#snake goddess

[twintailedsiren]

Isis-Thermouthis statues, between 30 BCE and 395. Louvre. Photo by Wikinade.

[twintailedsiren]

Isis-Thermouthis: forgotten snake-legged goddess

Aside from the unveiling goddess, another member of the Scythian snake-legged goddess’ family tree is Isis.

Left: Isis-Thermouthis, terracotta, 1st-2nd cent CE. Roman, Egyptian. British Museum. Right: National Museum in Florence (Museo Archeologico Nazionale.) My photo.

Isis has been worshipped for centuries, and so has many forms, as different artists and cultures re-imagined her. Today, we’re going to look at the unusual, half-snake form she takes in the Faiyum region of Egypt— a grain-rich area of Egypt west of the Nile that attracted numerous Greek immigrants. Statues of a half-serpentine Isis, called Isis-Thermouthis, have been found in different cities in the Faiyum.

Isis-Thermouthis, terracotta, 1st-2nd century CE. Roman, Egyptian. Louvre.

She’s usually pictured with a coiled serpentine tail emerging from under her dress. It’s almost an optical illusion, but with a careful eye, you can see that Isis has only one tail— but with the way it’s coiled behind her, in a distinctive figure eight or infinity pattern, it almost looks like two tails. Isis’ serpent tail has an uncanny resemblance to the coils of Scylla’s tails or to the Scythian goddess’ tails:

Isis-Thermouthis, Louvre; top: Scythian snake legged goddeess; bottom, Scylla, Etruscan urn.



In addition to her snake tail, Isis-Thermouthis resembles the Scythian goddess in meaning, as she’s considered a goddess of the harvest and farming in Faiyum,  She’s often shown holding wheat, or a torch, and both connect her to Demeter, the Greek goddess of the harvest. Isis-Thermouthis was used in Alexandrian funeral rituals, giving her and Scylla a connection, as two-tailed Scyllas were often used on Etruscan urns.

Isis-Thermouthis, 1st BCE - 1st CE. Terracotta. Fayum, Egypt. She holds several wheat stalks in her lowered hand. British Museum.

Given the time period that Isis-Thermouthis statues were made—1st century BCE to fourth century CE—and especially the distance separating them from Scylla and the Scythian goddess,Isis is likely not one of the two-tailed siren’s grandmothers. However, they still provide a fascinating parallel image to the siren and one that is rarely discussed.



Further reading

Bailey, Donald M. "A Snake-Legged Dionysus from Egypt, and Other Divine Snakes." The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 93  (2007): 263-70.

Bailey, Donald M. Catalogue of the Terracottas in the British Museum. Vol. IV. London: The British Museum Press, 2008.

Bayer-Niemeier, Eva. Griechisch-Rômische Terrakotten, Liebieghaus- Museum Alter Plastik,. Melsungen: Kaufmann, 1988. 

Dunand, Françoise. Religion Populaire En Égypte Romaine: Les Terres Cuites Isiaques Du Musée Du Caire. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1979.

Fischer, Jutta. Griechisch-Romische Terrakotten Aus Agypte. Tubingen: Ernst Wasmuth Verlag, 1994. 

Fjeldhagen, Mette. "Graeco-Roman Terracottas from Egypt." Ed. Glyptotek, NY Carlsberg. Copenhagen: NY Carlsberg Glyptotek, 1995.

Gazda, Elaine K. "Guardians of the Nile: Sculptures from Karanis in the Fayoum (C. 250 Bc-Dc 450)." Ed. Kelsey Museum of Archeology, University of Michigan. Ann Arbor, 1978.

Perdrizet, Paul. Les Terres Cuites Grecques De L'egypte: De La Collection Fouquet Paris: Berger

Levrault, 1921.

Tinh, Tram Tarn. "Isis-Thermouthis." Lexicon icongraphicum mythologiae classicae 5 1 (1990): 788-89.



anguipedanguiped goddesssnake goddessIsis-ThermouthisIsisfertility goddessAncient EgyptAncient Rome

[matriarchy-au]

Kalighat painting of goddess Manasā standing on a snake with a few wrapped in her hand, c. 1890

[brittneydelune]

Had the best moment of my life. 🐍💛✨️🖤

[zmiyina]

Winter is when the Great Snake returns into her egg, ohhhh. I see.

[placeholder-woah]

I hate you, always shedding everywhere and slithering around like a freak, get a job!

[sistermountain]

[sistermountain]