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The Serapeum (or Sarapeion) was a great temple dedicated to the Greek-Egyptian god Serapis in ancient Alexandria. Founded by Ptolemy I around 300 BC, it was infamously destroyed by Bishop Theophilus and his Christian mob in 391 AD.
- shrines; temples; ruins
- Serapis
- Egypt
- Sarapeion · Serapeum · Temple of Serapis
It was dedicated to the god Serapis, a syncretic god combining aspects of Osiris and Apis, and was popular among the Hellenized Egyptians of Alexandria. The Serapeum was a popular destination for pilgrims and tourist from all over the world.
In the Asterix franchise, Serapis is one of the gods that Egyptians swear-by and invoke, "by Serapis" (similarly to Osiris and Isis), like how the Gauls swear-by and invoke their gods, such as Toutatis, Belenus and Belisama, and the Romans by Jupiter, Minerva and Mercury.
- Ptolemy I & Serapis
- The Composite God
- Worship & Iconography
- Political Power of The Cult
- Conclusion
After the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BCE, his generals divided and fought over his empire during the Wars of the Diadochi. Ptolemy I took Egypt and established the Ptolemaic Dynasty, which he envisioned as continuing Alexander’s work of uniting different cultures harmoniously. Egypt had been controlled by the Persians, except for brief per...
Plutarch’s story of the stolen statue of Pluto has been challenged, and some scholars claim it was already a statue of Serapis taken from the Serapeum at Memphis. However that may be, the statue is understood to have been a representation of an underworld deity, either the Graeco-Roman Hades/Pluto or Serapis who, as a blend of Osiris and Apis, was ...
Temples dedicated to Serapis were constructed throughout Egypt, all seemingly based on his central cult center of the Serapeum of Alexandria. The Alexandrian Serapeum was modeled on the Serapeum at Memphis where the original statue may have been taken from, and the others that were built were smaller versions of the one at Alexandria. Scholar Geral...
Prior to Rome’s annexation of Egypt, however, Serapis retained devotees in Egypt through the reign of Cleopatra VII(51-30 BCE), the last monarch of the Ptolemaic Dynasty. Even though he was not the most popular god in Egypt, he still exerted considerable power, most notably as a unifying force among the populace who recognized in the deity the attr...
From Rome, the cult spread throughout the Roman Empire as far north as Britain where evidence of the gods’ worship has been found at London and York and across North Africa to Sabratha and surrounding cities as well as to Asia Minor, notably at Ephesus. As he was linked with the afterlife and transformation, Serapis became known as a redeemer god a...
- Joshua J. Mark
Aug 5, 2024 · Their images adorned temples, monuments, tombs, sarcophagi, and papyrus texts as well as appearing as statuary, figurines, palace wall reliefs, and as amulets. To an ancient Egyptian, the gods were always present and their images in artworks were a constant reminder of the gifts they gave to the people every day.
- Joshua J. Mark
- Content Director
The Great Library of Alexandria in Alexandria, Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. The library was part of a larger research institution called the Mouseion , which was dedicated to the Muses , the nine goddesses of the arts. [ 10 ]
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Jul 18, 2023 · Roman Alexandria. Following Caesar's assassination in 44 BCE, his right-hand man, Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony) became Cleopatra's consort and left Rome for Alexandria. The city became his base of operations over the next 13 years until he and Cleopatra were defeated by Octavian Caesar at the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE.
