On the other hand, the Greeks and Romans associated Egypt with pygmees, so it is possible that this dwarf played a role in the cult of Isis. Small people are known from Germanic myth and sagas, and are usually connected to the treasures of the earth: sometimes, they are mineworkers, sometimes, they are smiths. What the statuette signifies, is another question. The man or woman who left this votive gift must have been very wealthy. It is possibly an import from Italy or southern France and was almost certainly made in the first century. The nails of the little man's toes and fingers are made of silver. This dwarf is made of massive bronze, to which lips and a wreath of copper were added. Another nice statue is a bronze of Mercury, who holds a wallet in his hand. The archaeologists also found grains and pine nuts, which must have been burnt on the altar, and exotic fruits such as dates and figs, which must have been imported from Syria or Egypt. Chicken bones suggest what kind of sacrifice was offered to the two oriental goddesses. Among the other finds were no less then three hundred oil lamps, which must have been used during the mysteries that were performed in this temple and must have contributed to a special atmosphere. This wall painting of the Egyptian god of the dead, Anubis, was one of the finds. The sanctuary was unexpectedly discovered in 2000 when a shopping mall was built in the center of Mainz. A century after the construction of this temple, Irenaeus of Lyon mentions the first Christians in Germania Superior. The shrine is very interesting, because it shows how rapid oriental religions spread to Gaul and the Rhineland. The sanctuary of the Egyptian mother goddess Isis and her Phrygian counterpart Cybele was almost certainly built after the emperor Vespasian (69-79) had claimed to be specially protected by Isis. All the furnishings and statues are on display at the National Archaeological Museum of Naples.ĭate of excavation: 1764 1958-1959 e 1988-1991.Temple of Isis and Cybele Remains of the temple of Isis and Cybel Mozart, who visited Pompeii in 1770 with his father, Leopold, was so impressed by this temple that inspired the scenes of the first performance of the "Magic Flute" in Vienna in 1791. A large hall behind the temple was dedicated to meetings of the initiates (ekklesiasterion) and paintings could be viewed in a smaller one (sacrarium), which illustrated episodes of the myth of the goddess. Inside this area there is a staircase that leads to the basin from which water was drawn for the offerings, which was said to derive directly from the Nile.
There is the temple on a high basis at the centre of a portico-style courtyard the altar, the pit for the offerings to be discharged and a small building (purgatorium) are found in the area at the front. The cult was particularly popular among the lower classes of Pompeii, given the message of hope for a life beyond death.
The myth tells the story of Isis who retrieves the parts of the body of her spouse Osiris, killed and dismembered by Seth, to recompose him and revive him with her magical limbs, thereby becoming the life-giving deity. The ancient cult of the Egyptian goddess spread throughout the Mediterranean as from the 3rd century BC it was a mystery cult, reserved for initiates. When the Temple of Isis was discovered by escavators its decoration and furnishings were almost intact, thereby contributing decisively to introduce Pompeii to the world.