Women and Isis Lochia: Commemorations of divine protection in Roman Macedonia

Abstract

In four cities of Roman Macedonia- Thessalonica, Dion, Beroea and Stobi- six dedicatory inscriptions testify to the pres­ence of Isis Lochia, a deity who protected women at childbirth. These dedications, made both by men and women, commem­orate the gratitude to a goddess who safe­guarded the precarious passage from preg­nancy to motherhood. The present research brings these data together in order to gain insights in the public expression of this re­ligious activity. The information furnished by the inscriptions and the votive reliefs, the place of the dedications inside or out­side the temple, the location of the temple in relation to the urban grid, the social sta­tus of the social actors, they all contribute to the reconstruction of religious memory as shaped by the relationship between women and Isis Lochia. In addition, these acts are explored as components of cultic activities that had a noteworthy continuity through space and time in ancient Greece.