#cippus

[contremineur]

Egyptian cippus of Isis (steatite, Ptolemaic Period c. 332-30 BC)

This is a rarely found depiction of the goddess Isis on a cippus. Shown here wearing a tripartite wig, surmounted by solar disc between cow horns, standing on a pair of crocodiles, her arms bent upwards, each hand holding snakes and scorpions, a lion hangs vertically in the right hand, an antelope in the left hand, both held by their tail, inscribed on the reverse with four columns of protective magical spells. Inscribed beneath is an ouroboros, a serpent or dragon eating its own tail, representing the continuous cycle of destruction and rebirth. The face of the goddess is worn, as is often the case with Horus, suggesting the cippus was frequently used.

image and text from here

[dwellerinthelibrary]

Dozens of magical figures on the front of the Metternich Stela, including lions, snakes, crocodiles, and what looks like a winged, springing greyhound.

When: Late Period, 30th Dynasty

Where: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

[romegreeceart]

Etruscan Funerary cippus (marker)

* Chianciano, Toscana

* Circa 480 BCE

* Museo Barracco, Rome

Rome, July 2015

[archaeologicalnews]

Sacred stone tied to the legend of Romulus and Remus unearthed in Rome

An immense stone that defined the sacred city limits of ancient Rome almost 2,000 years ago has been unearthed by construction workers in the historic center of the city.

The so-called pomerial stone or "cippus," is more than 6 feet (nearly 2 meters) tall and made of fine limestone called travertine. Workers discovered it in June while installing new sewers in the plaza around the recently-restored Mausoleum of Augustus, which opened as a museum earlier this year.

It was one of dozens of similar stones that marked Rome's "pomerium" — a sacred strip of land just inside and outside the city walls where it was forbidden to build or farm, and within which weapons were forbidden. According to ancient Roman law, anything inside the pomerium was part of the city of Rome (called "urbs") and everything beyond it was merely territory (called "ager"). Read more.

[lionofchaeronea]

Ancient Egyptian anhydrite cippus (magical stela) depicting the god Horus. Artist unknown; 664-30 BCE (Late Period or Ptolemaic). Now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

[classicalmonuments]

Cippi of Melqart

Malta

2nd century BCE

1.05 M high

The Cippi of Melqart is the collective name for two Phoenician marble cippi that were unearthed in Malta under undocumented circumstances and dated to the 2nd century BC. These are votive offerings to the god Melqart, and are inscribed in two languages, Ancient Greek and Phoenician, and in the two corresponding scripts, the Greek and the Phoenician alphabet. They were discovered in the late 17th century, and the identification of their inscription in a letter dated 1694 made them the first Phoenician writing to be identified and published in modern times.

[archaicwonder]

Egyptian Magic Cippus with Horus, Late Period, 664-332 BC

A steatite cippus depicting Horus as a child with sidelock, carved in high relief, standing facing on two overlapping crocodiles, holding snakes and scorpions aloft, with a lion hanging from his right hand and an antelope from his left; wedjat eyes above; the reverse and sides with five rows of protective figures and three rows of hieroglyphs below. 87mm (3 ½").

The cippus of Horus range in date from the thirteenth century BC to the second century AD and were mostly set up in temples, though some are known from domestic contexts. They are normally inscribed with anti-venom spells and had the dual purpose of repelling actual poisonous reptiles or dangerous animals, and to cure those who had been bitten. They also functioned in a more general way against supernatural beings envisaged in animal or reptile form. The power of Horus is demonstrated by his dominion over the evil animals as he is generally depicted standing on the back of crocodiles and holding serpents, scorpions, lions and oryx in his hands.

The standard spell inscribed on these stele call upon deities to protect against evil and begins, “Oh old one who rejuvenates himself in his time, oh old one who makes youth. May you cause Thoth to come at my voice.” the text is a reference to the myth that Horus, who died from the stings of scorpions, was revived by the power of Thoth. After his revivification, he became the protectors of others from such a fate. Water poured over the inscribed surfaces of the cippus was thought to absorb the potency of the prayer and the protective powers of the deities. The water was drunk by the afflicted to effect magical protection.

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Grave column (Cippus). Period: Middle-Late Roman Medium: Limestone