To the east of Demeter’s temple a temenos was discovered in 1978 dedicated to the cult of the Egyptian gods. Sarapis, Isis and Anubis were worshipped there, but mainly Isis Lochia, the goddess who took care of women during the critical period after childbirth. The central temple of the sanctuary was dedicated to her. However, from inscriptional and other sources we draw the conclusion that another goddess of childbirth was originally worshipped here, the goddess Artemis Eileithyia, who in the Hellenistic period was succeeded by Isis Lochia. Another temple was dedicated to Isis as goddess of Luck, while a third to Aphrodite Hypolympidia (Aphrodite worshipped at the foot of Mount Olympos). A charming cult statue of this goddess, dating from the second century BC, was discovered during the excavations.
The temple of Isis
07 Aug 2012
by Archaeology Newsroom
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