TEMPLE AND AREA
- Roma, Rione Pigna, Campo Marzio
Regio IX - Circus Flaminius
In the final centuries of the Republic, Rome's Campus Martius was home to a significant religious complex dedicated to Egyptian cults: the Iseum-Serapeum, also known as the Iseum Campense.
This temple, the most important sanctuary devoted to the Alexandrian deities in Rome, was located in Region IX and enclosed by a perimeter wall. Documented entrances included the Arch of Camigliano and the Arch of Janus at Minerva. These gates did not lead directly to the temple but opened onto a vast courtyard that connected Piazza dei Saepta with Via Lata.
The courtyard, likely adorned with the obelisk now standing in Piazza Navona, served as the main access point to the Iseum.
The temple itself stood beside the expansive Piazza dei Saepta Iulia, which, originally used for elections, later became a space for markets and military assemblies during the imperial era. Since the time of Sulla, the complex had consisted of multiple buildings, later expanded and restored by emperors such as Caligula and Domitian. The Iseum covered an extensive area, stretching over 400 meters along a north-south axis, encompassing what are now Via del Seminario, Piazza di S. Stefano del Cacco, Via di S. Ignazio, and Piazza del Collegio Romano.
According to the studies of Rodolfo Lanciani, the Iseum included:
- a double temple featuring Egyptian architectural influences.
- a porticoed area designated for worship and social gatherings
- storage facilities and living quarters for priests and temple staff.
A processional avenue (dromos), lined with sphinxes, lions, and obelisks, traversed the central courtyard, leading to the main temple.
This was a tetrastyle prostyle structure, raised on a platform accessed via a staircase adorned with bas-reliefs and hieroglyphs. At the entrance, two statues wearing the double crown symbolized the unity of Upper and Lower Egypt, while the architrave was embellished with a winged solar disk.
The tympanum was dominated by a statue of Isis, depicted holding a situla in her left hand and a patera in her right. Above her, Isis-Sothis was portrayed riding the celestial dog Sirius, reinforcing her association with the cosmos and the afterlife.
The neighborhood surrounding the Iseum functioned as a true Egyptian district, inhabited by priests, artisans, and merchants—resembling a Roman quarter in Alexandria, Egypt. This reflected Rome’s approach to integrating Egyptian culture rather than merely subjugating it.
The presence of an Egyptian colony in the city, documented until the late 4th century, suggests that Egyptian funerary customs and rituals were practiced in Rome, though the exact location of burial sites remains uncertain.
The Iseum Campense underwent several restorations over the centuries, particularly following the fire of 80 AD. Under Domitian, the temple was enriched with Pharaonic and Hellenistic elements. In the 2nd century, Hadrian added a hemicycle for the Serapeum, while later renovations were carried out under Alexander Severus, Diocletian, and Maximian.
Many Egyptian artifacts discovered in Rome originate from this area, including columns, obelisks, statues of Egyptian deities, and sphinxes, many of which are now preserved in the Vatican Museums and other collections.
The decline of the Iseum began in the 4th century with the progressive Christianization of the Empire. By the 6th century, statues along the dromos were toppled, and materials from the temple were repurposed for Christian buildings, including Santa Maria in Trastevere. The sanctuary remained partially intact until 1084, when Rome suffered devastation at the hands of the Normans and Saracens. In the following centuries, the remaining columns and decorative elements were dismantled and repurposed in churches and palaces, marking the final disappearance of Rome’s great Egyptian temple.
SOURCE: B. de Rachewiltz, A. M. Partini - ROMA EGIZIA: cults, temples and Egyptian divinities in Imperial Rome - Mediterranean Editions Rome
