Temple of Isis

The temple is adorned with a facade of four Corinthian columns topped by a lunate pediment, as can be seen on a 71 CE coin of Vespasian. On the pediment, you can see the goddess herself seated on a dog. Inside the inner shrine, the goddess Isis is present. She looks upon you with a kindly, though other-worldly gaze.

As your eyes adjust to the dim lighting of the cella so you can see the statue of the goddess, you recognize her typical style of dress, wearing a fringed cloak tied across her chest in the form of the Egyptian hieroglyph ankh, symbol of life, representing her role as goddess of fertility and loving nurture. You have certainly seen this same type of dress on priestesses of the cult of Isis and vessels associated with Isis, as well as the goddess herself. Isis is often shown holding a sistrum, a metal rattle used in her rites, as well as a situla, a ritual jug or small bucket for holding water from the river Nile.