Serapis

Serapis, also Sarapis, in Greek and Egyptian mythology, a deity (variously associated with Osiris, Hermes, and Hades) introduced in the 3rd century bc as a state god for both Greeks and Egyptians. Serapis was believed by Egyptians to be a human manifestation of Apis, a sacred dead bull that symbolized Osiris. In Greek mythology, Serapis was represented as a god of fertility and medicine and the ruler of the dead in Tartarus. The worship of Serapis spread throughout the ancient world and the Roman Empire. The cult waned with the ascendancy of Isis, the Egyptian goddess of motherhood and fertility. The destruction of the temple to Serapis in Alexandria in the second half of the 4th century ad marked the virtual end of paganism in the Roman Empire.

See also Greek Mythology; Egyptian Mythology.