Who is serapis

The god combined Osiris and the Apis Bull the sacred bull of Memphis with aspects of the Greek gods Zeus the king of the gods , Dionysus also known as Bacchus, the god of wine , Helios the personification of the Sun , Hades the god of the underworld and Asklepios god of medicine. Linguistically, his name is the result of the fusion of Osiris and Apis, and there is evidence that a cult of Osarapis existed before the Ptolemaic Period , but the Ptolemaic version was a more Greek conception.

Serapis personified divine majesty and represented the sun, fertility, healing, and the afterlife. His consort was Isis , the wife of Osiris and the most popular goddess during the Ptolemaic Period. Serapis was depicted as a man with an elaborate Greek hairstyle wearing Greek style robes and a full beard.

He often wears a corn modius or sheaf on his head. Less often, he is depicted as a serpent in recognition of his connection with the underworld and fertility.

The colossal marble bust of Serapis above was found in and sold to the Louvre by the British dealer Gavin Hamilton. On the head of the god is a calathus or modius , a basket or grain measure that held about a quarter of a bushel, symbolizing the fertility and bounty of the earth and an association with Osiris, the god of grain. Binding the hair is a plaited band which once held seven bronze rays that associated Serapis with the Sun god.

The bust is dated to the end of the second century AD and is patterned after the cult statue in the Serapeum made about BC, when the new god first was introduced. It was said to have been fashioned by Bryaxis, although not the sculpture of the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus but a namesake Clement of Alexandria , Exhortation to the Heathen , IV. Macrobius may be the same person to whom an edict of Theodosius I CTh.

Harkins The Fathers of the Church, Vol. The god Serapis was a combination of the sacred bull, the Apis, and the god of the dead Osiris. In order to unify the Greeks and the Egyptians under one religion, Ptolemy I and his Greek advisors created a new god called Zeus-Serapis. They combined the already popular Serapis with Zeus, the King of the gods according to Greek and Roman belief.

Images of Zeus-Serapis reflected both Greek and Egyptian traditions. The statues closely resembled Greek statues of Zeus, but they were also often wearing an object on their heads which was a common feature of ancient Egyptian statues of gods. Zeus-Serapis was usually depicted with a grain basket or measuring cup on his head, symbolising wealth and the harvest. Although Serapis was originally a god of the dead, Zeus-Serapis became the god of the sun, the god of healing, and the most powerful and important god.

He was worshipped in particular at a large temple in Alexandria called the Serapeum. The Serapeum also served as an extension of the famous Library of Alexandria. Works of literature and art were stored there when the Library had run out of space. Our statue fragment is wearing a wreath, with what is likely to be a woven grain basket or measuring cup in the centre. The original statue would have been small and therefore probably used for worship in the home or made as an offering to a temple.