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Headless
statue of a woman (probably the goddess Isis), in a striding
posture, in which the left leg is advanced. She is dressed
in a transperent garment that accentuates the beauty of her body.
The dress is tied on the left shoulder in a knot. The right
arm is stretched along the side of the body and the hand is
missing. The feet are also missing.
Isis is one of the most important goddesses
in ancient Egyptian religion. She was the goddess of love
and the symbol of devotion as a wife and mother. She was the
goddess of maternity, and protector of mother and child.
She was worshipped all over Egypt, and her cult spread to
many places in Europe. She was identified with several other
goddesses
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Head
of the god Serapis, with a hole on top for fixing
the kalathos. The eyes were inlaid, but are now only two cavities.
The mouth is open with a faint smile. The facial features
are distinct.
Parts of the five characteristic locks of hair, that usually
fall on the forehead, are missing.
The god Serapis was a fusion of Egyptian
and Greek religious concepts originating in Alexandria, where
Ptolemy I started his cult and constructed the first known
shrine to him, called the Serapeum. His worship
continued throughout the Roman period and his temples spread
throughout the Roman Empire.
Serapis was frequently combined with other deities, both Egyptian
and Greek. Such combinations were Serapis-Zeus, Serapis-Helios
and Serapis-Amun. His statues are characterized by a long
face, heavily curled beard, long moustach with curling ends,
and five locks of hair falling over the forehead.
The kalathos, one of his attributes and a symbol of abundance
and fertility, surmounts his head.
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