SerapisArticle Free Pass Serapis, also spelled Sarapis, Greco-
Egyptian deity of the sun first encountered at Memphis, where
his cult was celebrated in association with that of the sacred
Egyptian bull Apis (who was called Osorapis when deceased). He
was thus originally a god of the underworld but was reintroduced
as a new deity with many Hellenic aspects by Ptolemy I Soter
(reigned 305–284 bc), who centred the worship of the deity at
Alexandria. The Serapeum at Alexandria was the largest and best
known of the god’s temples. The cult statue there represented
Serapis as a robed and bearded figure regally enthroned, his
right hand resting on Cerberus (the three-headed dog who guards
the gate of the underworld), while his left held an upraised
sceptre. Gradually Serapis became revered not only as a sun god
(“Zeus Serapis”) but also as a lord of healing and of fertility.
His worship was established in Rome and throughout the
Mediterranean, following the trade routes and being particularly
prominent in the great co