkness. Hani argues that this ceremony
symbolically united Sarapis with the sun. In terms of
Egyptian theology, the deities of Osiris and Re had been
merged.45

Other important attributes gave the eastern gods
tremendous appeal among Graeco-Roman adherents. Clearly the .
mysteries were the faiths which brought exciting new tales
of mystic dreams, visions and other miraculous occurrences.
The older pagan deities had their glories as well, but those
days were now well into the past. The pantheon had become
too associated with the literary and the traditional. The
new faiths now seemed to promise the most tangible
benefits.

Mystic dreams and miracles were common themes among the
mystery cults. Often these are linked to the founding of a
new sect, or the establishment of a temple in a new

location. Earlier centuries had had miraculous accounts

 

45."Le sens d'un tel rite est Clair. IE1 s'agissait,
en somme, d'une reanimation de la statue, d'une ‘unio
mystica' de Sarapis avec son pere, c'est a dire, en terms de
theologie égyptienne, d'Osiris avec Ré." Hani, 53.

48

rendered to lend credibility to Greek or Roman gods.46 The
new Hellenistic deities continued this trend.47 Both
Tacitus and Plutarch, for example, offer miraculous accounts
of Ptolemy I's introduction to Sarapis.48 Both these
accounts describe a beautiful supernatural figure who
appeared before the monarch and asks that his image be
transported from a temple in Sinope.

These factors combined to give the Alexandrian cults
the appeal necessary for widespread acceptance. Initially
however, the cults' popularity was dispersed chiefly among
the lower stratum of Roman society. The gods had come to
Italy on the backs of foreign slaves and the merchant
class. They soon gained a following among native Italians,
albeit not necessarily the upper classes. Concerning the
cult of Isis, Cumont has wryly noted that it was first

popular among "les femmes pour qui l'amour est une

 

45.Reportedly, miracles were often involved in the
establishment of new cults or significant changes in
religious custom. For example, Castor and Pollux are
introduced at the Battle of Lake Regillus (Livy, 2:20;42,5;
cf. Dion. Hal., Ant. Rom., 6:13,1-2.). Mithras was said to
have been born from a rock (Jerome, Adversus Iovinianum,
1,7). Similarly, Christianity offers Peter's ‘vision. at
Joppa to sanction the eating of unclean food among the Jews
(Acts 10: 9-29).

47.There are these kinds of mystic elements in the
biblical writings of Luke, who was himself a hellenized Jew.
eg., Luke 1:8-13, 3:25-27, 24; Acts 9:3-10, 16:6-1l;see
also, John 20: 19-26. Consider also Paul: "Lo! I tell you a
mystery." I Cor. 15:51.

48.Tac., His., 1v, 83;Cf. Plut., De Is. et 05., 28.

49

profession."49 This corroborates what we know from Strabo
concerning the existence of prostitutes in Egyptian
temples.50 Indeed, the practice was not at all unknown in
other eastern religions. The Bible frequently mentions this
custom, particularky in conjunction with Baal. Similarly,
the poet Catullus (c.84 B.C.-c.54 B.C.) has recorded that
the new cults attracted young women, not all of whom
reflected virtue and piety.51 In one poem, he tells of an
encounter with a young woman. Enamored with her in an
openly flippant way, he brashly and falsely proclaims his
ownership of a crew of litter bearers. The young
enchantress is impressed but nonetheless opportunistic.
"Aw please Catullus," she begs. "Just a little while, lend
me your boys. I'd kinda like to ride down to Sarapis'
temple."52 Written sometime in the mid first century B.C.,
Catallus' poem reflects the cult's growing popularity -- at
least among some segments of the populace.

In fact, the tendency of the eastern cults to offer an
element of sexual voyeurism is significant. The existende

of prostitutes in the temples undoubtedly was highly

 

49.Cumont, Les Religions Orientales, 84.
5°.Strab., XVI, 1, 20, 745.

51.Solmsen, Friedich,Isis among thengreeks and
Romans,Cambridge, 1979, 28;for a more thorough discussion
of morality in Egyptian cults, particularly that of Isis,
see Heybob, 111-127.

52.Catullus. Gaius Valerius Catullus:the Complete
Poetry,10:26, trans. by Frank Copley, Ann Arbor, 1957.

50

repulsive to some, highly compelling to others. But at the
very least, the practice seems to have produced a new zeal
for religion.53 Simultaneously damning the shrines of the
Great Mother, Ceres and Isis, Juvenal wonders in what temple
women did not offer themselves for sale.54 Such evidence
supports the denigrating view of the mysteries in general;
that they were too frequently mere excuses for indulging in
the exotic sensuality associated with the East. This is
somewhat similar'tx) accusations contemporaries launched at
the early Christian church.55

In point of fact, sexual titillation may have been part
of the allure described by Cumont. This corroborates many
popular conceptions, and probably misconceptions, about what
constitutes the exotic flavour of eastern mysticism.

Plutarch tells us that Isis embodies the cosmic female force

 

53.Heybob notes that, in fact, the cult of Isis came to
encourage chastity in young women. She asserts that
Propertius (2.33,2.) and Tibullus (1.3, 25-26.) both
describe ten day periods of sexual abstinence which women
adherents of the goddess would observe. Moreover,
Herodotus tells us that it was the Egyptians who first spoke
against having intercourse with a woman in a temple, and
encouraged people to wash themselves after sex before
entering' holy places.(Hdt., 2.64.) Her point is well-
taken. But, particularly for the cult's early days in Rome,
there is much more evidence to support the other extreme.
Heybob, 116.

54.Juv., Sat., 9, 22—25.

55.Benko, Stephen,Pagan Rome and the Early Christians,
(Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1984); cf.

Macmullen, Ramsay, Christianizing the Roman Empire: A.D.
100-400,(New Haven: Yale University Press, 1984).

51

of nature.56 Plutarch also compares some rites focusing on
the Apis bull to the notoriously carnal Bacchic rites.57
Moreover, an Isis aretology from Cyme states: "I (Isis)
compelled women to be loved by men...I devised marriage
contracts."58 Also, an Isis love spell is preserved in the
"Great Magical Papyri of Paris."59

In Rome, Ovid cites the temple of Isis as being a good
place for young men to meet women.60 More significant is
the account Josephus gives of the assassination of Caligula,
who, at least in some respects, seems a clear example of one
who used the cults to provide a ‘medium ‘with. which to
entertain his own deviance.61 We are told that the Emperor
had devised certain unique rites in which he would appear as

a woman.62 And when he was assassinated, Caligula was

 

56.Plut., De Is. et 05., 53.
57.ibid.,35.

58."Isis Aretology from Cyme, (ZS-30)," in Grant,

Frederick C., Hellenistic Religions: The Age of Syncretism,
(Indianapolis: Liberal arts Press, 1953), 131-33.

59."Great Magical Papyri of Paris (Bibliotheque
Nationale, 574, 94-153), in The Ancient Mysteries: Sacred
Texts of the Mystery Religions of the Ancient Mediterranean
World, ed. by Marvin W. Meyer, (New York: Harper and Row,
1987), 174-75.

 

50.0v., Ars Am., 3.633-37.

51.The bizarre relationship between Caligula and the
mysteries are described at length. by .Josephus:cf. .Jos.,
eg., XIX;cf. Unnik, Bill, "Flavius Josephus and the
Mysteries , " in Studiee in Hellenistic Religions , ed . by
M.J. Vermaseren, Leiden, E.J. Brill, 1972, 256.

52.1bid.,XIX,30.

 

 

52

taking a lonely short-cut on the way to the baths. He
desired to inspect some young Asian boys organized into a
choir, performing at another of his unorthodox rites.63

The Egyptian cults were living and vibrant faiths. In
this respect, they stood in frank contrast to the older
Pantheon. The grand old Graeca-Roman gods had their day.
But by now, they were no longer in position to compete with
the hypnotic eastern faiths. Hence the spread of Sarapis
and Isis into Rome. Their diffusion was greatly aided by
heady, compelling and frequently bizarre features produced
by popular theism. As such, the Alexandrian deities typify
Hellenistic religion. It was the various mystery cults
which offered would-be adherents fresh tales of miracles and
tangible, physical manifestations of religious experience.
They offered profound theological responses to great
questions regarding death and the afterlife. FUrthermore,
they could be provocative and alluring. Finally, they
provided colorful ceremonies and pomp, greatly enhancing the
sometimes dreary world of the common man. Such attributes

must not be underestimated.

 

63.1bid.,XIX,104.

 

THE LATE REPUBLIC AND PRINCIPATE

By the late decades of the Republic, the Egyptian cults
had gained a large and fervent flock. The populist
tendencies of the cult were exacerbated by the period's
sharply divided political climate. It was perhaps
inevitable that the popular new faiths would figure into the
epoch's major power struggles. As Rome's leadership split
into factions, the Egyptian cults were used as propOganda
tools. To the conservatives, Sarapis and Isis symbolized
much that was wrong with the country, and foreign influence
was damned. 'mo those calling for change, the gods were a
means of gaining support. Finally, the allure of
hellenistic monarchy attracted some of Rome's greatest men,
sowing the seeds of the Imperial Cult.

The cults of Sarapis and Isis seem to have flourished
during the Sullan period. Here again however, the evidence
is less than satisfactory. What emerges from the shadowy
images is a continuing theological evolution transforming
the old order. The .well-known College of Pastaphores is
said to have been founded during the reign of Sulla.l
Moreover, other evidence also seems to indicate a leniency
toward foreign cults during this period.2 It is

significant that by now, Roman leadership was familiar

 

1.Apu1., Met., XI,30.

2.Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 365.

53

54

enough with oriental faiths to make political use of them.
Moreover, the eastern military escapades of the period
contributed to the foreign ambience creeping into Italy.

Plutarch tells us that Marius had placed great trust in
a certain Syrian prophetess named Martha and was not adverse
to the Mater Deum.3 When Sulla wanted his troops to march
against Rome, he revealed that the Cappadocian goddess Ma-
Bellona had appeared to him in a dream and called him to
battle.4 Equally intriguing are the actions taken by Sulla
upon his return in 82 B.C.5 After the completion of his
campaigns, he placed himself under the patronage of Venus,
also taking up the surname "Felix."6 Felix bears close
resemblance to the Latin word "Felicitas."7 This seems to
indicate a linking between. venus and Tyche/Fortuna.
Frescoes dating from this period have been found at Pomepii,
which was populated by many veterans of Sulla's campaigns.
In one scene, Venus holds an olive branch in her left hand,
in her right a scepter. In another scene, .Venus stands

among a cluster of elephants. On each side of her is an

 

3.Plut., Mar., XVII; XXXI,I.

4.Plut., Sull., IX,6.

 

5."Sylla, a ses debuts, fit. preuve: d'un. éclectisme
religioux influence par l'ambiance des milieux orientaux ou
il séjourna, et 11 n'he‘sita point a recourir aux dieux
orientaux eux-mémes."Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 362.

5.ibid., 363.

7.Baldson,J. "Sulla Felix," in Journal of Roman
Studies 41 (1951), 1-10.

55

attendant wielding a horn of plenty. The imagery here,
according to Malaise, brings to mind the image of Isis
Fortuna. The cornucopiae held by her attendants do, in
fact, represent the two chief attributes of Tyche: bounty
and good fortune. Furthermore, the elephants surrounding
Venus offer her an eastern flavor lacking in earlier
renderings. Of course, a leap of faith is required to make
the transition from merely Venus in an exotic setting to a
clearly conceived Venus/Isis. But as Malaise prudently
notes, this is at least another important example of the
ongoing process of syncretism.8

The urban mass of disciples further fueled the cults'
political ramifications in the struggle between optimates
and populares. Indeed, Isis seems to have been frequently
associated with anti-government factions of the later
Republic. Such involvement is evident in several different
ways. Coinage has often been used for propaganda purposes
and frequently reflects popular culture at a given time and
place. In this light, the numismatic studies of A. Alfoldi
take on added significance. His work has shown a series of

Isiaci symbols minted onto coins during the 80's and the

 

8."Nous n'avons aucnue preuve directe de la devotion
du dictateur pour la déesse égyptienne mais 1a confiance
qu'il placa dans une Vénus assurant sa bonne fortune pouvait
fournir une justification théologique a un eventuel appui
des Isiaques." Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 364.

56

70's B.C.9 These images clearly indicate a sound and
thriving cult by the mid-first century B.C. More, he argues
that these coins reflected subversive propaganda, produced
by a revolutionary faction of Populares involved with the
cult of Isis.10

Other evidence also indicates a subversive element in
the Alexandrian cults at Rome during the declining years of
the Republic. During the first century, the Senate
implemented a series of measures designed to limit and even
persecute the cult. This is not surprising. Foreign cults
were generally forbidden in Rome.11 Populist sects elicited
far greater zeal and devotion than the austere state-cults
officially sanctioned by Rome. In the turbulent times of
the late Republic, such grass-roots movements posed a
special threat. Moreover, Sarapis and Isis hailed from a
nation not yet controlled by Rome.12

In 59 B.C. a period of turbulence began which

surrounded the cult of Isis and her altars in Rome. Varro,

 

9.Alfoldi, A. "Isiskult und Umsturzbewegung im letzen
Jahrhundert der Romischen Republik," Schweizer Munzblatter,
5 (1954), 26-30;cf. Heybob, 15.

10.A1foldi,28-30;cf.Heybob, 15.
11.Cass. Dio, II,26.

12"...ce culte avait été fondé, soutenu, propage‘ par
les Ptolemees;il venait d'un pays qui, a la fin de la
republique, fut presque constamment hostile a l'italie. I1
sortiat d'Alexandrie, une ville dont Rome sentait et
craignait la supériorité."Cumont, Les Religions
O ientales,76-77.(Note the reference to the imperialistic
theory);cf. Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 315.

57

in a passage quoted by Tertullian, tells us that the Senate
tore down some shrines which had been defiantly raised by
the masses.13 Much. of this trouble may' have centered
around the political agitator Clodius. He had recruited
mobs from 'the slums and organized them into disruptive
gangs.14 Cicero specifically states that foreigners
comprised the majority of these forces.15 Similarly, a
certain Usia Prima, was a priestess of Isis. Her father,
Rabirus Postumus Hermodorus, was a freedman from Egypt.16

The foreign element of this political unrest
exacerbated Roman inclinations towards xenophobia. Cicero
declared "let no one have gods separately; nor let them
cultivate in private new and strange gods unless publicly
summoned.17 Again Tertullian reports that the consuls P150

and Gabinus not only kept Egyptian gods from the capitol,

 

13."Ceterum serapem et Arpocratum et Anubem prohibitos
Capitolio varro commemorat eorumque aras a senta diectas
nonnisi per uim popularium restructas."Tert., Ad Nat.,
I.10,17; cf. Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 365.

14.LaPiana, 292.

15.An tu populum Romanum esse putas illum qui constat
ex iis qui mercede conducatar...Multitudinem hominum ex
servis, ex conductis, ex facinorosis, ex egentibus
congregatam."Cic., Dom., 33,89.

 

15.c.I.L. VI, 2246;cf. LaPiana, 292.

17."Separatim nemo habessit deos; neve nevos sive
adrenas, nisi publice adscitos privatim colunto."Cic.,
L_eg., II,8;cf. Guterman, Simeon, Religious Toleration and
Persecution in Ancient Rome, (London: Aiglon Press), 30.

58

but overthrew their altars.18 In 58 B.C., the consul
Gabinius defended the erection of the altars, and disagreed
with the Senate. Ultimately however, the government's will
was deemed more substantial than the ‘ impetus vulgi,‘ and
Gabinius ordered the altars destroyed.19 Another incident
occurred during the Ludi Megalenses games of the year 56
B.C. These festivities were of a civic and religious
nature, and foreigners were traditionally excluded.
Clodius however, who presided over the games as curule
aedile, had one of his mobs invade the theater. Only the
intervention of the consul Lentulus prevented utter
massacre. Cicero reports that the games were polluted
(polluti sunt) because Clodius' band was composed chiefly of
foreigners and slaves.20 Rocked with civic unrest, Rome
desperately abolished all remaining collegiate associations
in 56. Finally, in the early forties, Caesar dissolved all
guilds except the most ancient ones.21

But like other more notorious religious persecutions
tried by Rome, these feeble attempts at tearing down the

newly constructed temples of Isis and Sarapis entirely

 

18.Serapidem et Isidem et Arpocratem cum suo
cynocephalo Capitolio prhoibitos, id est curia deorum
pulsos, Piso et Gabinius consules non ‘utique Christiani
eurersis ram aris eorum abdicaurunt turpium et otiosarum
susperstitionum uitia cohibentes." Tert., Apol., VI,8.

19.Tert., Ad Nat., I,10,18;cf. Heybob, 18.
20.Cic., Har., Resp., II; cf. LaPiana, 291-292.

21.Suet., 1u1., 42.3;cf. Heybob, 19.

59

failed to achieve the intended purpose. Ironically, the
senatorial actions merely provide the most concrete
evidence concerning the strong presence of Alexandrian gods
at the end of the Republican period. It is at this point we
can definitely ascribe to the cults a tangible, major role
in the spiritual life of ancient Italy. By 42 B.C., the
Second Triumvirate ordered the construction of a temple to
Isis and Sarapis in Rome.22 This act was designed to
appease the populace, particularly after the turbulent
political and military events which had characterized the
previous year.

In the struggle between Antony and Octavian, the
political implications of the differing religious systems
became even more marked. For political propaganda, the
struggle between Rome's two leading strongmen took on
grandiose theological and cultural aspects. Cleopatra's
influence upon Antony was crucial in this regard.23 She

reigned over a land where rulers had, for century upon

 

century, been revered as gods. Plutarch tells us that
22.Cass. Dio, 47,15,4; cf. Nock, "Religious
Developments," 471-472.

23."Of the several leaders who might have dominated
the east, Antony was probably the one most susceptible to
Cleopatra's policies. Four times married, endlessly
involved with women, he was always ready for a fresh
conquest. He had known Cleopatra in her youthful beauty and
in the dazzling brilliance of her position as Caesar's
mistress...she was fascinating: charming, dramatic, skilled
in all the arts of captivating men." Huzar, E.G., Mark
Antony: A Biography, (London: Croom Helm, 1978), 189-90.

60

Cleopatra was associated with both Isis and Aphrodite.24 As
her alliance with Antony developed, Cleopatra posed with
Antony for various painting and statues. In 38 B.C., Antony
declared. himself Dionysus. Dio Cassius states that in
statues, he was depicted as Dionysus or Osiris, and she as
Isis or Selene.25 Moreover, in 34 B.C., after defeating the
Armenians, Antony presented his spoils to Cleopatra, who sat
on her throne dressed as 1515.25 By traditional Roman
custom, he should have offered the fruits of his conquest to
the Capitoline Jupiter.

Given the political climate of the day, Antony's bold
deviation from Roman tradition was painted in the grimmest
of colors by Octavian. He could portray Actium as almost a
Homeric struggle between both gods and men. The deities of
the East were pitted against the deities of the west. On
the eve of battle, Octavian's speech to the army denounced
Antony for having embraced Egypt's customs and religions.27
Later, in Virgil, Actium is depicted in almost apocalyptic
proportions. Describing the buckle of Aeneas, Virgil offers

what is really a portrayal from Actium. In a corner of the

 

24.P1ut-, Ant., 54.6.

25.Cass. Dio, 50.5,2-3;25.2-4; cf. Heybob, 21.

26.Cass. Dio, 49.4o,3; Plut., Ant., 50;cf. Huzar,
Eleanor G., "The Literary Efforts of Mark .Antony," in
Aufsteig und Niederqang der romischen Welt, II, 30.1., 1982,
pgs. 654-657.

27.Cass. Dio, 50.24-30.

61
scene, the Nile awaits the return of conquered Antony. On
one side are seen Augustus and the traditional gods of the
Roman hearth. On the other, Antony, followed by a swarm of
oriental deities. At his side is the dog-headed Anubis and
various alien beings.28 Other poetry from this period also
treats Egypt harshly.29 Bonneau has pointed out that Roman
poets seems to make almost mocking reference to the Nile's
apparent failure to flood just subsequent to Actium.30 It
was as ‘though. the :mystical, life source of 'the ancient
culture had been made impotent.31 Sextus Propertius
describes Antony and Cleopatra fleeing to the Nile's "muddy
canals" in an embarrassing and tragic aftermath of

defeat.32

 

28.Verg., Aen., VIII, 675-713;cf. Altheim, 350.

29.0ne exception to this is taken from the poet
Tibullus (48?-19 B.C.), who refers to the Nile as a god:
‘Nilus Pater.' Tib., Elegies, I,7,23; cf. Bonneau, 329.

30.Naphatali Lewis point out that Isis, like Osiris,
was often associated with the Nile. In the procession which
celebrated the annual river's rising, a cup of the "new
water" was carried ceremoniously in a golden vase of Isis.
Moreover, a hymn to the goddess associated her with the
flood. This ceremony eventually became associated with the
Christian archangel Michael.POx , 1830, as cited in lewis,
Naphatali, Life in Egypt under Roman Rule, (Oxford:
Clarendon Press, 1983) 85.

31."There is a ample evidence in all this that
fundamental aspects of the Hellenistic god-king were now
being assumed by the Romans; in a sense Antony is the last
of the Hellenistic monarchs." Fishwick, Duncan, The Imperial
Cult in the Latin West: Studies in the Ruler Cult of the
Western Provinces of the Roman Empire, (Leiden: E.J. Brill,
1987), 48.

32.Prop., Ele ies, III,XI,51;cf. Bonneau, 330.

62

In a sense, Actium had been a struggle between the new
forces challenging Rome and the older, traditional society.
At least, that was the way the battle was described by its
victors. Hence, it was only fitting that after Antony's
defeat, Augustus should attempt to enforce a return to the
older, more austere religion of his fathers.33 Cassius Dio
states that after' Actium, Augustus strictly forbade: the
presence of Egyptian cults inside the pomerium.34 He also
narrates a conversation between the fledgling emperor and
his confidant Maecenas who advises the new ruler to promote
the old Roman ways. These measures were not solely the
product of philosophical or theological rationale. Augustus
is also warned that individuals bringing new religious ideas
into Rome may well nurture foreign views of government, from

which conspiracies could arise.35
Suetonius tells us that Augustus only favored the
eastern cults he inherited from far distant ancestors. All
others he rejected. This is why he was receptive to the

Eleusinian mysteries, but when travelling in Egypt neglected

 

33."Si le vainquer d'Actium avait été Antoine, Isis et
Sérapis eussent fait avec lui une entree triomphale a Rome,
mais ils furent vaincus avec Cléopétre, et Auguste, devenu
1e maitre de l'Empire, témoinaga une aversion profonde aux
dieux protectuers de ses ancien ennemis." Cumont, Lee

Religions Orientales, 77.

34.Cass. Dio, 53,2.

35.Cass. Dio, 52,36; cf. Guterman, 31; Lewis asserts
that Egypt was treated fairly leniently after Actium. He
believes this is due to Egypt's potential as a breeding
ground for further conspiracy. Lewis, 85.

 

63

to visit the sacred bull. He also praised his grandson for
not offering prayers at Jerusalem.36 In particular,
Augustus sponsored Apollo, who was placed beside the
capitoline deities as chief god of the state.37

But elements of eastern theology’ nOW' seemed. deeply
ingrained in Roman society. Ironically, Augustus himself
provides sound evidence of this fact. IaPiana's assertion
that Augustus' censure of the Egyptian cults only made the
converts more earnest rings true.38 In 30 B.C., the temples
of Isis and Sarapis were again to be destroyed. But no
workman could be found to strike the first blow.39 This
indicates a widespread reverance for Egyptian deities. Even
private shrines to the Egyptian gods were forbidden. In 28
B.C. they were banned from the Pomerium. In 21 the law was
expanded to include a full mile around the city.40 This was
due to a revolt which occured during Augustus' absence from
the city. The followers of Isis sparked a melee which led
Maecenas to enact even stricter censure.41

The new measures proved temporarily effective, at least

 

36.8uet., Aug., 93;Cass. Dio, 51.16,5.
37.Altheim, 351.
33.Lapiana, 291.

39.Val. Max., 1,33;cf. Tinh, Isis a Pom éii, 22;cf.
Witt, 223.

4°.Nock, Conversion, 74.

41.Lapiana, 293.

64

on the surface. Dionysus of Halicarnassus reports that with
the exception of the Magna Mater, the mystery rites were
largely performed in private.42 Furthermore, oriental
religious themes appear very infrequently in the pottery
from this period.43 However, eastern images which appear in
some wall murals dating from the Principate period. The
Camapana Reliefs show scenes of Graeco-Roman myths and
rituals, with eastern themes appearing sporadically. Nock
tells us that these oriental images have virtually no
theological significance, and can be compared to the
"Egyptian landscapes in contemporary art or Chinese
landscapes in the eighteenth century."44 This perhaps-
understates the significance of such occurrences. The
presence of oriental themes in the period's art clearly
indicates the eclectic climate fostering syncretism.

But this eclecticism was not evident merely in idylic
wall-paintings. Even with Augustus posing as the new
Romulus, re-building mythical Rome, there was no stopping
the flood of foreign influence. Italian consciousness had
been irrevocably altered by its continual contact with the
Hellenistic world. Theologically, this was manifest in an
increasing deification of leaders. The worship of kings and

pharaohs was an ancient and established custom among many of

 

42.Dion. Hal., Ant. Rom., 2,19.
43.Nock, Conversion, 124.

44.1bid., 124.

65
the eastern societies. The practice had been adopted by
Alexander the Great, subsequently becoming customary among
many hellenistic rulers. This was particularly true in
Egypt. Here, full millennia of monarch worshipping had
readied the indigenous population to bow before the
Ptolemies.

Much of our evidence for the origins of the Emperor's
cult comes from the turbulent years preceding Actium.
Antony and Cleopatra personally donned the iconograpy of
hellenistic and Egyptian deities.‘1'5 But Caesar was the
first Roman leader to flirt with divinity. Clearly he toyed
with. the notion of creating an eastern style monarchy,
perhaps one modeled after the Ptolemies. Moreover, he was
offered hints of divinity by the Senate. These honors came
after Caesar's great triumphs at Thapsus and Munda.46

After Thapsus, a chariot was set on the Capitol facing
Jupiter. Alongside it was a bronze statue of Caesar which
seems to have had one foot resting on a globe.47 While the
significance of such symbolism is not certain, the
ramifications seem evident. After Munda, Hellenistic

influences are even more visible. Receiving news of

 

45."There is ample evidence in all this that
fundamental aspects of the hellenistic god-king were now
being assumed by Romans; in a sense Antony is the last of
the Hellenistic monarchs." ibid., 48;

45.ibid., 56.

47.0ass. Dio, 43,14,6.

66
Caesar's triumph, the Senate decreed that the morrow's
Parilia should be celebrated simultaneously with the
victory.48 In the processional launching the games, an
ivory figure of Caesar was to be carried, accompanied by
other gods.49 More significant is an account from Appian in
which Caesar places a gold image of Cleopatra beside the
statue of Venus in a temple.50 And after the Ides, that the
people originally desired to bring Caesar's corpse into the

temple of Jupiter for burial.51
Even Augustus, who claimed to champion traditional
Roman ‘virtue, seems to have been affected. by hellenistic
notions of 21 semi-deistic monarchy. Certainly, immediate‘
and overt creation of an imperial cult would have been both
politically unwise and incompatible with his conservative
Roman posturing. Nonetheless, Rome's first emperor clearly
attempted to associate his position with the gods, however
cautiously. Here is found the basis for the deification of
Rome's Emperors which would characterize later periods. In

particular, Augustus liked Apollo. Indeed, his great

 

48.The Parilia celebrated the gods and goddesses
Pales, patrons of the flocks and fields. A prayer to the
Pales is found in Ovid, Fasti, 4,721. By Cicero's day the
games were celebrated as representing the foundation of
Rome. Cic. Qiy., 2,98.;cf. Varro, Rust., III,2.I,9.

49.Cass. Dio, 43, 45, 2; Suet., Iuv, 76,1.
5°.App., BCiv., 2, 148.

51.1bid.,2,148;Suetonius reports that after Caesar's
death, a comet shot through the sky. Suet., Iuv., 88.

 

67
triumph at Actium was achieved near the temple of Apollo
Actium. In commemoration of his victory, he enlarged the
old sanctuary. He also founded the new city of Nicopolis
and began the quinquennial games.52 The Temple of Apollo
was consecrated and erected next door to .Augustus' own
home.53 But this was by no means the first time the
principate had aligned himself the immortals. After the
Peace of Brundisium, he had arrived at a peace banquet

dressed as Apollo.54

 

52.Suet., Aug., 18; Strab., 7,7,6.
53.Cass., Dio. 53,1,3.

54.Suet., Aug., 70; cf. Huzar, "Literary Efforts of
Antony," 656.

THE JULIO-CLAUDIAN RULERS

If hellenistic influence had made subtle inroads into
Roman faith and religious custom, the early imperial
government continued to take action against the major
oriental cults. By and large Tiberius continued the
conservative policies of his predecessor. The Emperor
himself seems to have been a skeptic, but he vigorously
promoted. the. old faithml- In iEgypt, he ‘was politically
astute enough to have himself depicted in reliefs, offering
homage to local deities.2 Still, Tacitus tells us the
Emperor forbade the deification of a statue.3

Actions taken against the Egyptian cults provide our
best evidence for their existence in Rome. In AnD. 19 an
important and severe persecution shed much light on the

nature of eastern cults in Rome during the period.4 Tacitus

 

1"...le nouvel empereur fut peu intéresse par la vie
religieuse. S'il n'est point completement athée, le
successuer d'Auguste est un sceptique gagné a l'astrologie,
convaincu que tout obéit a la fatalité, et fort influence
par son astrolgue Thrasylle."Malaise, Lee Cultes Egyptiepe,
390;cf. Suet., Tib., 14.

2.Nock, A.D., "Religious Developments from the Close
of the Republic to the Death of Nero," in The Cambridge

Ancient History, 10, 495.

3.Tac., Ann., 4.52.

4.There has been some discussion as to the accuracy of
the A.D. 19 date. Smallwood points out that details offered
in both Tacitus and Dio place the events firmly in 19. But
in giving his account, Josephus refers to the procuratorship
of Pontius Pilate, hence implying a date nearer to 30. The
great majority of scholars seem to have accepted the earlier
date. cf. Smallwood, E. Mary, "Some Notes of the Jews

68

69

states that both the Egyptian and Judaic cults were
banished. A military draft was used as a pretext, exiling
many of the superstitious to Sardinia. The others were
ordered to leave Italy unless they renounced their faith
within a fixed period of time.5 Similarly, Suetonius
asserts that Egyptians and Jews were banished from Rome and
forced to burn their religious garments. And while he
specifically cites only Jews as being subject to the draft,
Suetonius does say that those of the same race or similar
beliefs were also expelled from the city.6

Unfortunately, neither Suetonius or Tacitus offered any
kind of specific explanation as to why these persecutions
occured. Consequently, scholars have had to consider a set
of intriguing, though rather dubious accounts offered by
Josephus.7 In one of these narratives, the beauty of a
Roman noblewoman named Paulina greatly fascinated the knight
Decius Mundus. Decius tried but failed to seduce Paulina.
Subsequently, he bribed a priest of Isis to tell Paulina

that the Egyptian god Anubis desired her company for an

 

under Tiberius," in Latomus, 314-315;Heidel, W.A., "Why
were the Jews Banished from Italy in A.D. 19," in American
Journal of Philology, 41 (1920), 28-47;Nock, Conversions,
74;Guterman, 149;also, Tac., A_nn_., II ,85, 5;Suet., 1132.,
36; Cass. Dio, lvii, 18 5a; Joseph., Ant. iud., XVIII, 65,
81-5;Philo, In Flaccum, 1, Le atio ad Gaium, 23-24..

5.Tac., Ann., II, 85, 5.
6.Suet., Tib., 36.

7.Joseph., Ant. Jud., XVIII, 65-80.

70

evening at the temple. Paulina's husband Saturnis granted
permission. Decius, disguised as Anubis, met her at the
Iseum and obtained as a god that which eluded him as a
mortal. Afterwards, his pride inflated by the experience,
Decius revealed his true identity to Paulina, who tells her
husband Saturnis. When word of the scandal reached
Tiberius, the temple was demolished, the cult statue thrown
into the Tiber, and the priests involved were crucified.8
Curiously, Decius was merely banished.

Paulina's story is placed alongside a similar anecdote,
this one involving the Jews. Here, a Roman woman named
Fulvia was swindled into offering gold and purple to four
Jewish men, believing her gifts would adorn the great temple
in Jerusalem. Instead the men kept the valuables. Fulvia
told her husband. (Her husband, coincidentally, was also
named Saturnis, like Paulina's husband in the account of the
Egyptian cults.) Again, news of the misdeed reached
Tiberius, who subsequently punished the entire Jewish
community in Rome.

The accounts described by Josephus have sparked much
debate. And despite the ink spilled, questions remain. For

example, why does Josephus take pains to distinguish between

 

8..."ce fait rapporté par Flavbius Josephus est
partiellement confirmé par la decouverte dans le Tibre de
six sistres, quatre pres du Ponte sisto et duex pres du Pont
unberto, c'est a dire sur la frange orientale du Champ de
Mars." Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 393;cf. Bissing, F.
von, "Sul tipo dei sistri trovati nel Tevere," in Bulletin
de la Societe d'Archeologie d'Alexandrie, 31 (1937), 211-224.

71

the two separate cults, while Tacitus and Suetonius link
them together in a single sentence? Unnik asserts that "He
(Josephus) was not after the telling of a juicy story, as is
often thought, but he wanted his readers to see the true
reasons of what had happened and the differences between the
two cases."9 In this assertion, Unnik concurs with Heybob,
who also argues that the Jewish historian sought to clearly
differentiate the differences between the faiths.1° Unnik
notes that the priests of Isis allowed themselves to be
bribed, whereas the Jewish swindlers were apparently
outcasts from Israel, acting independentlyu jHence, the
Jewish faith proper cannot be held accountable for the .
wrongs done unto Fulvia, unlike the Paulina account.11

It hardly seems likely that Jewish and Egyptian
religion were seen as one and inseparable by the Romans.
Yet the two were more closely linked than many would

suppose. Indeed, in the spirit of syncretism characterizing

 

9.Unnik, W.C., "Flavius Josephus and the Mysteries,"
in Studies in Hellenistic Reli ions, ed. by M.J. Vermaseren,
Leiden: 1979, 244-279, 256.

1°.Heybob, 118.

11."What do we learn here of Josephus' attitude
towards this particular form of religion? The story is not
told to demonstrate the religions superiority of Judaism
over the Egyptian cult; that may be a consequence, but not
the real objective. Josephus wanted to safeguard his
religion against. a. misunderstanding that. might follow' a
Senatus-Consultum." Unnik, 258.

72

the age, Sarapis became linked with the biblical Joseph.12
In fact, this tie stemmed from ancient Egyptian myth, where
both Joseph and Osiris were seen as givers of agriculture.
Moreover, the Jewish tribe of Joseph was associated with
the bull, recalling both Apis and the biblical golden
calf.13 Referring to this link, Tertullian, in A.D. 197,
wrote that " for this Serapis was formerly called Joseph
from the family of the saints."14 Similarly, Rufinus of
Aquileai (c.345-401) links Joseph and Sarapis, citing their
common association. with. grain.15’ So too does Firmicus
Maternus in his De Errore Profanarum Religionum, which urged
the eradication of paganism.16 Moreover, St Augustine's pe
Civitate Dei describes the origins of Sarapis just
subsequent to an account regarding Joseph.17 This may have
been Augustine's attempt to differentiate between the
commonly linked Sarapis and Joseph.

This evidence is not offered to imply that Tacitus and
Suetonius were aware of these specific links between Judaic

and Egyptian faiths. But two millennium of biblical imagery

 

12.Mussies, Gerard, "The Interpretation Judaica of
Sarapis," in Studies in Hellenistic Reli ions, ed. by M.J.
Vermaseren, Leiden: 1979, 189-214.

13.Deuteronomy, 33:17.

14.Tert., Apol., II, 8; cf. Mussies, 194.

15.Ruf. Aquil., Hist. Ecc., XI, 23.

16.Firm. Mat., Err. Prof. rel., 13.

17.August., De civ. D, XVIII, 4, 5.

 

73

have tended to make Judaism even more distinct from
"paganism" than it actually was. Many Jews from the period
were not the culturally and theologically distinct
individuals popular Christian images often portray. The two
religions were from the same corner of the Mediterranean,
and had both arrived in Rome during the same period of
exposure to foreign gods. Jews and Egyptians were often
fully hellenized and contributing to the hybrid cults being
produced by syncretism. For example, in 139 B.C., the Jews
were banished from Rome for proselytizing their cult of
Jupiter Sabazius.18 If we accept Unnik's assertion that the
Josephus accounts seek to educate non-Jews as to the
distinctions between Jewish practice and Egyptian practice,
it follows that many Greeks and Romans did not, in fact,
clearly understand the differences. This phenomenon may
have been similar to common modern western notions of
Buddhism, which categorize a vast plethora of oriental
faiths under one all-purpose label. So it. is at least
plausible that Tacitus, while making general distinctions
between Jewish and Egyptian faiths, could also have viewed
the two as essentially the same.

Heidel and Smallwood offer different explanations for

 

18.Val. Max., 1,3,3. Jupiter Sabazius was a Phrygian
deity sometimes associated with Dionysus. He manifest some
Jewish. characteristics” "Fellman, Rudolf, "Der’ Sabazios

Kult," in Die orientalischen Religionen im R6merreich, ed.
by M.J. Vermeseren, (Leiden: 1979), 316-340.

74

the persecutions of Tiberius:19 Heidel asserts that
actions begun in 19 stemmed from Tiberius' attempts to
prevent eastern-style prostitution from creeping into Rome.
Both Paulina and Fulvia, he believed, were being lured into
forms of temple prostitution. He notes that Tacitus
connects the Jews so closely with the Egyptians, they seem
to be perceived as identical.20 Moreover, strict measures
taken by the Senate to eliminate the apparent presence of
prostitution among women of the equestrian class.21 While
his argument seems plausible in the case of Paulina and
Decius, there is less certainty in his analysis of the
account of Fulvia and the Jews. He notes that Fulvia's
gifts to the four men were gold and purple. In some
oriental societies, gold and purple were woven into temple
hangings by prostitutes.22 Heidel offers the possibility
that Fulvia was being enticed into this form of religious
servitude.

In 1956, E. Mary Smallwood refuted Heidel and offered
a more plausible explanation. By the New Testament period,

there is virtually no reference to temple prostitution, at

 

19.0p._cit., above, 68-9, ff.#. 4.

2°.Tac., App., 11, 85.

21._ip_ig.,11, 85.

22.Among the reforms of King Josiah: "He broke down
the tents of the sodomites, that were in the house of

Jehovah, where the women wove hangings for the Asherah." II
Kings 23:7.

75

least in biblical societies.23 She argues that the
fundamental reason for the expulsion of A.D.19 was that the
Jews were converting many Romans to Judaism.24 Her argument
is based on equally thin evidence, a single reference given
by Cassius Dio.25 But it seems credible, since this was a
period still stressing the Augustan reforms and promoting
traditional Roman religion.26 Seneca reports a general
suspicion of alien beliefs around this time.27 And actions
had been taken against the Jews in 139 B.C.28 They were
perceived to be as dangerous and unorthodox as the
Egyptians.

The debates caused by the highly questionable accounts
of Flavius Josephus seem academic. These tales are
entirely too anecdotal and charming to be taken seriously as
motives for Tiberius to launch a major persecution. On the

other hand, they provide invaluable clues as to the general

 

23."He who said ‘My house shall be called the house of
prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves,‘ would hardly
have passed over in silence immorality practiced in the name
of religion;St Paul, who was disgusted by the standards of
morality at Corinth, would surely have been filled with even
greater indignation, and would have expressed his feelings
on the subject, had similar customs defiled the Temple."
Smallwood, 318.

24.;pig., 319.

25.Cass., D10, 57, 18, 5a.

25.Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 390.
27.Sen., ppiee., 108, 22.

28.Val. Max., 1,3,3.

76

nature of the charges raised against both Jewish and
Egyptian cults in Rome. The accusations of sexual laxity
and financial swindling are reminiscent of charges launched
at oriental cults during the Republican period. The stories
are indicative of popular misconceptions about the oriental
sects, and consequently cannot be disregarded as irrelevant.

Clearly the Egyptian cults and eastern allure were now
gaining converts in the upper echelons of Roman society.
This is perhaps the single most important revelation of the
Josephus accounts concerning Paulina and Fulvia. Indeed,
the very year Tiberius launched his persecutions, Germanicus
visited the ancient lands of the Nile.29 Here he sought out
the sacred Apis bull and observed a fast in honor of the
occasion.30 Given Germanicus' rank, the visit may well
have had political implications.31’ ~Still, the. oriental
cults were attracting the top levels of Roman leadership.
Indeed, the son of Germanicus who was to finally bring
Egypt's gods and the notions of hellenistic monarchy into
the Eternal City.

Caligula was born in A.D. 12. Much of his youth was

 

29.00tgeheim, J., Germanicus en Egypte," in Les Etudes
Classigpes, 27 (1975), 241-57.

3°.P1iny, pg, VII, 185; Solin., XXXII, 19; Amm.
Marc., XXII, 14, 8.

31."On ne peut s'empécher de songer que Germanicus par
son voyage en Egypte cherchait la sympathie des Egyptiens,
laquelle aurait pu lui étre d'un grand secours dans une
lutte éventuelle contre Drusus, 1e fils de Tibére." Malaise,

Les Cultes Egyptiens, 394.

77

spent at his grandmother Antonia's house, daughter of
Antony. Only at the age of nineteen did he go to live with
his adopted father Tiberius.32 Thus, the young Caligula was
raised in an environment somewhat acquainted with the
Orient.33 Perhaps this led Caligula to introduce ‘many
overtly eastern pratices into Rome. There is some
uncertainity as to the extent Caligula was influenced by
Egyptian beliefs. It seems clear however, that he was far
more susceptible to eastern ideas than his two
predecessors.34

Caligula lost his sanity after a bout with illness in
37.35 His insanity may have made Caligula eager for the
heightened glory heaped upon oriental rulers. He quickly
displayed inclinations toward hellenistic monarchy. He
began by declaring Tiberius a god, but the Senate
discouraged this initial act.36 Also, Caligula introduced
the oriental practice of prostration.37 Later, a band of

Alexandrian Jews visiting Rome were denounced by the

 

32.Suet., Cal., 10.

33.Plut., Ant., 87.

34.En effet, Caligula voulut introduire a Rome une
monarchie absolue et théocratique ou l'Emperuer est a la
fois une maitre et un dieu comme en Egypte." Malaise, Les

Cultes Egyptiens, 396.

35.Philo, Legatio ad Gaium, 14,22.
36.Sen., Apocol., 2.

37.Cass. Dio, 59, 27.

78

Emperor for their people's general reluctance to admit his
divinity.38

But to what extent were these significant breaks with
Augustus and Tiberius the result of specifically Egyptian
sentiment? The evidence seems to indicate that Caligula
harboured a special fondness for the refined and exotic Nile
culture. For example, he surrounded himself with servants,
most of whom were Egyptian.39 Moreover, he brought a
beautiful obelisk. to Rome from. Egypt.40 Such behavior
clearly seems to imply a penchant for Egypt. But how much
can we know about the Emperor's personal religious beliefs?

It was Caligula who estasblished the Isiac festival in
Rome.41 Similarly, both Suetonius and Dio report that one
of the new ruler's first acts was to build his own temple on
the Palatine.‘1'2 It seems clear that this was the famous
temple of Isis on the Campus Martius, constructed in 38.43

The motives for Caligula's erection of this important shrine

 

38.Philo, Leg., 353.
39.ihid., 166.
40.plin., pg, 36, 64.

41.Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 400;cf. C.I.L., I,
2.,pg.333;Plut., De Is. et 03., 13.

42.Seut., Cal., 22;cf. Cass. Dio, 59,28.2.

43.Heybob, 24;cf. Wissowa, G., Religion ung gultus der
Romer, 2ed. ed., (Munich: 1912), 353; Cumont, Les Religions
Orientales, 79.

 

79
have sparked some debate.44 To what degree was the Emperor
a fervent devotee of the oriental/Egyptian cults? Was he,
as some have claimed, a closet disciple of Isis? While the
evidence is shadowy, there is ample cause to assume that
this was, in fact, the case.

Early in this century the Instituto Poligrafico of Rome
published a work focusing on antique Italian painting. The
second volume of this publication was consecrated to the
decoration of a room preserved under the palace of
Domitian.45 The findings have produced a brief but
important analysis by Franz Cumont, who provides both a
lucid description of this important find and a sound,

plausible interpretation.46 He notes that masonry dates the

 

44."Caligula, indeed, gave to Isis her first public
temple, and under him the dramatic festival of Osiris was
established in Rome, but his conduct hangs together with his
notable contempt for the established tradition and did not
raise the general standings of the Egyptian. deities in
Rome." Nock, Conversion, 124;"...erst unter Caligula konnte
sich der Kult freier entwickeln. Unter diesem Herrscher
wurde der Isisgottesdienst in den Staatskult fibernommen."
Vidman, "Isis und Sarapis," 135;"Kaum aber war Caligula zur
herrschaft gekommen, verkundete er die staatliche
Anerkennung dieses kultes und errichte den grossen Tempel
des Isis Campenis auf dem Marsfeld. Dies bedeutete den
endgfiltigen Einbruch der égyptischen Kulte nach Rom.
Caligula hat die Schleusen so weit gedffnet, dass an ein
Verbot spater nicht mehr gedacht werden konnte." Koberlein,

E., Qeligpla ppd die agyptisehen Kulte, (Beitrage zur
klassichen Philologie, Heft 3, Meisenheim an Glan, 1962),

12-13;cf. Cumont, Les Religions Orientales, pgs.240-241.

 

45. u n ' de a *i ura nt'ca o e: I. Le
u e ' ' 'a d; Caligola, 1936 (XIV).

45.Cumont, Franz, "La Salle Isiaque de Caligula au
Palatin," in Revue de l'Histoire des Reli 10 s, 114 (1936),
127-129.

80

room's walls sometime between the reign of Augustus and
Nero. Moreover, the decorations manifest much overtly
Egyptian iconography, some recalling scenes from
Apuleius.‘7 Cumont asserts that of the period's Emperors,
only Caligula would have constructed such a room.48

Other acts betray Caligula's religious sympathies as
well. Clearly he was attracted to the exotic rites of the
East. Much of this may have stemmed from his upbringing.
Tacitus tells us that the persecution of his mother by
Tiberius made a permanent mark on the young Roman.49 Hence,
loyalty to his unique family heritage governed his early
political career. Jean Colin has shown that Caligula's
choices for consuls reveal a general sympathy for the old
factions surrounding Mark Antony.50 This corroborates what
we know from the literary sources. Suetonius tells us that

Caligula forbade the annual celebration of Actium which had

 

47.Cumont, "La Salle Isiaque," 127;cf. Apul., Met., XI,
11. .

48."Entre 1e regne d'Auguste et celui de Neron, quel
empereur peut avoir ainsi consacré dans son palais du
Palatin un oratoire luxueux aux divinitiés de l'Egypte? On
ne peut songer a Tibere, qui fut aussi hostile qu'Auguste
aux mysteres alexandrins et qui, a la suite d'un scandale,
persecuta cruellement les isiaques. Mais l'espirit
fantasque de Caligula voulut adorer ce que son predecesseur
avait brulé." Cumont, "La Salle Isiaque," 128.

49.Tac., Ann., VI, 24,3.

5°.Colin, Jean, "Les consuls du Cesar-Pharon Caligula
et l'Héritage de Germanicus," in Latomus, 13 (1954), 394-416.

81

been observed by Augustus and Tiberius.51 Cassius Dio says
that consuls who dared to celebrate Octavian's victory were
deposed.52 Moreover, Gaius wanted to be considered a
descendant of Antony, not Augustus.53

But Caligula's affections for Antony provide only a
small portion of the evidence indicating his fascination
with the eastern cults. Koberlein has pieced together scant
references, attempting to prove that the Roman ruler was a
fervent devotee of the Egyptian faiths, particularly Isis.54
The work was not. without its critics, but its overall
argument remains important and well-supported.55 Cflearly,
Caligula's reign marks a departure from the conservative,
pro-Roman policies which had followed Actium. Here, now, is
a ruler strongly swayed by the exotic allure of the East,
and the cosmopolitan, eclectic spirit of the day.

Also curious was Caligula's attraction and subsequent
marriage to his sister Drusilla.56 This recalls the
mythical bonding between Osiris and Isis, or even Zeus and

Hera. Koberlein. had asserted that this union reflects

 

51.8uet., gel., 23.
52.Cass., Dio, 59, 20,2.
53.;plg., LIX,20,2.
54.cf., 82, ff., #45.

55.see Gavin Townend's review of Koberlein in Journal
of Roman Studies, 54, (1964), 203.

55.3uet., Cal., 15, 24;Cass. Dio, 59, 9,2.

82

Gaius' commitment to the brother/sister unions familiar in
Ptolemaic political culture. Indeed, Suetonius notes that
early in his reign Caligula had his sisters' names
instereted along with his in the various civic oaths.57
When Drusilla died, the bereaved Caligula decreed divine
honors, implying his sister had achieved a place in the
Pantheon.58 Moreover, the Emperor followed established
royal Egyptian funerary rituals to mourn her passing.59

Of course, the presence of incest in royal families
does not prove a conscious linking with the hellenistic
monarchs of the East. 'But other evidence is equally
compelling. In Herculaneum, wall murals depict Caligula
dancing, another activity frequently associated with eastern
religions.6o More important is Caligula's declaring himself
a god, while still living.61 The day of his accession,
March 18, was treated as a re-founding of Rome.62
Furthermore, we know that the Emperor desired to be given

the Ptolemaic titles of Soter, Euergetes and Epiphanes.63

 

57.3uet. Cal. 15.
58.Cass. Dio, 59, II.
59.8uet., gel., 24.
60.II Samuel 6:14.

61.Phil., Leg., 75, 162;Suet., Cal., 56; Cass. Dio,
59, 26,2.

52.Nock, "Religious Developments," 496.

53.Phi1., Leg., 22, 188.

83

Caligula even had his own temple built housing a statue.
Each new day the image was clothed like the Emperor
himself.64 Finally, Alexandrian coins show the Emperor with
brilliant rays of sunlight emanating from his head, and also
a half-moon.65 Koberlein believes this linking of the sun
and moon symbolizes the Hellenistic deities Helios and
Selene, and the holy marriage of Caligula with the moon-
goddess.66

Equally intriguing is an apparent link between Caligula
and the ancient Egyptian. myth. of 'the Phoenix Bird.6.7
Koberlein notes that during the death of Tiberius, the Bird
was seen in Egypt.68 Hence, he posits a connection with

the ancient legend and Gaius' practice of sacrificing exotic

 

54.5uet., Cal.,, 22,3;Cass., Dio, 59, 26,2; This
ritual is markedly similar to the ritual described by Jean
Hani in his article "Sarapis Dieu Solaire."

65.Koberlein, 20.

55.In Suetonius, we read that one night when the
moonlight was particularly compelling, Gaius invited the
moon-goddess to make love in his bed.Suet. Cal. 22.

67.Er (the Phoenix Bird) gilt...als die Seele des Re
oder die seele des Osiris. Er steht in enger Beziehung zur
sonne, er ist der Sonnenvogel...Der Phonix ist der Vogel des
Osiris und seines Sohnes Horus, den jeder lebende Pharao
verkorpert. Wie Osiris sich in Horos selbst
regeneriert...so bestattet auch der Phonix seinen Vater in
dem Ei, welches den keim zu neuem Leben in sich tragt."
Koberlein, 18;cf. Habaux, Leroy, Le Mythe dee Phenix,
(Paris:1939);Cass. Dio, 58, 27.

53.0ass. Dio, 58,27; Tac., Ann., VI, 28.

84

birds in bizarre rituals.69 Seneca tells us that different
sorts of sacrifices were brought daily to the Emperor.70
Suetonius states that the sacrifice of birds was a
characteristic feature of the new regime. He also asserts
that in the rituals, Caligula would sprinkle himself with
blood.71

As ‘with Caligula's ‘marriage tot Drusilla, the_ rites
involving exotic birds do not clearly or necessarily imply
Egyptian worship. Yet Gaius displayed a radical departure
from the conservative Roman policies of Tiberius. Above
all, Caligula's sanity was questionable. Indeed, the
bizarre mystery rituals he concocted frequently breached the
bounds of good taste. The Suidas mentions his fascination
for mysterious ceremonies.72 Some unorthodox rites he
contrived catered to his homosexual orientation.73
Finally, there was much eastern, hellenistic imagery in the
various omens which foretold the Emperor's death.
Suetonius reports that before his assassination, the ruler

was tormented by strange dreams and a play about the

 

59.The Phoenix Bird's appearance was said to represent
the dawning of a new era, such as the accession of a new
monarch. ,Ancient sources often seem to depict these birds
as peacocks.cf. Ovid, Met., XV, 385; Achil. Tat., III,25.

7°.Sen., Izep., 14, 9.

71.Suet., gel., 57.

72.Suid., I.

73.Josep., Ant. g3 ., XIX.

 

85
underworld had been rehearsed that morning by a group of
Ethiopian and Egyptian actors.74

Caligula's reign was a short one. In a sense, his
promotion of the oriental gods was an abberation, for his
successor Cladius immediately returned to the Augustan
policy. Nonetheless, by now the Egyptian cults were fully
integrated into Roman life. A full century before, the
cults had enjoyed substantial popularity. But they had
encountered stiff resitance from conservative Romans, who
resented them as foreign and subsersive. But by the mid
first century A.D., Sarapis and Isis were becoming standard
features of Roman religion, much as the Greek gods had been
adopted centuries before.

A hundred years earlier, Cicero had asserted the
inherent compulsion of a people to seek national identity
through their own unique religion.75 Now, however, Roman
faith had virtually yielded to the new cults. Hence, when
Claudius tried to re-assert the religious policies of

Augustus, he found that times had changed.76 The cults were

 

74.3uet., Cal., 54, 57.

75."Sua cuique Civitate religion est, nostra nobis."
Cic., Flagg., 28.

76."Augustus and Tiberius had used religion to enlarge
their control of the state. Caligula had misused it for
self-glorification. Claudius could readily return to the
Augustan model. The temper of the times called both for
conservative traditionalism in Roman cults and oecumenical
tolerance in accepting the foreing gods of the empire. The
result was a blend in which conservatism was tempered by
innovation." Huzar, Eleanor G., "Claudius-The Erudite

 

86

far too popular.77

Moreover, decades had passed since the
Principate replaced the Republic, and the traditional
beliefs were slowly becoming obscured. Caligula's
successor posed as an Augustan conservative, but with far
less urgency.

Little evidence is extant concerning the status of
Egyptian cults during Claudius' reign.78 But we can tell
much concerning Roman attitudes toward foreign religions.
Claudius forbade the collegia, which were traditional
bastions of subversive behavior.79 Indeed, Tacitus tells us
that the Emperor was generally disdainful of foreign
religions.8o This is corrorborated by much information in
the sources. Suetonius tells us that Claudius sought a
return to the traditional Roman policies of Augustus.81

Tacitus asserts that he actively promoted the ancient art of

 

Emperor," in Aufsteig und Niedergang der romischen Welt, II,
32.1., 1984, 649.

77."Cependant Claude sut aussi comprendre l'attraction
exercé sur les ames par les cultes a mysteres, au lieu de
les combattre tous systematiquement, i1 eut l'idée
d'acclimater a Rome ceux qui etaient déja, en quelque
maniere, associés a la tradition romaine." Beaujeu, 45.

78.Suetonius reports that Claudius bestowed favors on
a certain Harpocras, probably an Egyptian. Suet. Claud.,
28;see also, Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 402.

79.Cass. Dio, 60,6,6-7.

8°.Tac. Ann., 11, 15.

81.Suet. Claud., 22.

 

87

divinitation.82 Moreover, he founded a temple to Venus in
the Sicilian city of Eryx. The original sanctuary at this
site was said to have been constructed by Aeneas, which
suited handsomely contemporary analogies regarding the re-
birth of Rome.83 Finally, Claudius displayed reluctance
to accept divine status, although he did receive such
accolades in Britain.8‘4 There, a temple was built for him
at the city of Camuldonum.85

Yet Claudius seems, for the most part, to have
delivered the religious tolerance he promised.86 There were
some important exceptions. He attempted the elimination of
human sacrafice among the Druids of Gaul.8'7 Similarly,
Suetonius tells us the Jews were expelled from Rome due to
continual disturbances instigated by "Chrestus."88 Claudius
also brought the Eleusinian Mysteries to Rome, though the

identification of Ceres with Demeter "might make the action

 

82.Tac. Ann., 11,15.

83.Suet. Claud., 25;Verg. Aen., V, 759;see also, Nock,
"Religious Developments," 499;Huzar, "Claudius," 649.

84.Lewis points out that when Claudius died, he was
declared a god in Egypt.cf. POx , 1021 as cited in Lewis, 89.

85.Josep., B.J., 7;Tac., Ann., 14, 31;cf. Fishwick,
vol. 1, pt.2, 195.

86.Joseph., Ant. Iud., XIX, 5,3.

87.Plin., H.N., 29.53-54,30,13; cf. Huzar, "Claudius,"
649.

88.Suet, Claud., 25; This is almost certainly the
incident referred to in Acts 18;2, and also mentioned by
Cassius Dio, 60,6,6;cf. Guterman, 149-150.

88

appear to be no more than the addition of a foreign ceremony
to the old cult."89

But the most significant action taken by the Emperor
regarding foreign cults ‘was his promotion and
institutionalization of the Phrygian deities Cybele and
Attis.90 Indeed, during the Augustan period, great emphasis
had been placed on the mythical Trojan origins of Rome.
This naturally led to an increased emphasis on the Magna
Mater.91 LaPiana notes that this is the only faith known to
have been legally introduced by the Senate under
Claudius.92 When the Great Mother had come to Rome, she
remained essentially a foreign rite. The eunuchs performed
the ceremony privately, and no Roman could join the
'priesthood.93 During the reign of Claudius, the priesthood

of the Phyrigian cults started having Roman names.94

 

89.Nock, "Religious Developments," pg.499; The
Eleusinian Mysteries stemmed from a cult of Demeter at
Eleusis. Based on the well-known myth of Kore's six month
captivity in the underworld, the rites were associated with
the seasons and harvests. cf. Clem. Al., E_xhortation to
the Greeks, 2:21; Anobius of Sicca, The Case Against the
Pagans, 5.26.

90.Lys., Mens., IV,59;cf. Cumont, Les Religions
Orientales, 51-52.

91.Nock, "Religious Developments," 499;Among the
temples with Augustus had restored was the shrine of Cybele
on the Palatine.Augustus, Res Gestae, 19.

92.Lapiana, 296.

93.Nock, Conversion, 68-69.

94.Ferguson, J., The Religions of the Roman Empire,
(New York: 1970), 28.

 

89

There is equally sparse evidence concerning the
presence of Egyptian cults in Rome during the reign of Nero.
Hence, we must continue to look at more general policies
regarding foreign religions in the city, assured that Isis
and Sarapis were there as well. We know that Nero despised
most religious views, though he was said to favour the
Syrian goddess Atargatis. Still, he was fully capable of
urinating on her statue, lest anyone think him a zealot.95
He examined some entrails shortly before his death, but to
little end.96

Nero's close circle of friends and family included
individuals well-acquainted with Egyptian ways. One of
Nero's teachers was Chaeremon of Naucratis. Little is known
of this individual save that he had been director of the
library at Alexandria.97 More important, Nero's wife
Poppaea Sabina seems to have. had family' who worshipped
Isis.. In Pompean excvations, the home of her cousin
Poppaeus Habitus was discovered. In its garden. were
beautiful Egyptian religious symbols.98 When Sabina died,

Nero did not burn her body in traditional Roman fashion.

 

95.Suet., Nero, 56;for’ Atagartis, see Luc., Syr* D;
Apul., Met., 8,9.

95.Suet., Nero, 56.

97.Chaeremon's work is no longer extant, but it is
mentioned by Porphyry. Porph., Abst., 4, 6, in Eus.,

Praep. Evang., III, 4.

98.Tinh, Isis a Pompei, 48-49;cf. Colin, 410; Malaise,
Les Cultes Egyptiens, 404.

90

Instead, he had her corpse spiced, as was done in the
Orient.99 This evidence clearly displays the relative
nonchalance which eastern culture now elicited from Rome.

More important still is the apparent attraction for
oriental despotism which appeared later in Nero's reign.100
Indeed, the Emperor was fairly charmed by the hymns offered
him by a band of Alexandrians, and he sent to Egypt for more
singers.101 More important are images which we find in the
Einsiedeln Eclogues. Published in 1879 from a tenth century
manuscript, a passage from these rare. documents repeats
Vergil's phrase while describing Nero: "tuus iam :regnat
Apollo." (Your Apollo is king at last.)102 Similarly, a
skit on the death of Caligula depicts Phoebus comparing Nero

to the great Sun.103

 

99.Tac., Ann., XVI, 6, 2.

100.Malaise, Les Cultes Egyptiens, 403°

 

101.3uet., Nero, 20.

102.The Einsiedeln Eclogues are sometimes attributed to
Calpurnicus Siculus, though this cannot be proven. The text
is found in Poeti Latini Minores, ed. by E. Baehrens, 5
vols., 1879-83, iii;Eclogues, 4,5,87; see also, Ferguson,
Religions of Rome, 46.

1°3.Sen., Apocol., 4, 1, 5, 25.

CONCLUSION

Contrasts created by the gradual rise of one theistic
system, and the gradual decline of another, provide Rome's
religious history with a fascinating eclectic mixture.
Recent studies, like those of EPRO, have carefully
documented these complex shadings. Macmullen likened this
collage of peoples and customs to a "good rich Irish
stew."1°4 His point is well taken. But the reality of
paganism's increasing universalism, and the ultimate triumph
of the oriental sects, must not be overlooked.

In 1906, Cumont argued that oriental cults offered a
superior sacred experience. Nearly a century later, lee
Religions Orientales dane la Paganisme Romaine remains an
important portrait of the eastern allure which transformed
western religion. More, intense scrutiny of the sources
shows the basic accuracy of Cumont's views. A case study
of Isis and Sarapis in Rome reveals a popular appeal sorely
lacking in the older deities. There must be some reason the
Alexandrian pair easily survived so many political and
cultural obstacles.

The Hannibalic invasions had profoundly disturbed Roman
society. In the turmoil's wake, a great religious hunger
was revealed. Filling this spiritual void, foreign cults

flooded Rome. Of these incoming gods, Sarapis and Isis were

 

104.Macmullen, Paganism in Rome, vi.

91

92
among the most successful. A psychological attraction
enabled them to challenge the popularity of native deities.
Subsequently, Egyptian influences became an issue in late
Republican political struggles. Seeking stability, the
first Emperor attempted to return Rome to the idyllic faith
of her past.

But during the Julio-Claudian decades, the conservative
policies of Augustus became obsolete. The initial years of
the Empire had been filled with images taken from the great
Roman pantheon. It had been a concerted effort to re-affirm
the mythological grounding which had helped make Rome the
Mediterranean's dominant power. But it was too late. The
Graeca-Roman faiths would continue their long and slow
demise. Sweeping, mysterious shifts which had changed
religions after the Hellenistic Age would continue. The
West would ultimately forsake its old gods entirely, for a

new hybrid sect from the East.

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