ATTIC GRAVE RELIEFS THAT REPRESENT WOMEN IN THE DRESS OF ISIS (GREECE)

Attic grave reliefs with women in the dress of Isis are of Roman date, produced from the last quarter of the first century B.C. to the beginning of the fourth century A.D. There are one hundred and five, approximately one third of the published Attic grave reliefs of the Roman period. Owing to the number and generally high quality of the 'Isis' reliefs, this series provides a valid chronology for the other, contemporary reliefs. The chronology is based chiefly on style because the information concerning the provenience is often all too limited, the accompanying inscriptions are difficult to date and the persons named are rarely known.;Isis is the Egyptian goddess whose cult spread throughout the Mediterranean in the fourth and third centuries B.C. In Athens the cult is known from the third quarter of the fourth century B.C. Epigraphical evidence indicates continuous participation in the cult to after the middle of the third century A.D. The 'Isis' reliefs show that participation continued to the early fourth century A.D. while terracotta figurines and lamps are evidence of its popularity late in the fourth century A.D.;The role in the cult of the individuals represented on the 'Isis' reliefs is the subject of much discussion. The large number and range in size and execution of contemporary 'Isis' reliefs are indicative of a large, non-stratified group such as the initiates whose coveted position and costly costume are well known from literature. The 'Isis' reliefs serve to document the heightened production of grave reliefs in Athens in the Roman period and an active, often competitive participation in the Isis cult by a prosperous, if little known middle class.;The 'Isis' reliefs are not only the most numerous Attic grave reliefs of Roman date but also are often among the most impressive in quality and variety. Many can be assigned to workshops and several to master sculptors who merited important commissions and made fine portraits. The few that should be assigned to workshops that made sarcophagi should be dated at the earliest to the end of the second century A.D.