CIRCA 1ST-2ND CENTURY A.D.

The origins and development of the cult of Serapis are obscure, but it is generally accepted that the deity was introduced by Ptolemy I in an effort to unite the native Egyptian and Greek communities. Indeed, Serapis embodies aspects of several different deities including the Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis and the Greek gods Dionysus and Hades. Another theory proposes that the god was brought to Egypt by Alexander the Great.