Isis in the Ancient World / Edition 1

by R. E. Witt

Overview

The first study to document the extent and complexity of the cult's influence on Graeco-Roman and early Christian culture, R. E. Witt's acclaimed Isis in the Ancient World is now available in paperback

Worship of the Egyptian goddess Isis dates as far back as 2500 B.C. and extended at least until the fifth century A.D. throughout the Roman world. The importance of her cult is attested to in Apuleius's Golden Ass, and evidence of its influence has been found in places as far apart as Afghanistan and Portugal, the Black Sea and northern England. The first study to document the extent and complexity of the cult's influence on Graeco-Roman and early Christian culture, R. E. Witt's acclaimed Isis in the Ancient World is now available in paperback.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780801856426
Publisher:	Johns Hopkins University Press
Publication date:	07/15/1997
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.75(h) x 0.79(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

R. E. Witt (1903-1980) taught at Queen Mary's College, University of London, and is also the author of Albinus and the History of Middle Platonism.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations
Preface
Chapter 1. The Ancient Goddess of the Nile
Chapter 2. Isis, Giver of Life
Chapter 3. Osiris–Brother, Husband, Son
Chapter 4. The Spread of the Egyptian Faith
Chapter 5. In the House of Isis
Chapter 6. To the Shores of Italy
Chapter 7. The Holy Servants of Isis
Chapter 8. Telling Forth Her Praises
Chapter 9. The One Whose Names Cannot Be Numbered
Chapter 10. The All-Loving Mother
Chapter 11. Great Atermis-Isis
Chapter 12. Mystery and Sacrament
Chapter 13. The Procession to the Ship
Chapter 14. Healing the Sick
Chapter 15. The Guardian Guide and Herald
Chapter 16. The Young King and Lord of All
Chapter 17. The Goddess Darling of Roman Emperors
Chapter 18. Xenophon's Isiac Romance
Chapter 19. The Pauline View
Chapter 20. The Great Forerunner
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Sources of Illustrations
Index

Editorial Reviews

Distinguished for its learning and its use of fascinating and little-known iconographic material . . . The importance of this study, both for the history of religions and of Graeco-Roman society, lies in the evidence, assembled and interpreted, of a widespread desire to worship a goddess who embodied maternal compassion and omnipotent wisdom.
—History Today

This is in many ways a pioneering book by an author who knows how to use archaeological as well as literary evidence. It is an important contribution to an understanding of the religious attitudes of ordinary men and women who lived under the rule of the Caesars . . . [It is a ] well-written, well-planned, and finely illustrated work [that] contributes powerfully to our knowledge of significant aspects of the Graeco-Roman world.
—Times Literary Supplement

Particularly stimulating is the attempt to assess the impact of the Isis cult on Christianity. Here Dr. Witt is able to deploy his wide knowledge of the religion of the Byzantine era and its sequel in Greek Orthodoxy, and he is also able to correct the severe underestimation of the moral appeal of the Isis cult which has hitherto prevailed among historians of Christianity.
—J. Gywn Griffiths, Journal of Egyptian Archaeology

From the Publisher

This is in many ways a pioneering book by an author who knows how to use archaeological as well as literary evidence. It is an important contribution to an understanding of the religious attitudes of ordinary men and women who lived under the rule of the Caesars . . . [It is a ] well-written, well-planned, and finely illustrated work [that] contributes powerfully to our knowledge of significant aspects of the Graeco-Roman world.

Times Literary Supplement

Particularly stimulating is the attempt to assess the impact of the Isis cult on Christianity. Here Dr. Witt is able to deploy his wide knowledge of the religion of the Byzantine era and its sequel in Greek Orthodoxy, and he is also able to correct the severe underestimation of the moral appeal of the Isis cult which has hitherto prevailed among historians of Christianity.

Journal of Egyptian Archaeology - J. Gywn Griffiths

Distinguished for its learning and its use of fascinating and little-known iconographic material . . . The importance of this study, both for the history of religions and of Graeco-Roman society, lies in the evidence, assembled and interpreted, of a widespread desire to worship a goddess who embodied maternal compassion and omnipotent wisdom.

History Today

Particularly stimulating is the attempt to assess the impact of the Isis cult on Christianity. Here Dr. Witt is able to deploy his wide knowledge of the religion of the Byzantine era and its sequel in Greek Orthodoxy, and he is also able to correct the severe underestimation of the moral appeal of the Isis cult which has hitherto prevailed among historians of Christianity.

— J. Gywn Griffiths

Journal of Egyptian Archaeology