Preliminary material -- EGYPT -- ISLES -- ASIA MINOR -- GREECE -- ITALY -- ROME -- NORTH AFRICA -- SPAIN -- FRANCE -- ENGLAND -- GERMANY -- DANUBE COUNTRIES -- MUSEUMS -- ADDENDA -- TOPOGRAPHICAL INDEX -- MUSEUM INDEX -- GENERAL INDEX -- LIST OF PLATES -- PLATES I-XXXIII AND MAP.

Isis and Sarapis in the Roman World deals with the integration of the cult of Isis among Roman cults, the subsequent transformation of Isis and Sarapis into gods of the Roman state, and the epigraphic employment of the names of these two deities independent from their cultic context. The myth that the guardians of tradition and Roman religion tried to curb the cult of Isis in order to rid Rome and the imperium from this decadent cult will be dispelled. A closer look at inscriptions from the Rhine and Danubian provinces shows that most dedicators were not Isiac cult initiates and that women did not outnumber men as dedicators. Inscriptions that mention the two deities in connection with a wish for the well-being of the emperor and the imperial family are of special significance.

Preliminary material /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF ISIS /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- ISIS AS PERCEIVED BY WOMEN IN THE GRAECO-ROMAN WORLD /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- THE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN THE CULT OF ISIS /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- MORALITY AND THE CULT OF ISIS /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- CONCLUSIONS /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- INDEX NOMINUM ET RERUM /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- INDEX AUCTORUM ANTIQUORUM /Sharon Kelly Heyob -- INDEX INSCRIPTIONUM /Sharon Kelly Heyob.

Explores how Egyptians conceptualized with remarkable continuity their relations with the gods over a 3500-year period.

Expanded from the author's dissertation--University of Chicago, 1999.

New to this expanded & updated edition are revisions of Ferguson's original material, updated bibliographies, & a fresh dicussion of first century social life, the Dead Sea Scrolls & much else.