Subject Area
History
Description
The Egyptian goddess Isis and the Virgin Mary are two mother figures that were an essential part of Roman culture. Isis rose to prominence in Roman religion when the Republic expanded into Egypt in 30 B.C. She was adopted into the Roman pantheon alongside many other deities from other cultures. Mary rose to prominence in a very different way. A majority of early Christian worship was heavily persecuted and not accepted by many Roman emperors. However, eventually, Christianity eclipsed cult worship of deities. Isis and Mary were both seen as comforting mother figures for not only their sons, Horus and Jesus respectively, but all of humanity. These women were depicted throughout the Roman Empire in both literature and artifacts. Plutarch and Apuleius included Isis in their writings about gods and goddesses helping individuals and Mary is described in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation. There are also numerous hymns to each of them that show their divine and human characteristics. Isis and Mary were depicted in statues, coins, temples, and paintings. Early images of Isis had very Egyptian characteristics, but over time she began to be depicted with more Roman characteristics. There is also a large temple to Isis in Pompeii that shows the very public worship of this goddess. In contrast, one of the earliest images of Mary was found in a catacomb, revealing how most of the early worship was more private. However, after Emperor Constantine established Christianity as the official religion of the Empire, she was depicted in much more public settings. The developments in these images show that both of these women played prominent roles in the Empire. Although the polytheistic ancient Egyptian religion may seem to juxtapose the monotheistic Christian religion, the two religions share some commonalities in the figures of Isis and Mary, including a motherly depiction and deep devotion from many followers. Both Isis and Mary were important figures in not only the Roman Empire’s religious life but Mediterranean culture as a whole.
Publisher
Providence College
Academic Year
2021-2022
Date
Spring 2022
Type
Thesis
Format
Text
Language
English
Included in
Ancient History, Greek and Roman through Late Antiquity Commons, History of Religion Commons
