Item: Egyptian goddess Isis

Material: Terracotta

Place of origin: Alexandria

Date of origin: Graeco-Roman Period (c. 332 BC - 311 AD)

Accession number: 71/141

Description: Isis in the guise of the Greek moon goddess Selena with the Isis knot on her breast and the crescent moon in her hair.

Isis was an important Egyptian goddess, consort of the god Osiris and mother of Horus and the archetypal wife and mother. She was the goddess of magic and protected the pharaoh, in his incarnation as Horus. Her name means "throne." The Isis cult spread into the Graeco-Roman world and she was very popular, even in Rome. In Egypt she wore a headress consisting of cow horns and a sundisk, but later she was linked with the moon as Selena-Luna as on this terracotta. The knot of Isis is typical of later depictions and goes back to an earlier hieroglyphic sign.