Celebrarea lui Isis și Sarapis: sărbători și practici rituale isiace în coloniile milesiene din Propontida și de la Pontul Euxin
Feasts of Isis and Sarapis: Isiac celebrations and ritual practices in the Milesian settlements of Propontida and the Pontus Euxinus

Summary/Abstract: Our study is concerned with the celebrations and ritual practices devoted to the Isaianic deities in the Milesian settlements on the shores of Propontis and the Pontus Euxinus. Our research is based on literary, epigraphic and numismatic documents. The Πλοιαφέσια (Ploiaphesia) were a spring festival dedicated to the goddess Isis who was worshiped as the protector of navigation and sailors, as well as the deity of vitality and fertility. Ploiaphesia were celebrated on March 5 and marked the official reopening of navigation. The celebration of Ploiaphesia can be assumed to have been celebrated at Amastris, Sinope, Anchialos and Tomis, based on the evidence provided by epigraphic documents and monetary issues. Ἰσιεῖα (Isieia) were an autumn festival lasting from October 28 to November 3. This feast commemorated the disappearance of Osiris before he was found a few days later by his wife Isis. The Isieia are attested directly in an inscription from Kios. The feast of Χαρμόσυνα (Charmosyna) celebrates the resurrection of Osiris and is considered a feast of collective joy. It can be assumed that Charmosyna were celebrated on November 3. This feast is attested at Kios and Tomis. The Isiac celebrations bring together a large cultic personnel. The ritual of incubation is closely linked to the cult of Sarapis, who, as a god who heals by means of a dreamlike epiphany, is the object of great veneration by his followers. Incubation spread to Pontus Euxinus with the establishment of the Isiac cults.

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