Un'Iside astronomica dal mare di Camarina

In 1999, some bronze objects were found off the coast of Cama- rina. Among these objects a jug with a vertical handle stands out for its beauty. On the perimeter of this jug there is the represen- tation of a luxuriant naturalistic landscape on which a deer hops. The most interesting detail, however, is the medallion of the han- dle in which a female figure is represented holding an animal in her arms. According to Giovanni Di Stefano it would be the god- dess Isis holding a dog. Instead, Cristina Antigoni believes that the animal held in Isis’s arms is a panther, because of some ico- nographic parallels. The present essay aims to confirm the Isiac identification of the female figure and to clarify the nature of the animal that the goddess holds in her arms through the analysis of some passages by classical authors (in particular Apuleius, Dio- dorus Siculus and Plutarch), and through the reference to the Egyptian and Greco-Roman astronomical tradition which find expression in the representations present both in some Egyptian tombs and in various Roman coins.