Wohlthat, Christian
Congratulations on passing the colloquium
on 14 March 2016.
Dissertation topic:
"De civitatibus Isidis: Egyptian cults in the Second Sophistic between discourses, forms of socialisation and identities."
Fellowship: "Würzburg-Stipendium" of the Graduate School of the Humanities (1 October 2009 - 30 September 2012).
Contact address at the University of Würzburg:
Institute of History
Chair of Ancient History
Residenzplatz 2, Tor A (south wing)
D-97070 Würzburg
E-mail to Mr Wohlthat
First supervisor: Prof. Dr Rene Pfeilschifter
Second supervisors:
Prof Dr Ruprecht Ziegler, University of Duisburg-Essen
Class in the Graduate School: "Antiquity, History and Religion"
Doctorate in the Graduate School since WS 2009/2010.
Abstract:
Integration of the cult of Isis into Greco-Roman polis society
The project traces the integration of the cult of Isis into Greco-Roman society. Both Middle Platonic theology and cosmology play a role here, as well as their reception and realisation by cult functionaries of the Isis cult. The pastophores in particular stand out as actors here.
An examination of Hellenistic and imperial religious history shows that a. Theological concepts in the Greco-Roman cultural sphere changed during the period of Middle Platonism. The study of the cult of Isis is particularly suitable as a key because not only is there a continuous inscriptional and numismatic tradition from the Hellenistic period to the late Imperial period, but with Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride and Apuleius' Metamorphoses two essential writings have been preserved that reveal core elements of the theology and cult hierarchy. The cult of Isis thus offers an outstanding projection surface for the investigation of theological change, representative of a broader, popular reception of the new theological concepts in other cults.
Thesis: The double cult of Isis
The inscriptions of the cult of Isis (and in parts of the cult of Sarapis), compiled by L. Vidman and newly edited and translated by L. Bricault, suggest the following: the Egyptian cults first reached the Greek poleis on Delos and in Athens. Delos represents a singular stroke of luck here, because the integration into the Delian pantheon can be traced from an internal cultic perspective. While the cult was initially still private, i.e. not part of the official cults, and the function of hiereus was hereditary and lifelong in the Egyptian tradition, this changed with the officialisation of the cult. The hiereis now became citizens of Delos and the office was awarded annually in the usual way, i.e. deprofessionalised. The specialised ritual knowledge was now passed on to a new breed of cult functionaries, the first of whom was a representative from Kasion.
This type of specialist, like the hiereus, has been consistently referred to in research as a 'priest'. The "priests" were also labelled as "Egyptians" in later times. Neither generalisation can be substantiated by inscriptions. Unfortunately, the exact spread of the cult through the Greco-Roman world in the following centuries can only be traced in fragments. However, the driving and mobile force behind the cult appears to have been the pastophores, who probably belonged to the socio-economic elite of their respective poleis and who, after the hiereis, were among the best documented functionaries. The pastophores were also involved in other cults. These could not only be other mystery cults, but also the imperial cult. This indicates the political significance of the cults in the poleis. The pastophores staged what can best be summarised as the "double cult of Isis". Based on a theology of revelation, as expressed in Apul. met. XI,6 and the Isis-Aretalogy of Kyme, it is not only possible to draw a picture of Isis from the cult's perspective, but also of the divine mandate given to the cult's followers. This must be carried out in order to attain the promised salvation.
Isis thus stands for the idea of a cosmological creator deity, although Apuleius at least makes it clear that although Isis is the true name, many use other names such as Ceres or Hecate. The metaphysical, Aristotelian model of the "unmoved mover" thus also found favour in theology after metaphysics, only to undergo a transformation in theological discussion up until Plutarch's time. In short: in theology, the first mover became the salvific Queen of Heaven. The knowledge of this fact is part of the mysteries and is passed on in the mystery cult. It plays no decisive role in the official cult. The harmless, traditional assumption that a prosperous cult directs the positive attention of the deity to the polis still applies here. The contract between polis and deity is constantly renewed, symbolised by the sacrifice. This official cult is performed and represented by the hiereus. The ritual knowledge, however, was guarded by the specialists. The hiereis, who held office for one year, would probably not have been able to learn the specific Egyptian rituals, whether traditional or merely imagined, in the short time they were in office. These specialists appear in the form of several groups. Of these, the pastophores are not only the most richly represented epigraphically. Their inscriptions are also those with the most cross-references to other cults, so that the pastophores can be analysed best both quantitatively and qualitatively. And it is precisely those pastophores that Apuleius' Lucius joins: Apuleius thus directs the reader to this group himself.
The hiereus, on the other hand, is an interface between the official cult and the mystery cult. In my opinion, this gives rise to the image of a twofold cult practised by those who called themselves pastophores. In contrast to the rather flatly hierarchised, autochthonous cults of a polis, the Isis cult was more deeply hierarchised. This suited the Greek elites well. The pastophores were able to fulfil the deity's revealed demands for "diligent obedience" and "conscientious service" (Apul. met. XI,6) by establishing the cult in their polis and ensuring its propagation. Their reward, however, was not only prestige, which they had to share to a large extent with the hiereus, the reward was above all otherworldly and otherworldly, for Isis alone was free to "extend your life beyond the period of time determined by your destiny." An actual founding act can no longer be proven from the later inscriptions, but the case of a "priest for life and pastophorus of Isis Augusta" from Aquae Aponi can be proven, suggesting that he was probably both a link and a specialist in an early phase of the local Isis cult.
