A Graeco-Roman group statue of unusual character from Dendera *

Abstract

Publication of a small sandstone statue of the Roman period from Dendera (Cairo JE 46278). It depicts two naked children of identical size, one male and one female, standing within the coils of two serpents. They are the twin figures of two deities, whose exact identity is not certain. They might be seen as Shu and Tefnut, or as Harpocrates and his twin sister. This latter might be either a form of Isis, which was paired with Harpocrates in the Graeco-Roman period, or simply a feminine form of the god Harpocrates. The snakes seem to be Isis Thermouthis and Serapis-Agathos Daimon. This statue is of a votive or dedicatory nature, perhaps from a shrine to Isis-Thermouthis just outside the enclosure of the great temple of Hathor of Dendera.