Serapea were the places of worship
which began in the 4th century BC
dedicated to Serapis. They flourished
under the Ptolemaic dynasty. Serapis is
throughout Egypt from the Ptolemaic
a combination of two ancient Egyptian
period. Our head more closely resembles
deities: the bull god Apis and Osiris. He
the bust of Serapis conserved at the
also borrowed aspects from Greek gods,
Musée du Louvre (Ill. 2), sculpted in
accumulating Zeus’ solar symbolism
3rd century AD and discovered in
and physique, Hades’ link with the
Carthage.
afterlife, Dionysus’ agrarian fertility and Asclepius’ power of healing. His
Serapis is a Greco-Egyptian deity,
syncretic nature made him an extremely
whose worship originated in Alexandria
popular deity throughout the Roman
during the Ptolemaic period. He was
Empire, and representations of him can
born from the merging of both cultures,
be found throughout the Roman world.
Ill. 1. Bust of Serapis from the Serapeum of
Ill. 2. Head of Serapis, discovered in Carthage,
Alexandria.
marble, H.: 62 cm.
Pio-Clementino Museum, Vatican, inv. no. 689.
Musée du Louvre, Paris, inv. no. Ma 1830.