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Temple of Isis (Pompeii)

1st-century Roman templesTemples of IsisTemples of Pompeii
Brogi, Giacomo (1822 1881) Pompei Tempio d'Iside n. 5038 ca. 1870
Brogi, Giacomo (1822 1881) Pompei Tempio d'Iside n. 5038 ca. 1870

The Temple of Isis is a Roman temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis. This small and almost intact temple was one of the first discoveries during the excavation of Pompeii in 1764. Its role as a Hellenized Egyptian temple in a Roman colony was fully confirmed with an inscription detailed by Francisco la Vega on July 20, 1765. Original paintings and sculptures can be seen at the Museo Archaeologico in Naples; the site itself remains on the Via del Tempio di Iside. In the aftermath of the temple's discovery many well-known artists and illustrators swarmed to the site.The preserved Pompeian temple is actually the second structure; the original building built during the reign of Augustus was damaged in an earlier earthquake, in 62 AD. Previously to this, in both 54 BCE and 30 BCE, the Roman senate had issued proclamations demanding that the cult of Isis and her temples be demolished. It is reported that there were no volunteers to undertake this process, and that the cult only grew in popularity from this point, so much so that the Temple of Isis was one of the only buildings to be fully rebuilt after the earthquake. At the time of the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius, the Iseum was the only temple to have been completely re-built; even the Capitolium had not been. Although the Iseum was wedged into a small and narrow space, it received significant foot traffic from theater-goers at the Large Theater, businessmen in the Triangular Forum, and others along the Stabian Gate. Principal devotees of this temple are assumed to be women, freedmen, and slaves. Initiates of the Isis mystery cult worshipped a compassionate goddess who promised eventual salvation and a perpetual relationship throughout life and after death. The temple itself was reconstructed in honor of a 6-year-old boy named Numerius Popidius Celsinus by his freedman father, Numerius Popidius Ampliatus, and his mother Corelia Celsa, to allow the child to enter elite society. Many scenes from the temple are re-created in the dining rooms of Pompeians, however, indicating that many individuals visited this temple for political, economic, or social reasons.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Temple of Isis (Pompeii) (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Temple of Isis (Pompeii)
Via del Tempio d'Iside,

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N 40.749166666667 ° E 14.488277777778 °
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Tempio d'Iside

Via del Tempio d'Iside
80045
Campania, Italy
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cir.campania.beniculturali.it

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Brogi, Giacomo (1822 1881) Pompei Tempio d'Iside n. 5038 ca. 1870
Brogi, Giacomo (1822 1881) Pompei Tempio d'Iside n. 5038 ca. 1870
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Pompeii
Pompeii

Pompeii (, Latin: [pɔmˈpei̯.iː]) was an ancient city located in what is now the comune of Pompei near Naples in the Campania region of Italy. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area (e.g. at Boscoreale, Stabiae), was buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice in the Eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Largely preserved under the ash, the excavated city offers a unique snapshot of Roman life, frozen at the moment it was buried, although much of the detailed evidence of the everyday life of its inhabitants was lost in the excavations. It was a wealthy town, with a population of ca. 11,000 in AD 79, enjoying many fine public buildings and luxurious private houses with lavish decorations, furnishings and works of art which were the main attractions for the early excavators. Organic remains, including wooden objects and human bodies, were interred in the ash. Over time, they decayed, leaving voids that archaeologists found could be used as moulds to make plaster casts of unique, and often gruesome, figures in their final moments of life. The numerous graffiti carved on the walls and inside rooms provide a wealth of examples of the largely lost Vulgar Latin spoken colloquially at the time, contrasting with the formal language of the classical writers. Pompeii is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Italy, with approximately 2.5 million visitors annually.After many excavations prior to 1960 that had uncovered most of the city but left it in decay, further major excavations were banned or limited to targeted, prioritised areas. In 2018, these led to new discoveries in some previously unexplored areas of the city.

Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii)
Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii)

The Temple of Jupiter, Capitolium, or Temple of the Capitoline Triad, was a temple in Roman Pompeii, at the north end of its forum. Initially dedicated to Jupiter alone, it was built in the mid-2nd century BC at the same time as the Temple of Apollo was being renovated – this was the area at which Roman influence over Pompeii increased and so Roman Jupiter superseded the Greek Apollo as the town's highest god. Jupiter was the ruler of the gods and the protector of Rome, where his temple was the center of Roman religion and of the cult of state. As the most important divinity in Ancient Rome, many temples were built to honor Jupiter or the entire Capitoline Triad (consisting of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva) in towns newly conquered by the Romans. This held true for Pompeii, where the previously existing Temple of Jupiter was enlarged and altered after conquest. Pompeii was occupied by the Romans beginning in 310 BC. It maintained much of its autonomy, however, until the Italic Revolt against Rome at the beginning of the 1st century BC. In 89, the town was besieged by Sulla. Roman language, culture, and law would soon come to dominate the city. The architecture of the town had been largely changed by the Greeks, but Roman rule would soon lead to alterations in this style. In contrast to the previous Samnite occupiers, the Romans very much believed in the importance of architecture in religious and civic life. Pompeii was transformed into a much more public and open place. Public buildings and spaces would come to dominate the city. The temple structure was built in 150 BC to dominate the forum, and it became Pompeii's main temple after the Roman conquest. Pure Italic style characterized the capitolium style, which sat atop a base measuring 121 x 56 x 10 feet. The interior of the temple contained the cella, which held the statues of Jupiter, Juno, and Minerva, and which only the priests were permitted to enter. There was a chamber below the main hall which was used to store sacrificial offerings and the treasury of the city. In 62 AD, an earthquake shook the city of Pompeii, destroying much of the Temple of Jupiter. After this, the much smaller Temple of Jupiter Meilichios became the main seat of worship to Jupiter and the Capitoline Triad. The original Temple of Jupiter was still awaiting restoration when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79.