The gate of the year

Earthenware bust of the god Serapis, dating to the Hellenistic-Roman period, now in the Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, München, Germany.
The cult of Serapis was introduced by the Ptolemies (300-30 B.C.), as a result of the merging of the god Osiris with the sacred bull Apis. The deity acquired the typical attributes of the Hellenic gods, in particular the beard and long hair that distinguished the aspect of Zeus, the supreme god of the Greeks, and Hades, the god of the Netherworld. The head of Serapis is surmounted by a basket, representing bountiful harvests, frequently decorated with plant motifs, expressing the god’s function in propitiating the fertility of the fields. The great temple of Serapis (Serapeum) built in Alexandria was destroyed when the Christian emperor Theodosius II (379-395 A.D.) ordered the destruction of all ancient religious monuments.

[Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kopf_des_Serapis.jpg]




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Earthenware bust of the god Serapis, dating to the Hellenistic-Roman period, now in the Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, München, Germany. The cult of Serapis was introduced by the Ptolemies (300-30 B.C.), as a result of the merging of the god Osiris with the sacred bull Apis. The deity acquired the typical attributes of the Hellenic gods, in particular the beard and long hair that distinguished the aspect of Zeus, the supreme god of the Greeks, and Hades, the god of the Netherworld. The head of Serapis is surmounted by a basket, representing bountiful harvests, frequently decorated with plant motifs, expressing the god’s function in propitiating the fertility of the fields. The great temple of Serapis (Serapeum) built in Alexandria was destroyed when the Christian emperor Theodosius II (379-395 A.D.) ordered the destruction of all ancient religious monuments. [Image: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Kopf_des_Serapis.jpg]