ARCHAEOLOGY

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DIVINE FELINE

Excellent article on Isis in the Roman world (“Worshipping a Forbidden God-dess,” November/December 2023). There was another divinity that was worshipped with Isis, the Egyptian cat goddess Bubastis (also known as Bastet). The two were frequently worshipped together and mentioned together in inscriptions through-out the empire. Black was Isis’ sacred color—she was Queen of the Black Robe. Furthermore, Isis could become incarnate in Bubastis: An Egyptian inscription reads, “Isis is the soul of Bubastis.” The belief that divinities could

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