Isis on the Nile

Isis on the Nile

View of the fresco that was found on the north wall of the "sacrarium"—the room where the initiations into the cult of Isis were held.

In the upper register, the ship of Isis is transporting Osiris.  And on either side, "busts" of (Nile) river gods.

In the lower register two serpents are moving towards a basket which has a crescent moon symbol on it.

This original fresco is in the Naples Archaeological Museum.


The current structures were built after the earthquake of A.D. 62 and thus were only 17 years old when Pompeii was buried by the eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79. The well-preserved temple was one of the first discoveries at Pompeii in 1764!