The cult of Isis in Rome: some aspects of its reception and the testimony of Apuleius' Asinus aureus

Abstract

After providing a brief summary, based on studies about the implementation of the cult of Isis in Rome, of the most significant aspects of the reception of the cult and of its relationship with political power, this paper focuses on Apuleius' Asinus Aureus in order to analyze some aspects of the Isiac cult that may have justified their success among Romans: the universalizing character, its connection to justice, and its capacity to produce answers and mold these answers to the needs of believers through direct communication between individual believer, goddess and institution.