The Panhellenic character of the Cretan sanctuaries ➔ Statue group of Isis-Persephone and Sarapis-Hades
Γ259 + Γ260
Stone (Marble)
The statue of Isis-Persephone is preserved almost intact except for minor repairs on the wrists. The statue of Sarapis-Hades is missing the right arm and is restored on a large part of the left arm and sceptre.
Isis-Persephone: Height: 159 cm. Sarapis-Hades: Height: 162 cm.
Gortyn
Temple of the Egyptian Gods
Roman period:
180-190 AD:
Gallery:
XXVIICase:
Not in caseExhibition thematic unit:
Sculpture. Hellenistic period (3rd-2nd c. BC) Roman period (1st c. BC-3rd c. AD)Description
Statue group of Isis-Persephone and Sarapis-Hades. The goddess is depicted frontally, holding a sistrum in her right hand. In her left she probably held the leashes restraining Cerberus or a situla. Her head is covered by a mantle and crowned with a round emblem with the solar disc motif between two horns. Sarapis-Hades is also standing in frontal posture. He is crowned with the modius or grain measure, and holds the sceptre of his divine authority in his left hand. On his right is Cerberus, the three-headed guard dog of the Underworld. The cult of the Egyptian gods is attested at many sites of the ancient Greek world and became quite popular during the Hellenistic period. Isis, the fertility goddess who regulated the rise and fall of the Nile with her sistrum, ensured abundance and material wealth. Sarapis is thought to be a creation of Ptolemaic Egypt, an amalgam of Osiris, Apis and Pluto. Cerberus confirms the association of the cult of these deities with the Underworld, giving them the chthonic character of the myth of Hades and Persephone. This is a syncretic phenomenon that appeared in the Hellenistic period. The attributes of the Egyptian deities Isis and Sarapis were amalgamated with those of the Greek Persephone and Hades.Bibliography:
Oliverio G., “Scoperta del santuario delle divinità egizie in Gortyna” in Annuario della scuola archeologica di Atene 1 (1914-1919), 376-377, fig. 15. Pernier L.-Banti L., Guida degli scavi italiani in Creta, Roma, 1947, 23-24, fig. 30. Platon N., A Guide to the Archaeological Museum of Herakleion, Athens, 1964, 154. Alexiou S., Guide sommaire du Musée Archéologique d'Heraclion, Athènes, 1969, 136. Salditt-Trappmann R., “Tempel der ägyptischen Götter in Griechenland und an der Westküste Kleinasiens”, Études préliminaires aux Religions orientales dans l'Empire Romain, 15, Leiden, 1970, 57-60, pl. 26, fig. 48. Dunand F., “Le culte d' Isis dans le bassin oriental de la Méditerranée, I-III: Le culte d'Isis en Grèce”, Études préliminaires aux Religions orientales dans l'Empire Romain 26. Leiden, 1973, 74-77, pl. 23 1-2. Hornbostel W., “Sarapis. Studien zur Überlieferungsgeschichte den Erscheinungsformen und Wandlungen der Gestalt eines Gottes", Études préliminaires aux Religions orientales dans l'Empire Romain, Leiden, 1973, 189 n.1, pl. 30, fig. 46. Sanders I. F., Roman Crete, Warminster, 1982, 50. Tran Tam Tinh V., “Sérapis debout. Corpus des monuments de Sérapis debout et étude iconographique”, Études préliminaires aux Religions orientales dans l'Empire Romain 94, Leiden, 1983, 13. Tran Tam Tinh V., “Etat des études iconographiques relatives à Isis, Sérapis et Sunnaoi Theoi”, in Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt II 17,3 (1984), 1710-1738. Wild R. A., “The known Isis-Sarapis Sanctuaries of the Roman Period”, in Aufstieg und Niedergang der Römischen Welt 17, 4 (1984), 1739-1851. Di Vita A. - Rizzo M. A., “Gortyn”, in Ancient Crete, A Hundred Years of Italian Archaeology (1884-1984), Rome, 1984, 57, figs 45-47. Eingartner J., “Isis und ihre Dienerinnen in der Kunst der römischen Kaiserzeit”, in Mnemosyne Supplements 115, Leiden, 1991, 64, 143 no. 97 pl. 61. Romeo I., “le sculture ideali”, in Romeo I., E.C. Portale, Gortyna III: le sculture, Padova, 1998, 21-276. Karetsou A. - Andreaki-Vlazaki M., Crete-Egypt, Three thousand years of cultural links, Herakleion-Cairo, 2001, 438-440.Author:
S. P.Photographs' metadata