User:Jim Slickens/Draft Serapis Editing

This is a subpage to collate draft edits for the article on Serapis on the English Wikipedia before they are ready to be published.

Note: the following is an unformatted transcribed copy of an Assignment on the Cult of Serapis which I wrote during my schooling years. It is only here to be converted into Wikipedia style and copied into the main Serapis page on English Wikipedia.

Background Serapis was a Greco-Egyptian deity worshiped in Egypt, originally in Memphis. Ptolemy I Hellenised the deity and made him into a Sun god. Serapis had been a native Egyptian deity of the Underworld and other chthonic1 matters, being associated with Osiris and the sacred bull Apis. Serapis often replaced Osiris as the consort of Isis during Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt. The primary centre of worship for Serapis, and the largest of the temples to him, was the Serapeum at Alexandria. In later periods Serapis was worshipped not only as a sun god with the epithet2 ‘Zeus Serapis’, but also as a fertility god. He was later worshipped outside of Egypt in Rome and along the trade routes of Egypt. Some Gnostic3 groups venerated Serapis as a symbol of a universal godhead. Worship of Serapis came to an end when the Patriarch of Alexandria, Theophilus, led a mob to destroy the Serapeum at Alexandria in 391 AD. A Report on the Cult of Serapis under the Ptolemies and the Roman Empire

The Cult of Serapis

Origin and Spread of the Cult. Origins of the Cult. The deity, Serapis, finds his origin in the city of Memphis on the bank of the Nile. Near that city is a monument dedicated to the sacred Apis bulls, who in Egyptian mythology were sacred to the god Ptah (Benton, 1974). When these bulls died, they became associated with the god of the underworld, Osiris, being worshipped as Osiris-Apis. When the Macedonians conquered Egypt, the Greeks that came with them settled throughout Egypt, and the ones living around Memphis began to worship the local Osiris-Apis as Osorapis, which eventually became Serapis (Benton, 1974). After this the Greeks began to call the temple at Memphis the Serapeum. Promulgation of Worship. The Cult of Serapis was first spread throughout Egypt when Ptolemy, son of Lagos, instituted the cult of Serapis, along with the cults of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies, as state sponsored religions (Stillwell, MacDonald, McAllister, 1976). As part of the introduction of these cults the construction of numerous sacred buildings began in the capital of Alexandria, including the Serapeum at Alexandria and the nearby temple to Serapis. Under the Ptolemies, Serapis was promoted to being chief among the gods in Egypt. Ptolemaic Greeks later identified Serapis with the mythological king of Egypt, Epaphus. Through this association, Serapis came to be considered the son of Zeus by the Greeks (Benton, 1974).

Sacred Sites and Places of Worship. Serapeum at Memphis The original centre of Serapis worship in Egypt was the necropolis4 of Saqqarah for the Apis bulls at Memphis, later called the Serapeum by the Greeks. According to Pausanias in his Description of Greece, “Of the Egyptian Sanctuaries of Serapis… the oldest [is] at Memphis” (Pausanias, 1903, translated by Jones, Ormerod, 1918). Prior to the worship of Serapis, the temple was dedicated to the Apis bulls, and Pausanias says with regard to the temple that, “neither stranger nor priest may enter, until they bury Apis” (Pausanias, 1903, translated by Jones, Ormerod, 1918). Serapeum at Alexandria When the Ptolemies introduced the cult of Serapis as a state promoted and sponsored religion, they “enrich[ed] the capital with numerous sacred buildings.” (Stilwell, MacDonald, McAllister, 1976). These include the Serapeum at Alexandria and the nearby temple to Serapis. In 1944 the foundation deposits of the Serapeum of Alexandria were discovered. The plaques are inscribed with Greek and Egyptian writing (Stillwell, MacDonald, McAllister, 1976). Underneath the Serapeum were galleries and a black diorite statue of Serapis as an Apis bull was found withing the galleries (Stillwell, MacDonald, McAllister 1976). According to Ammianus Marcellinus the Serapeum at Alexandria, “is so adorned with extensive columned halls, with almost breathing statues, and a great number of other works of art… In this were invaluable libraries” (Marcellinus, 1935 with translation by Rolfe). Other Sacred Sites of Serapis One of the most famous Serapeums was the Serapeum at Canobus, also called Canopus, a city to the north-east of Alexandria, known for being “famous for its temple to Serapis, and still more for its vice” (How, Wells, 1975; Liddell, Scott, 1889). Serapis was considered to be a head deity or patron of Canopus (Smith, 1873). There was another Serapeum at Patras in Greece, containing as monument to Aegyptus5 (Smith, 1873; Apollodorus, translated by Frazer, 1921). Another temple to Serapis and his consort Isis was built in Rome, on the Capitoline hill, after Egypt was incorporated into the Roman Empire and Isis and Serapis worship spread throughout it. (Planter, Ashby, 1929)

Characteristics of Serapis Domain of Influence Serapis inherited from the earlier deity, Apis, an association with the underworld, he also inherited from Osiris similar associations as well as a domain over fertility and healing (Benton, 1974). When Ptolemy I Hellenised Serapis while introducing the cult of Serapis to the rest of Egypt, he also syncretised Serapis with Zeus as a sun god (Benton, 1974). References Pausanias. (1903) translated by Jones, W. H. S., Ormerod, H. A. (1918) Description of Greece London: William Heineman Ltd. How W. W., Wells J. (1975) A Commentary on Herodotus. Oxford: Clarendon Press Liddell, H. G., Scott, R. (1889) An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford: Clarendon Press Smith, W. (1873) A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology. London: Spottiswood & Co. Planter, S. B., Ashby, T. (1929) A Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome. London: Oxford University Press Apollodorus. translated by Sir Frazer J. G. F.B.A. F.R.S. (1921) The Library London: William Heineman Ltd. Stillwell, R., MacDonald, W. L., McAllister, M. H. (1976) The Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites. Princeton: Princeton University Press. Ammianus Marcellinus. With an English Translation. Rolfe, J. C. (1935) Rerum Gestartum. Cambridge: Cambridge. Mass.: Harvard University Press. London: William Heineman Ltd. Benton, H. H. (1974) The New Encyclopaedia Britannica Micropaedia. Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc. Johnston, G. (1976) The Australian Pocket Oxford Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Magris, A. (2005) Gnosticism: Gnosticism from its origins to the Middle Ages (Further Considerations). In Jones. L. (ed). Encyclopaedia of Religion. Detroit: MacMillan Reference USA Copy of Bryaxis. (circa 4th Cent.) Bust of Serapis. Photo by Jastro (2003) File:Serapis Pio-Clementio Inv689 n2.jpg. Wikimedia Commons Mayer, D. (2008) File:Alexandria – Pompey’s Pillar – view of ruins.JPG. Wikimedia Commons Footnotes 1 Subterranean or relating to death, the dead or the underworld (Liddell, Scott, 1889). 2 When referencing or discussing Polytheistic deities, an epithet refers to a name associated with a specific role or capacity for which a deity is worshipped. 3 Movement in the 1st century Christian and Jewish sects favouring dualism and personal spiritual knowledge or gnosis over orthodox teachings. (Magris, 2005) 4 A Necropolis is a large, marked cemetery, particularly in ancient Greece or Egypt (Johnston, 1976). 5 A mythological legendary king of Egypt, descendant of Io (Apollodorus, 1921).