P37
The cults
The only deity of the Roman Pantheon vouched for Alba Pompeia is Mercury, the messenger of the
gods and patron of the commerce. Here it is represented on the marble slab through the Caduceus (a
short staff entwined by two serpents).
In the territory of Alba Pompeia, the Victory’s cult is known. In facts, the museum exposes a stele
with an inscription dedicated to her, found between Monticello d’Alba and Scaparoni, dated back to
the half of the II century and the beginning of the III century AC (pict. 2)
In addition to the traditional Roman deities, a fragment of a stele garnished with a sistrum (a sort of
metallic bell instrument), a plate, a situla (a bucket) and a mirror attests the presence of the
Egyptian deity Isis, worshiped as the deity of the magic, of the destiny, of the navigation, but also of
the fertility, of maternity and of the love.
A particular cult – supported by epigraphic evidences from Alba – is the one that honoured the
Emperor. Since the Augustus’ time, people began to dedicate altars and simulacrums also to the
princeps, worshiped as a deity.
1) Bronze statue representing Isis-Fortuna from Industria-Monteu da Po (Archaeological Museum
of Turin)