Portrait of an Isis Priest

This man’s baldness and the “x” mark on his forehead likely mean that he was a priest of the Egyptian goddess Isis, who was worshiped across the Roman world and was associated with concepts like the cosmos, motherhood, and seafaring. Devotees to Isis underwent special initiation rituals led by priests and were guaranteed an afterlife. By contrast, the afterlife was ambiguous and not assured for Romans outside of these specific cults. This priest was likely wealthy, with the means to commission a marble portrait, though the priesthood of Isis was open to more socioeconomic classes than those of other Roman gods.