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Al-Ahram Weekly 21 - 28 January 1999 Issue No. 413 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 21 - 28 January 1999 Issue No. 413
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Focus Economy Opinion Culture Features Living Travel Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Isis exhibition
A collection of unique statues of Isis, the goddess of warding off evil, is now on display at the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square. Nevine El-Aref scanned the artifacts.
A Japanese tourist admiring
the display photo: Khaled El-FiqiIn collaboration with the Italian Cultural Institute in Egypt, the Egyptian Museum held a large exhibition on the museum's ground floor titled "Isis, the Egyptian Goddess who conquered Rome". On display were 50 statues featuring Isis with her husband Osiris, her son Horus and other deities. Two huge statues stood on big brown wooden pedestals, while the other items were displayed in showcases. Among the collection are 35 photos of various Egyptian and Italian temples dedicated to Isis. Mohamed Saleh, director-general of the Egyptian Museum, said that most of these objects were previously on display in the museum and the rest were brought in from Italy. "These objects were either made in Italy in the Roman era or taken there from Egypt during Roman times when the Egyptian Isis became one of the Roman Empire's major deities," said Saleh.
The exhibition is divided into five sections. The first displays objects of Pharaonic Isis; the second shows statues narrating the Myth of Osiris; the third exhibits statues of Isis during the Ptolemaic era; the fourth shows the cult of Isis in Rome during Roman times and the fifth shows the major sanctuaries of Isis in Italy.
"While Isis is a very important Egyptian deity, she was in fact the goddess who conquered Rome," said Saleh.
