Mythology

The hybrid god Serapis was a composite of several Egyptian and Hellenistic deities introduced at the beginning of the Ptolemaic Period in the reign of Ptolemy I. The god thus answered the needs of a new age in which Greek and Egyptian religion were brought face to face and the new deity was created to form a bridge between the two cultures. Linguistically, the god’s name is a fusion of Osiris and Apis, and a cult of Osirapis had in fact existed in Egypt before the rule of the Ptolemies, but to this Egyptian core were added a number of Hellenistic deities which predominated in the god’s final form. Zeus, Helios, Dionysus, Hades and Asklepius all added aspects of their respective cults, so that Serapis emerged as a thoroughly Egypto-Hellenistic deity

(Right) The hybrid deity Serapis wearing his citaracteristic modius or kalathos crown in the form of a grain measure. Panel from a triptych of Serapis, Isis and a private citizen. Roman Period, AD 180-200. J. Paul Getty Museum, Malibu.

(Beloiv) The enthroned Serapis tvearing the triple Atef Crown. Detail from a late relief at Meroe.

Male Anthropomorphic Deities

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Who personified the aspects of divine majesty, the sun, fertility, the underworld and afterlife, as well as healing. The mythology of Serapis was, therefore, the mythology of his underlying deities, but the aspects of afterlife and fertility were always primary to his nature. The consort of Serapis was said to be Isis, the greatest Egyptian goddess in Hellenistic times.