![Serapis Pio-Clementino Inv689 n2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Serapis_Pio-Clementino_Inv689_n2.jpg)
A serapeum is a
temple
A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...
or other religious institution dedicated to the
syncretic
Syncretism () is the practice of combining different beliefs and various schools of thought. Syncretism involves the merging or assimilation of several originally discrete traditions, especially in the theology and mythology of religion, thu ...
Greco-Egyptian
The Egyptiotes, also known as Egyptian Greeks ( el, Αιγυπτιώτες), have existed from the Hellenistic period until the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution of 1952, when most were forced to leave.
Antiquity
Greeks have been present in ...
deity Serapis
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...
, who combined aspects of
Osiris
Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wsjr'', cop, ⲟⲩⲥⲓⲣⲉ , ; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎𐤓, romanized: ʾsr) is the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He wa ...
and
Apis in a humanized form that was accepted by the
Ptolemaic Greeks of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...
. There were several such religious centers, each of which was a ''serapeion'' ( el, Σεραπεῖον) or, in its Latinized form, a ''serapeum''. An Egyptian name for the temple of Osiris-Apis ( , ) was Pr-Wsỉr-Ḥp "House of Osiris-Apis".
Egyptian serapea
Alexandria
![The Catacombs beneath the Serapeum of Alexandria (II)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/The_Catacombs_beneath_the_Serapeum_of_Alexandria_%28II%29.jpg)
The
Serapeum of Alexandria
The Serapeum of Alexandria in the Ptolemaic Kingdom was an ancient Greek temple built by Ptolemy III Euergetes (reigned 246–222 BC) and dedicated to Serapis, who was made the protector of Alexandria. There are also signs of Harpocrates ...
in the
Ptolemaic Kingdom was an
ancient Greek temple
Greek temples ( grc, ναός, naós, dwelling, semantically distinct from Latin , "temple") were structures built to house deity statues within Greek sanctuaries in ancient Greek religion. The temple interiors did not serve as meeting places, ...
built by
Ptolemy III Euergetes
, predecessor = Ptolemy II
, successor = Ptolemy IV
, nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land
, nebty_hiero ...
. There are also signs of
Harpocrates
Harpocrates ( grc, Ἁρποκράτης, Phoenician: 𐤇𐤓𐤐𐤊𐤓𐤈, romanized: ḥrpkrṭ, ''harpokrates'') was the god of silence, secrets and confidentiality in the Hellenistic religion developed in Ptolemaic Alexandria (and also ...
. It has been referred to as the daughter of the
Library of Alexandria. It existed until the end of the fourth century AD.
Saqqara
The
Serapeum of Saqqara
The Serapeum of Saqqara was the ancient Egyptian burial place for sacred bulls of the Apis cult at Memphis. It was believed that the bulls were incarnations of the god Ptah, which would become immortal after death as ''Osiris-Apis''. a name wh ...
is located north west of the
Pyramid of Djoser
The pyramid of Djoser (or Djeser and Zoser), sometimes called the Step Pyramid of Djoser, is an archaeological site in the Saqqara necropolis, Egypt, northwest of the ruins of Memphis. The 6-tier, 4-sided structure is the earliest colossal stone ...
at
Saqqara
Saqqara ( ar, سقارة, ), also spelled Sakkara or Saccara in English , is an Egyptian village in Giza Governorate, that contains ancient burial grounds of Egyptian royalty, serving as the necropolis for the ancient Egyptian capital, Memphis ...
, a necropolis near
Memphis
Memphis most commonly refers to:
* Memphis, Egypt, a former capital of ancient Egypt
* Memphis, Tennessee, a major American city
Memphis may also refer to:
Places United States
* Memphis, Alabama
* Memphis, Florida
* Memphis, Indiana
* Memp ...
in
Lower Egypt. It was a burial place of the
Apis,
sacred bull
Cattle are prominent in some religions and mythologies. As such, numerous peoples throughout the world have at one point in time honored bulls as sacred. In the Sumerian religion, Marduk is the "bull of Utu". In Hinduism, Shiva's steed is Na ...
s that were incarnations of
Ptah
Ptah ( egy, ptḥ, reconstructed ; grc, Φθά; cop, ⲡⲧⲁϩ; Phoenician: 𐤐𐤕𐤇, romanized: ptḥ) is an ancient Egyptian deity, a creator god and patron deity of craftsmen and architects. In the triad of Memphis, he is the hu ...
. It was believed that the bulls became immortal after death as Osiris-Apis, a name shortened to Serapis in the Hellenic period.
Canopus
Another serapeum was located at
Canopus
Canopus is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Carina and the second-brightest star in the night sky. It is also designated α Carinae, which is Latinised to Alpha Carinae. With a visual apparent magnitude ...
, in the
Nile Delta near Alexandria. This sanctuary, dedicated to
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
and her consort Serapis, became one of the most famous
cult centers of the Ptolemaic Kingdom and
Roman Egypt. Its festivals and rites were so popular that the site became an architectural model for sanctuaries to the Egyptian gods throughout the
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post- Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediter ...
.
At this Graeco-Roman site, a sacred
temenos
A ''temenos'' ( Greek: ; plural: , ''temenē''). is a piece of land cut off and assigned as an official domain, especially to kings and chiefs, or a piece of land marked off from common uses and dedicated to a god, such as a sanctuary, holy gr ...
enclosed the temple dedicated to the gods, which was located behind a
propylaea or
peristyle
In ancient Greek and Roman architecture, a peristyle (; from Greek ) is a continuous porch formed by a row of columns surrounding the perimeter of a building or a courtyard. Tetrastoön ( grc, τετράστῳον or τετράστοον, lit=f ...
court. Auxiliary shrines dedicated to other, less universal, Egyptian deities could be found here as well, including those dedicated to
Anubis
Anubis (; grc, Ἄνουβις), also known as Inpu, Inpw, Jnpw, or Anpu in Ancient Egyptian () is the god of death, mummification, embalming, the afterlife, cemeteries, tombs, and the Underworld, in ancient Egyptian religion, usually depict ...
(
Hermanubis
Hermanubis ( grc, Ἑρμανοῦβις, translit=Hermanoubis) is a Graeco-Egyptian god who conducts the souls of the dead to the underworld. He is a syncretism of Hermes from Greek mythology and Anubis from Egyptian mythology.
Description
Her ...
),
Hermes Trismegistus
Hermes Trismegistus (from grc, Ἑρμῆς ὁ Τρισμέγιστος, "Hermes the Thrice-Greatest"; Classical Latin: la, label=none, Mercurius ter Maximus) is a legendary Hellenistic figure that originated as a syncretic combination of t ...
, the syncretism of
Thoth
Thoth (; from grc-koi, Θώθ ''Thṓth'', borrowed from cop, Ⲑⲱⲟⲩⲧ ''Thōout'', Egyptian: ', the reflex of " eis like the Ibis") is an ancient Egyptian deity. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or ...
and
Hermes
Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...
, Harpocrates, and others. Ritual complexes dedicated to Isis were often built around a well or a spring, which was meant to represent the miraculous annual inundation of the Nile. This was also the case in sanctuaries devoted to the Egyptian gods in Roman-era
Delos, where a central basin provided the water element central in the rites of Isis.
Serapea in Italy
Regio tertia
The ''
Regio III'' within the city of Rome was named ''Isis et Serapis'' because it contained a temple dedicated to the two Egyptian deities. The structure, originally dedicated to Isis alone, was built by
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius
Quintus Caecilius Metellus Pius (c. 128 – 63 BC) was a Roman politician and general. Like the other members of the influential Caecilii Metelli family, he was a leader of the Optimates, the conservative faction opposed to the Populares during ...
in the first half of the 1st century BCE to celebrate his father's victory over
Jugurtha
Jugurtha or Jugurthen ( Libyco-Berber ''Yugurten'' or '' Yugarten'', c. 160 – 104 BC) was a king of Numidia. When the Numidian king Micipsa, who had adopted Jugurtha, died in 118 BC, Jugurtha and his two adoptive brothers, Hiempsal and A ...
.
The complex, of which only parts of the foundations remain, was originally terraced; during the
Flavian dynasty
The Flavian dynasty ruled the Roman Empire between AD 69 and 96, encompassing the reigns of Vespasian (69–79), and his two sons Titus (79–81) and Domitian (81–96). The Flavians rose to power during the civil war of 69, known ...
, it underwent major renovations, and the cult of Serapis was associated to that of Isis. The temple was finally demolished during the 6th century.
Campus Martius
This temple, dedicated to Isis and Serapis, was first dedicated by the triumvirs in 43 BCE in Rome. However, due to later tensions between Octavian (later Augustus Caesar) and Marc Antony, the temple was not built. Following the Battle at Actium, Augustus banned the religion from within the pomerium of Rome altogether. The temple was finally built by Gaius Caligula on the area known as
Campus Martius
The Campus Martius (Latin for the "Field of Mars", Italian ''Campo Marzio'') was a publicly owned area of ancient Rome about in extent. In the Middle Ages, it was the most populous area of Rome. The IV rione of Rome, Campo Marzio, which cove ...
, between the
Saepta Julia
The Saepta Julia was a building in the Campus Martius of Rome, where citizens gathered to cast votes. The building was conceived by Julius Caesar and dedicated by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa in 26 BCE. The building replaced an older structure, called ...
and the
temple of Minerva c. 37–41 CE.
The Serapeum, long and wide, was divided in three sections: a rectangular area could be accessed first by walking under monumental arches; an open square, adorned with red
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
s brought to the city during the 1st century and erected in couples, followed. The centre of the square was likely occupied by the temple dedicated to Isis, while the third section, a semicircular
exedra
An exedra (plural: exedras or exedrae) is a semicircular architectural recess or platform, sometimes crowned by a semi-dome, and either set into a building's façade or free-standing. The original Greek sense (''ἐξέδρα'', a seat out of d ...
with an
apse
In architecture, an apse (plural apses; from Latin 'arch, vault' from Ancient Greek 'arch'; sometimes written apsis, plural apsides) is a semicircular recess covered with a hemispherical vault or semi-dome, also known as an '' exedra''. ...
presumably hosted the altar dedicated to Serapis. Fragments of the obelisks, some quite large, have been found around the current church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva; some archaeologists have proposed that the obelisk facing the
Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
(see picture) may have been repositioned from the temple to its current location.
The building was destroyed in the great fire of the year 80 CE and rebuilt by
Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...
; further renovation was initiated by Hadrian, while
Septimius Severus
Lucius Septimius Severus (; 11 April 145 – 4 February 211) was Roman emperor from 193 to 211. He was born in Leptis Magna (present-day Al-Khums, Libya) in the Roman province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary suc ...
ordered the necessary upkeep of the temple's structure. Written records attest to the Serapeum's existence and ritual activity until the 5th century.
Quirinal Hill
![Palazzo Colonna - Heemskerck](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d5/Palazzo_Colonna_-_Heemskerck.jpg)
The temple built on
Quirinal Hill
The Quirinal Hill (; la, Collis Quirinalis; it, Quirinale ) is one of the Seven Hills of Rome, at the north-east of the city center. It is the location of the official residence of the Italian head of state, who resides in the Quirinal Pala ...
and dedicated to Serapis was, by most surviving accounts, the most sumptuous and architectonically ambitious of those built on the hill; its remains are still visible between
Palazzo Colonna
The Palazzo Colonna () is a palatial block of buildings in central Rome, Italy, at the base of the Quirinal Hill, and adjacent to the church of Santi Apostoli. It is built in part over the ruins of an old Roman serapeum, and it has belonged to ...
and the
Pontifical Gregorian University
The Pontifical Gregorian University ( it, Pontificia Università Gregoriana; also known as the Gregorian or Gregoriana,) is a higher education ecclesiastical school ( pontifical university) located in Rome, Italy.
The Gregorian originated as ...
.
![Tempio di Serapide Gregoriana 6](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Tempio_di_Serapide_Gregoriana_6.jpg)
The sanctuary, which lay between today's ''piazza della Pilotta'' and the large square facing
Quirinal Palace
The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzia ...
, was built by
Caracalla
Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (born Lucius Septimius Bassianus, 4 April 188 – 8 April 217), better known by his nickname "Caracalla" () was Roman emperor from 198 to 217. He was a member of the Severan dynasty, the elder son of Emperor S ...
on the western slopes of the hill, covering over , as its sides measured . It was composed by a long courtyard (surrounded by a
colonnade
In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...
) and by the ritual area, where statues and obelisks had been erected. Designed to impress its visitors, the temple boasted columns tall and in diameter, visually sitting atop a marble stairway that connected the base of the hill to the sanctuary.
An enormous fragment of
entablature, weighing approximately 100 tons and in volume (the largest in Rome), belongs to the original temple, as do the statues of the Nile and the
Tiber
The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest List of rivers of Italy, river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where ...
, moved by
Michelangelo to the
Capitoline Hill
The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome.
The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. ...
in front of the Senate building.
Hadrian's Villa
![Canopus vanaf serapium](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Canopus_vanaf_serapium.jpg)
Emperor Hadrian (117–138) ordered the construction of a "canopus" in his
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
in Tivoli with typical imperial grandeur: an immense rectangular tank representing a canal, long by wide was surrounded by
porticoes and statues, leading the way to a Serapeum. Protected by a monumental
dome, the sanctuary was composed of a public area and a more intimate subterranean part that was dedicated to the
chthonic aspect of Serapis.
To mark the inauguration of his temple, Hadrian struck coinage that carry his effigy accompanied by Serapis, upon a dais where two columns support a round canopy. In this manner, the emperor became ''synnaos'', a companion of the god's arcane ''
naos'' and equal beneficiary of the cult of Serapis at Canopus.
In February 2021, archaeologists led by researcher Rafael Hidalgo Prieto from the
Pablo de Olavide University announced the discovery of remains of Hadrian's breakfast room which used to show his imperial power. They revealed a structure as a water
triclinium
A ''triclinium'' (plural: ''triclinia'') is a formal dining room in a Roman building. The word is adopted from the Greek ()—from (), "three", and (), a sort of couch or rather chaise longue. Each couch was sized to accommodate a diner who ...
and a separate dining room that served as a model for the well-known Serapeum in his
villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became s ...
.
Ostia Antica
![Serapeum (Pozzuoli) -2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/Serapeum_%28Pozzuoli%29_-2.jpg)
The Serapeum of
Ostia Antica
Ostia Antica ("Ancient Ostia") is a large archaeological site, close to the modern town of Ostia, that is the location of the harbour city of ancient Rome, 25 kilometres (15 miles) southwest of Rome. "Ostia" (plur. of "ostium") is a derivation ...
was inaugurated in 127 CE and dedicated to the syncretic cult of
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but slightly less than one-thousandth t ...
Serapis.
It is a typical Roman sanctuary, on a raised platform and with a row of columns at the entrance, where a mosaic representing Apis in a typically Egyptian manner can still be seen. From this temple likely came the statue that
Bryaxis copied for the Serapeum in Alexandria.
Pozzuoli
The
Macellum of Pozzuoli
The Macellum of Pozzuoli ( it, Macellum di Pozzuoli) was the macellum or market building of the Roman colony of Puteoli, now the city of Pozzuoli in southern Italy. When first excavated in the 18th century, the discovery of a statue of Serapis ...
, marketplace or
macellum
A macellum (plural: ''macella''; ''makellon'') is an ancient Roman indoor market building that sold mostly provisions (especially meat and fish). The building normally sat alongside the forum and basilica, providing a place in which a market cou ...
of the Roman city of Puteoli (now known as
Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Naples, in the Italian region of Campania. It is the main city of the Phlegrean Peninsula.
History
Pozzuoli began as the Greek colony of ''Dicaearchia'' ( el, Δικα ...
) was first excavated in the 18th century, when the discovery of a statue of
Serapis
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...
led to the building being misidentified as the city's serapeum, the Temple of Serapis. Under that name, the site had considerable influence on
early geology as a band of boreholes affecting the three standing columns suggested that the building had been partly below sea level for some period.
Serapea in Tunisia
A Latin inscription and other archaeological finds including statues, busts and other objects indicating the presence of a Serapeum from the Roman period in
Carthage
Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the cla ...
, dedicated to the
Egyptian deities
Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural ...
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...
and
Serapis
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian deity. The cult of Serapis was promoted during the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his r ...
.
Serapea in Turkey
Pergamon
Inside
Pergamon
Pergamon or Pergamum ( or ; grc-gre, Πέργαμον), also referred to by its modern Greek form Pergamos (), was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Mysia. It is located from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on th ...
in
Bergama
Bergama is a populous district, as well as the center city of the same district, in İzmir Province in western Turkey. By excluding İzmir's metropolitan area, it is one of the prominent districts of the province in terms of population and is l ...
, there is the Temple of Serapis, built for the Egyptian gods in the 2nd century CE and called the
Red Basilica (''Kızıl Avlu'' in Turkish) by locals. This is a
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...
-shaped building constructed under the reign of
Hadrian. It consists of a main building and two round towers. In the
Christian New Testament, the Church at Pergamon, inside the main building of the Red Basilica, is listed as one of the
Seven Churches to which the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of ...
was addressed (
Revelation 2:12).
Ephesus
Another serapeum was in
Ephesus, which is near present-day
Selçuk,
İzmir Province
İzmir Province ( tr, İzmir ili) is a province and metropolitan municipality of Turkey in western Anatolia, situated along the Aegean coast. Its capital is the city of İzmir, which is in itself composed of the province's central 11 distri ...
,
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
. The temple is located behind the
Library of Celsus
The Library of Celsus ( el, Βιβλιοθήκη του Κέλσου) is an ancient Roman building in Ephesus, Anatolia, now part of Selçuk, Turkey. The building was commissioned in the 110s A.D. by a consul, Gaius Julius Aquila, as a funerary ...
. This Egyptian temple was turned into a Christian church.
Miletus
This temple was built in the 3rd century BCE near the south agora of
Miletus and also it was restored by
Emperor Julius Aurelius (270–275 CE).
Information about Miletus
/ref>
References
Alexandria
*Chuvin, Pierre, 1990 (B. A. Archer, translator). ''A Chronicle of the Last Pagans'',(Harvard University Press). The incremental restrictions on "indigenous polytheism" of the governing class, chronicled from imperial edict to imperial edict.
* MacMullen, Ramsay, 1984.''Christianizing the Roman Empire A.D. 100-400'', (Yale University Press).
*Turcan, Robert, (1992) 1996. ''Cults of the Roman Empire'' (Blackwell). A translation of ''Les cultes orientaux dans le monde romain.''
Saqqara
*Christophe, B. (2001). L'inscription dédicatoire de Khâemouaset au Sérapéum de Saqqara (Pl. V-XIII). ''Revue d'Égyptologie'', ''52'', 29-55.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Ostia
*Mar, R. (1992). El serapeum ostiense y la urbanística de la ciudad. Una aproximación a su estudio. ''BA'', ''13''(15), 31-51.
*Bloch, H. (1959). The Serapeum of Ostia and the Brick-Stamps of 123 AD A New Landmark in the History of Roman Architecture. ''American Journal of Archaeology'', ''63''(3), 225-240.
*Mar, R. (2001). ''El santuario de Serapis en Ostia''.
*Mols, S. (2007). The Urban Context of the Serapeum at Ostia. ''Babesch'', ''82''(1), 227-232.
Rome
* Filippo Coarelli, "Iseum et Serapeum in Campo Martio; Isis Campensis", in E. M. Steinby (ed.), ''Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae
The ''Lexicon Topographicum Urbis Romae'' (1993–2000) is a six-volume, multilingual reference work considered to be the major, modern work covering the topography of ancient Rome. The editor is Eva Margareta Steinby
Eva Margareta Steinby FSA ( ...
'' (''LTUR''), vol. 3, 1996, pp. 107–109.
* Filippo Coarelli, "I monumenti dei culti orientali a Roma", in ''La soteriologia dei culti orientali nell'Impero romano'', Leiden, Brill, 1982, pp. 33–67. ().
* Serena Ensoli, "I santuari di Iside e Serapide a Roma e la resistenza pagana in età tardoantica" in ''Aurea Roma'', Roma, L'Erma di Bretschneider, 2000, pp. 273-282. ().
Pozzuoli
*Charles Dubois. ''Cultes et dieux à Pouzzoles''. Roma, 1902.
*Charles Dubois. ''Pouzzoles Antique''. Parigi, 1907.
External links
*{{Commons category-inline, Temples of Serapis
Rufinus – "The Destruction of the Serapeum A.D. 391"
The author has conflated material from his cited references source (R. Turcan 1996:126): the reason for the conflict that led to the barricading in the Serapeum has been changed from that of his source. Here it is the finding of human skulls and the charge of human sacrifice text instead of a conspiracy and a ridiculing of art work.
Richard Stillwell, ed. ''Princeton Encyclopedia of Classical Sites'', 1976:
"Alexandria, Egypt: Serapeion"
*References to another Serapeum near the Suez Canal:
Eastern Serapeum2
- To the west of Tussum a large group of dunes occurs which runs to the south-south-west, and at kilometer 90 we reach the Serapeum.
- On Napoleon's Map
*Three more Serapea - The Tabula Peutingeriana
' (Latin for "The Peutinger Map"), also referred to as Peutinger's Tabula or Peutinger Table, is an illustrated ' (ancient Roman road map) showing the layout of the '' cursus publicus'', the road network of the Roman Empire.
The map is a 13th-ce ...
shows 3 additional Serapea not discussed in the article
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3rd-century BC architecture
Hellenistic architecture
Egyptology
Serapis
Ptolemaic Alexandria