A cista is a box or basket used by the

ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

ians,

Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...

Etruscans The Etruscan civilization ( ) was an ancient civilization created by the Etruscans, a people who inhabited Etruria in List of ancient peoples of Italy, ancient Italy, with a common language and culture, and formed a federation of city-states. Af ...

and Romans for various practical and mystical purposes.

Purpose and usage

The ''cista'' or ''cistella'' was at first thought be a wicker basket used for holding fruits and vegetables and for general agricultural purposes. Although these baskets were sometimes square, they were more often cylindrical in shape. Over time, ''cista'' came to mean a smaller box or casket employed for a variety of purposes. This distinguished it from the larger ''area'' or chest; on rare occasions, it may have been used in referring to a ''capsa'', or book-box. The cista believed to be in the private treasure of

Gaius Verres Gaius Verres ( 114 – 43 BC) was a Roman magistrate, notorious for his misgovernment of Sicily. His extortion of local farmers and plundering of temples led to his prosecution by Cicero, whose accusations were so devastating that his defence advo ...

may have been a money-box. In the

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

''comitia'', the cista was the ballot-box into which the voters cast their ''tabellae''. The form and material of the voters' cista, evidently of wicker or similar work, is represented in an annexed cut from a coin of the Cassia gens. In this sense, the cista has often been confused with the ''sitella'', or urn, from which the names of the tribes or centuries were drawn out by lot. Another class of cistae, well known from vase paintings and from a number of preserved metal specimens, are the toilet- or jewel-cases of Italian ladies, often mentioned in connection with children's trinkets, and often recognized in ancient comedies. In vase paintings, such cistae are often accompanied by other requisites for the toilet such as mirrors and scent-bottles, making clear their use as toiletry receptacles.

Cultic uses

A (secret casket) is a sacred object thought to have originated in

. It is usually made of reeds (

papyrus Papyrus ( ) is a material similar to thick paper that was used in ancient times as a writing surface. It was made from the pith of the papyrus plant, ''Cyperus papyrus'', a wetland sedge. ''Papyrus'' (plural: ''papyri'' or ''papyruses'') can a ...

) and used in the Khoiak ritual of Denderah. Inside the box was a vase, and inside the vase was the head of

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

, a canopic box containing the viscera of the dead god. Concrete evidence concerning the of

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

is scarce. In Roman times,

Plutarch Plutarch (; , ''Ploútarchos'', ; – 120s) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''Parallel Lives'', ...

gives an account of the pouring of drinking water into a golden casket inside the , while the congregation shouts “Osiris has been found.” In ancient Greek

mystery cults Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries (), were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates ''(mystai)''. The main characteristic of these religious schools was th ...

, the were wicker-work boxes which seem to have contained a live serpent, as represented in numerous ancient images, including coins on which a is shown half-open with a serpent creeping out of it. These were sometimes oblong, but more frequently cylindrical, for example, as represented in a statue of

Silenus In Greek mythology, Silenus (; , ) was a companion and tutor to the wine god Dionysus. He is typically older than the satyrs of the Dionysian retinue ('' thiasos''), and sometimes considerably older, in which case he may be referred to as a Pa ...

sitting on a large drum-shaped , holding a wine-jug in his hand. were also carried in procession in the Greek festivals of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

and

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ...

—these boxes were always kept closed in public, and contained sacred items connected with the worship of these deities. The was also known to be sacred to

Bacchus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; ) is the god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He was also known as Bacchus ( or ; ) by the Gre ...

, but similar cult objects were probably also affiliated with Isis. In the Bacchic mysteries, the serpent was carried on a bed of grape leaves and was used as a stand-in for the god. The characteristic form of the serpent was an important component of the symbolism, and classical sources note it shares its shape with “the forms of men.”Charles Townley's , (n.d.). Retrieved March 2, 2015, from https://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/online_tours/britain/enlightenment_religion/charles_townleys_cista_mystica.aspx

References

Retrieved March 2, 2015, from http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0063:entry=cista-cn

External links

Cistae mysticae in numismatics

Photo of coin from the British Museum
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