CLEOPATRA MAKING OFFERINGS TO ISIS ~ GREEK-INSCRIBED STELE

This limestone stele was dedicated to Cleopatra VII Philopator on 2 July 51 BCE by Onnophris, the Greek "president of the association of Isis Snonais." This association of temples was placed under the protection of a form of the goddess Isis worshiped in Faiyum (Al-Fayyum). 

The stele follows the usual conventions: a winged disk surmounts a ritual scene in the upper section, in which the sovereign faces the goddess across an offering table; a dedication is inscribed in the lower section. Cleopatra is represented as a traditional male pharaoh, wearing the double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, and a triangular loincloth. Two vases are offered to the goddess Isis, who nurses her baby, Horus. The Egyptians had continued to depict their Greek Kings and Queens according to the prescribed Pharaonic models. The relief's composition and iconography are purely Egyptian, but the text is written in Greek, the language of the conquerors.

On close observation, it appears that the stele has been re-engraved. The thin, straight lines around the edge, drawn to facilitate the correct alignment of the signs, do not coincide with those in the recessed areas containing the inscription. In addition, partially erased signs are still visible on the right edge.

The stele is dated year 1, the first day of the month "epiphi," which Greek scholars translate as 2 July 51 BCE. It was initially erected in honor of one of the Ptolemies, in all likelihood Cleopatra's father, and was re-worked following her accession.

The Greek text is as follows :

ὑπὲρ βασιλίσσης

Κλεοπάτρας θε-

ᾶς Φιλοπάτωρ τό-

πος Σνοναιτια-

κῆς συνόδου

ὧν συναγογὸς

Ὀννῶφρις λεσώνης

(ἔτους) αʹ, Ἐπὶφ αʹ.

Source: The Louvre Museum