As we welcome 2026, we send our warmest wishes for a Happy New Year, with the hope that each of your wishes and desires will come true.
The idea that people’s wishes can be heard and their requests can be fulfilled through worship, prayers and offerings is a timeless religious and cultural phenomenon, which, however, manifests itself in numerous distinct forms.
In ancient Greek society, for example, the ability of the gods to hear people's prayers is evident in literature, philosophical texts and surviving material evidence. Thus, it seems that the gods observe humans, listen to them, respond to them, and intervene when necessary. A characteristic example of this timeless religious expression is the relief from the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, which reminds us of the multidimensional nature of the gods to be present, listen and respond to people’s prayers. This particular relief is connected to the cult of the Egyptian gods and especially Isis, the goddess «Επήκοος» [She Who listens], namely the goddess who has the ability to hear and answer the prayers of her devotees.
The relief prominently features a depiction of an ear, in a significant scale, while at the lower part is engraved the inscription «ΊσιδιἐπηκόῳΜάαρ[κ]οςἈγελλήιος
εὐχήν» [Markos Agellios (dedicates this) to the goddess Isis, who hears and responds]. The dedicant, Markos Agellios, a Roman citizen belonging to the community of Italians settled in the city, was most likely a merchant. He offered the relief either as a votive act or as a dedication to Isis, who was particularly beloved in the city of Thessaloniki.
This is the tangible and material testimony of individual religious expression within a public sanctuary. The abundance of votive offerings discovered at the sanctuary of the Egyptian gods in Thessaloniki, known as the Sarapeion, reveals its great popularity. There, devotees publicly expressed their devotion through offerings and donations.
The depictions of ears, as well as footprints (steps/ἴχνη) found within the Sarapeion, symbolize the presence of the worshiped deities.
You can see the relief in the Museum's permanent exhibition "Thessaloniki, Macedonia Metropolis", in the section dedicated to the large sanctuary of Egyptian gods in ancient Thessaloniki.
ΜΘ 998 | 100 – 50 BC
