Rome's relations with Egypt as seen through Nero. The major exhibition at the Domus Aurea

The Colosseum Archaeological Park hosts, from June 22, 2023 to January 14, 2024, the exhibition The Beloved of Isis. Nero, the Domus Aurea and Egypt, dedicated to the link between Rome and Egypt in the first century AD as seen through the figure of an emperor, Nero, who established a special relationship with the East and Egypt from a young age. The protagonist of this tale is the Domus Aurea, the "House of Gold," the gold of the Sun god with whom Nero identified himself according to a vision that was precisely oriental in nature. The exhibition, conceived and organized by the Colosseum Archaeological Park, is curated by Alfonsina Russo, Francesca Guarneri, Stefano Borghini and Massimiliana Pozzi.

The idea for the exhibition stems from the recent restoration works that have revealed the presence of an Egyptian decoration, with subjects related to the Isiac cult, in the Great Cryptoporticus of the Neronian palace, a room that therefore becomes an integral part of the exhibition and a tool to explore, through the works, the aspects, events and protagonists of the spread of the idea of ’Egypt’ in the collective imagination of the Romans of the first century AD.

A relationship, that of Nero with Egypt, which began in his formative years with preceptors such as Cheremone of Naucrati, director of the library of the Serapeo of Alexandria and, Seneca, author of an entire work on Egypt and which continued in his adult life with his marriage to Poppea Sabina, who belonged to a family close to the Isiac cults. The very title of the exhibition, in the expression "Beloved of Isis," recalls the definition used by Nero in the enthronement name witnessed in the temple of Dendera, Egypt; here the emperor, in addition to “Autokrator Neron,” is in fact called “King of Upper and Lower Egypt, Lord of the Two Lands, Ruler of Rulers, chosen of Ptah, beloved of Isis.” The expression underscores the emperor’s special bond with the goddess, which also returns in the depiction of Nero in the act of offering a small mammisi to Isis, a particular image this one that departs from the canonical one in which the offering is to the goddess Hathor, the Great Lady of the Center.

"The exhibition The Beloved of Isis at the Domus Aurea," says Culture Minister Gennaro Sangiuliano, “by collecting dozens of precious artifacts related to Egyptian culture from major Italian museums, has the merit of enhancing even more an extraordinary site, which never ceases to give discoveries also thanks to the constant investigation and restoration work carried out by the technicians of the Colosseum Archaeological Park.”

“This exhibition,” comments Alfonsina Russo, director of the Colosseum Archaeological Park, “wants above all to emphasize the PArCo’s commitment to its public, which is placed at the center of all programs and activities: that of returning some of the rooms of the Neronian palace to their ancient splendor through the careful and accurate restoration of the precious painted walls and with renewed and engaging cultural projects.”

The exhibition route winds through the rich halls of the imperial palace following a suggestion that allows visitors to delve into Nero’s presence in Egypt and the spread of the Isiac cult in Rome, and to discover the monumental spaces of the Domus Aurea through an extraordinary opening of the monument that allows enjoyment every day of the week. The visit begins in Gallery III, develops in the Octagonal Hall complex, reaches the rooms of the Pentagonal Courtyard, and winds through the Great Cryptoporticus and adjacent rooms, reviving, within the monumental site of the Domus Aurea, Nero’s conception of a space in which to contemplate works of art.

The exhibition is divided into two major sections, “Nero’s Egypt” and “Egypt in Rome.” The narrative of the first section begins in Gallery III and continues in the Octagonal Hall and radial complex, while the second section unfolds in the rooms of the Pentagonal Courtyard, Great Cryptoporticus and adjacent rooms. The first section recounts the significance of Egypt in the formation and life of Nero, his presence in the country through the analysis of the dedications and constructions made by the emperor in places that are strategic from a political and commercial point of view, restoring the fascination of pharaonic kingship, a symbol of the Land of the Nile. A primary role is played by Alexandria and its urban layout: the palace of the Ptolemies was in fact an important model in the design of the Domus Aurea by the "magistri e machinatores" architects, Severus and Celerus, between 64 and 68 AD.

In the exhibition, alongside the multimedia on Alexandria, are such important works as the monumental statue of Tutmosi I (from the Egyptian Museum in Turin), the bust of Pharaoh Amasi (National Archaeological Museum in Florence), and the statue probably depicting Nero as pharaoh together with a small female figure with Isiac attributes (National Roman Museum). The fascination and interest clothed in the land of the Pharaohs is also evidenced by the expedition to find the sources of the Nile River, desired by Nero and attested by sources (Seneca and Pliny the Elder). This mission, in addition to its exploratory nature had the purpose of acquiring geographical information of the regions south of Egypt with a view to possible expansion into Ethiopia. These areas were traversed by large caravans that brought precious materials, such as gold, and refined essences used for perfumes and ointments to Egypt and the Saharan provinces overlooking the Mediterranean.

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In the exhibition, the expedition is told through products from those distant lands, images of the Nilotic landscape and by evoking the figure of Amanitore, the queen of Meroe, who offered the Romans safe-conducts, expert guides and military escorts to cross the dangerous southern territories. Gold is then represented through the jewelry from Pompeii (including the snake-shaped armilla with two heads holding a disk decorated with the bust of Selene from the House of the Golden BraceletGold and the necklace with a pendant in the shape of a lunar crescent and a rough emerald clasp from the Praedia of Iulia Felix), while the essences used for perfumes and ointments are recalled by the display of the entire trove of women’s toiletries from the House of Lucius Caelius Ianuarius. Here a small wooden container (the hinges and a bronze lock element remain) held 18 glass cruets for oils and ointments. Among these stand out some particularly refined ones such as the miniature vials, the small bottle divided internally into two compartments that allowed the different essences to mix only when poured, and the precious rock crystal bottle. Other cosmetic substances, such as creams or powders were stored in pyxides and mixed in shell valves(pecten). Attention to body care is also evidenced by a strigil and a pair of tweezers. Completing this beauty set is the silver mirror decorated with concentric theories of scales and palmettes around the central rosette. The Nile materializes in the exhibition through the ray of light that crosses the Sala Ottagona and reaches the waterfall of the nymphaeum of the radial complex, while the Nilotic landscape is narrated with the mosaic from Via Nazionale in Rome (Capitoline Museums, Centrale Montemartini), the crocodile (Capitoline Museums) and lion (Sannio Provincial Museum in Benevento) statues found in shrines dedicated to Isis.

The second section, which begins by exiting the Octagonal Hall, recounts Egypt in Rome, the emperors’ religious policies and the “alternate fortunes” of Egyptian cults, rooted in Rome since the Republican age (often opposed because they were seen as a threat to the mores maiorum), which became with Domitian an organic component of the imperial language. In the exhibition, therefore, fragments belonging to statues of Isis, Horus in the guise of a hawk and Harpocrates, found in the Tiber (Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, Munich) and probably connected to Tiberius’s destruction of the Iseo Campense, dialogue with the statue of Domitian (Museo provinciale del Sannio, Benevento) showing the opposite extremes of this attitude of the emperors. In the background, the use of Egyptian decorations remains constant as evidenced by the fresco fragments from the House of Augustus and the Palatine reliefs (Colosseum Archaeological Park). At the center is Isis, the goddess of a thousand faces, a complex and multifaceted divine figure, well reflected by the definition given by a devotee "Tu, una quae es(t) omnia" (CIL X 3800, Capua, 3rd century AD). In order to understand the deity, the cult and its spread, it is therefore necessary to recall the individual aspects and the goddess’ connection with motherhood, fertility, the harvests, the sea and the celestial dimension. In the exhibition, therefore, the narrative is punctuated through larger works, such as the fragment of a statue of Isis Pelagia on a boat (Museo provinciale del Sannio in Benevento) and smaller but extremely refined ones, such as the statuette of Isis Nutrice (Egyptian Museum in Turin), the one of Isis-Fortuna from Herculaneum and the one of Isis Panthea (both from the National Archaeological Museum in Naples). To tell the story of the rituality associated with the goddess, we start with the officiants (priest’s head and the Rabirii relief from the National Roman Museum) and arrive at the objects of worship such as the sistrums and situlae read through the images of Isis rituals found, for example, in the silver cups from the Palestra Grande in Pompeii and now in the National Archaeological Museum in Naples.

Isis’s ability to liberate from slavery, restore life or ensure a better one ensured the spread of her cult among all social strata, linking her also to magic. To understand the significance of Isis in Roman society, it is also necessary to consider the “exotic” and “mysterious” aspect connected with the goddess and more in general to the aegyptiaca, to their function as amulets, following their diffusion in the different social levels, with an expertise of the deity specializing in healing and protection during life and in the afterlife, probably starting from her regenerative character.

Thus, amulets from Egypt are displayed in the exhibition alongside an exceptional context such as the amulets from the Garden House in Pompeii, the so-called “Treasure of the Fattucchiera,” consisting of necklace vagaries, ornaments (in faïence, bronze, bone, and amber), gems engraved with human and animal figures, along with amulets, shells, and objects related to women’s dressing table such as a mirror. The lack of gold jewelry has led to speculation that it did not belong to the mistress of the house, but to a servant, as would also be evidenced by the location of the find, a room frequented by servants and far from the matron’s bedroom. The exhibition as a whole is also characterized by the presence of multimedia installations that enrich the itinerary and provide suggestions to the narrative, allowing in some cases, as with the temples of File and Dendera, to enjoy distant places through 3D reconstruction, offering an immersive experience.

The exhibition is also an opportunity to present some new features. Recent restoration work in the Hall of the Golden Vault and the Octagonal Hall has made it possible to identify an Egyptian decoration characterized by the presence of figures traceable to the Isiac sphere (gods, priests and worshippers) that represents a unicum within the Neronian palace. In this section, the exhibition features monumental statues of the goddess Isis (National Archaeological Museum of Naples) and Anubis (Archaeological Park of the Phlegraean Fields), a god of the dead with a jackal’s head, and depictions of sphinxes and Harpocrates, which dialogue with the images painted on the walls.

The Great Cryptoporticus will remain open to visitors even after the end of the exhibition, enriching the tour of the monument. On the occasion of the exhibition, the recent restoration work carried out in one of the rooms adjacent to the Great Cryptoporticus (room 84) will also be presented to the public.

The exhibition brings together more than 150 works and sees the collaboration of numerous museums and lending institutions: the Egyptian Museum of Turin, Civic Archaeological Museum of Milan, Civic Museums of Como (Civic Archaeological Museum “P. Giovio”), National Archaeological Museum of Florence, National Archaeological Museum of Cagliari, National Roman Museum, National Museum of Musical Instruments, Capitoline Cultural Heritage Superintendence (Capitoline Museums, Centrale Montemartini, Museum of Ancient Sculpture “G. Barracco”), National Archaeological Museum of Naples, Archaeological Park of Pompeii, Campi Flegrei Archaeological Park, Sannio Provincial Museum of Benevento, Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst in Munich. The exhibition catalog is published by Artem and available for purchase online at www.artem.org

The exhibition can be visited daily; on weekends (Friday through Sunday) the Domus Aurea Experience (virtual reality installation inside the Hall of the Golden Vault) will be added. For info: www.colosseo.it

Rome's relations with Egypt as seen through Nero. The major exhibition at the Domus Aurea

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