Roman Empire
The Cult of Isis – Egyptian Religion in Rome
July 10, 2025
Isis, along with Serapis, were the two principal deities that spread from Greek-ruled Egypt (under the Ptolemies) to the rest of the Mediterranean, and, inevitably, to Rome. A shrine to Isis was first erected on the Capitoline Hill in the first century BC, around the time this coin was struck. The cult of Isis was initially slow to see widespread adoption, but by the Flavian dynasty (69-96 AD), she had been fully integrated into religious life across the empire. There is interesting scholarship on certain similarities between worshippers of the cult of Isis and early Christians in the East, who sometimes may have been the same people, but that is to be expanded upon in another post.
The coin above is a true beauty – toned with various hints of gold, violet, turquoise, and more. The design also represents one of the more artistically sophisticated Roman Republican types. On the obverse, we see an ambiguous figure reflective of the growing cosmopolitanism of Rome in the mid-1st century BC. It was a time when Rome was expanding eastward into the old Greek lands of the Eastern Mediterranean – bringing great riches and ever-increasing exposure to Greek philosophy and culture, but also, in the eyes of some, deviant and corrupting Eastern decadence. The obverse figure is often identified by scholars as a complex fusion of five deities – Diana, Apollo, Minerva, Victory, and Isis.
The first four are all traditional Roman gods and goddesses – but the fifth, Isis – is Egyptian. Worship of Isis dates back to the Old Kingdom, with the first prominent mention of her coming in the Pyramid Texts, around 2400 BC. When the Macedonians/Greeks conquered Egypt under Alexander the Great, they assimilated many of the native deities into their own pantheon. For example, the Egyptian god Ammon became synonymous with Zeus, forming a Graeco-Egyptian fusion. The Greeks also invented new ways of worshipping Egyptian deities; the god of the underworld, Osiris, was merged with attributes of the sacred Apis Bull to form Serapis, whose cult became immensely popular in Greek Egypt and across the Mediterranean.
Isis, along with Serapis, were the two principal deities that spread from Greek-ruled Egypt (under the Ptolemies) to the rest of the Mediterranean, and, inevitably, to Rome. A shrine to Isis was first erected on the Capitoline Hill in the first century BC, around the time this coin was struck. The cult of Isis was initially slow to see widespread adoption, but by the Flavian dynasty (69-96 AD), she had been fully integrated into religious life across the empire. There is interesting scholarship on certain similarities between worshippers of the cult of Isis and early Christians in the East, who sometimes may have been the same people, but that is to be expanded upon in another article.