The relationship between political power and religion, a significant and frequently controversial topic in more contemporary contexts as well as among scholars of the ancient world, was the theme for the 5th International Conference of Isis Studies held in Boulogne-sur-Mer in 2011, the proceedings from which are published in this volume.
B. and V.'s opening survey, ‘Isis and Empires’, reminds us of the important point that there is more to the relationship between power and religion than just Religionspolitik, the ‘cynical’ development of a religious policy in the interests of secular politics (p. 24). The rest of the collection bears this out. Several contributions do focus on the relationship between particular royal dynasties and Isiac cult: B. Legras, ‘Sarapis, Isis et le pouvoir lagide’, looks at the frequently-debated issue of the birth of the cult of Isis-Sarapis under the Ptolemies; C.-G. Schwentzel, ‘Le reine Huldu et la coiffe isiaque. Isis et le pouvoir royal à Petra (Ier s. av. J.-C.-Ier s. apr.J.-C.)’, examines a particular piece of Isis iconography in royal portraits of Nabatean queens; G. Capriotti Vittozzi, ‘The Flavians: Pharaonic Kingship between Egypt and Rome’, briefly surveys the Flavians’ relationship with Isis and with Egypt; and J.-L. Podvin, ‘Le tropisme isiaques des Sévères: une acme reconsidérée?’, traces the changing relationship between the Severan emperors and Isiac cult. However, these contributions focus on relationships between those in power and Isiac cult, rather than implying a one-sided manipulation of cult by those in power. Schwentzel's paper, for example, offers an especially interesting interpretation of a particular theme in Nabatean royal iconography, the representation of Nabatean queens with an Isiac hairstyle. This does not necessarily indicate either assimilation to Isis or the deification of Nabatean queens, Schwentzel reminds us; it may be largely aesthetic (p. 162). We must be careful of the assumptions we make about religious/political programmes in the ancient world.
Several chapters focusing similarly on particular case studies form one of the major strengths of the volume, offering close and revealing analysis of particular aspects of Isiac texts or iconography from across the ancient world. F. Naerebout, ‘Cuius regio, eius religio? Rulers and Religious Change in Greco-Roman Egypt’, examines the recurring image of Egyptian gods dressed in foreign armour across a wide time span, finding its origins in Near Eastern ruler cult; P. Martzavou, ‘«Isis» et «Athènes»: épigraphie, espace et pouvoir à la basse époque hellénistique’, uses four particular texts (an inscription from Teithras, two inscriptions from the Sarapieon at Delos and the Isis aretalogy from Maroneia) to examine the relationship between the Isis cult and Hellenistic Athens; and R. Veymiers, ‘Le basileion, les reines et Actium’, examines the gradual appropriation of the basileion, the crown of Hathor, by those in power, in its simpler form of disc and horns or its full form with two feathers.
Other chapters explore a broader spread of evidence within a particular chronological framework. J. Ma, ‘Les cultes isiaques dans l'espace séleucide’, surveys the sadly patchy epigraphic evidence for Isiac cult in the Seleucid Empire; J. Aliquot, ‘Les cultes isiaques et le pouvoir dans la Tétrapole syrienne’, examines the literary evidence for Isis within the Syrian tetrapolis; V. Gasparini, ‘Le cultes isiaques et les pouvoirs locaux en Italie’, investigates epigraphic evidence in Italy finishing with a case study of evidence from Pompeii; and B., ‘Gens isiaca et identité polythéiste à Rome à la fin du IVe s. apr.J.-C.’, rounds off the volume with a look at Isiac (and, by extension, pagan) identity in the fourth century a.d.
Gasparini's contribution is particularly interesting, especially with regard to the theme of power. Rather than looking at emperors or monarchs, Gasparini focuses on local politics and local power structures, discovering a dichotomy between the way local politics is connected to the cult of Isis in north-east Italy and the way it is in Campania (p. 296) and establishing that, perhaps particularly following the accession of the Flavians, Isiac cults in Italy were heavily involved in local elections (p. 297). B.'s chapter, meanwhile, will be of particular interest to anyone with an interest in religious and cultural identity; while religious affiliation (or lack thereof) did not form a part of one's identity in the ancient world in the same way as it often does now, B. suggests that the rise of Christianity led to the emergence of ‘une sorte d'orthodoxie polythéiste’, a collective identity of polytheistic pagans against the Christian monotheists that could incorporate ancestral Roman religion, Greek religion and the previously less integrated ‘Oriental’ cults (p. 358). This offers a potentially useful bridge between the very different attitudes towards religious identity expressed in the ancient world and the medieval (and later early modern) worlds.
The volume is structured primarily chronologically. Three opening chapters offer broad views encompassing a wide chronological span (B. and V., Naerebout, and a contribution from G. Woolf, ‘Isis and the Evolution of Religions’, which takes a very wide view indeed; this chapter discusses not just Isiac cult but a large group of religions including other mystery cults, Judaism, Christianity, Zoroastrianism and others across a very long time span, applying the scientific theory of evolution to the development and spread of religions, in so far as that is possible). The other ten chapters are in roughly chronological order, subdivided into sections on the Hellenistic world and the Roman world. It is a practical and useful structure, especially when some chapters intersect and feed into each other, and allows the reader to follow the history and development of Isiac cults through the various case studies. Several chapters include useful colour illustrations or data summaries in the forms of graphs or tables to allow the reader to understand the primary evidence better; the chapters from Veymiers, Vittozzi, Gasparini and Podvin are particularly rich in this regard. The volume opens with a touching tribute by B. to Jean Leclant, who sadly passed away a month before the conference.
Part of Brill's Religions in the Graeco-Roman World series, this is a volume for specialists rather than students; the majority of the papers are in French and the English contributions tend to include untranslated Greek, Latin, French and German, so a student would need a thorough command of both ancient and modern foreign languages to be able to use it in any depth. However, lengthy and significant texts are, for the most part, translated into French and plenty of detail provided, for example on Nabatean royalty or the Seleucid Empire, for the reader not familiar with the particular case studies in each chapter. The study of the cults of Isis is particularly wide-ranging, bringing together Egyptologists, specialists in Greek religion, Romanists and those with an interest in Late Antiquity and requiring the command of a wide range of literary, epigraphic and archaeological evidence, so the essential background provided to each study is especially welcome.
This is a highly useful collection of papers. It will be of obvious use to anyone with an interest in the history and development of Isiac cult in the Hellenistic and Roman worlds, particularly in epigraphic and artistic evidence for the cult. It will be of equal interest to those working with theories and concepts of power, especially as it relates to religion, and it should also be considered by anyone with an interest in religious identity in the ancient world. It is an engaging and thought-provoking volume.
