In Egyptian
mythology, Apis (alternatively
spelt Hapi-ankh), was a deity worshipped
in the Memphis region.
The Ka of Ptah
Apis was originally the Ka (power/life-force)
of Ptah,
the chief god in the area around Memphis.
As a manifestation of Ptah, it was considered
also to be a symbol of the pharaoh, embodying
the qualities of kingship. Since Ka is
also the word for bull, Apis was said
to manifest itself as a real living bull,
which, after death, reincarnated itself
into a new bull.
The bovines in the region in which Ptah was worshipped exhibited
white patterning on their mainly black
bodies, and so a belief grew up that the
Apis bull had to have a certain set of
markings suitable to its role. It was
required to have a white triangle upon
its forehead, a white vulture wing outline
on its back, a scarab mark under its tongue,
a white crescent moon shape on its right
flank, and double hairs on its tail.
The bull which matched these markings was selected from the
herd, brought to a temple, given a harem
of cows, and worshipped as an aspect of
Ptah. His mother was believed to have
been conceived by a flash of lightning
from the heavens, or from moonbeams, and
was also treated specially. At the temple,
Apis was used as an oracle, his movements
being interpreted as prophecies. His breath
was also believed to cure disease, and
his presence to bless those around with
virility, and so he was given a window
in the temple through which he could be
seen, and on certain holidays was lead
through the streets of the city, bedecked
with jewelry and flowers.
Ka of Osiris
When Osiris
absorbed the identity of Ptah, becoming
Ptah-Seker-Osiris, the Apis bull became
considered an aspect of Osiris rather
than Ptah. Since Osiris was lord of the
dead, the Apis then became known as the
living deceased one. As he now represented
Osiris, when the Apis bull reached the
age of twenty-eight, the age when Osiris
was said to have been killed by Set,
symbolic of the lunar month, and the new
moon, the bull was put to death with a
great ceremony.
There is evidence that parts of the body of the Apis bull
were eaten by the pharaoh and his priests
to absorb the Apis's great strength. Sometimes
the body of the bull was mummified and
fixed in a standing position on a foundation
made of wooden planks. Bulls' horns embellish
some of the tombs of ancient pharaohs,
and the Apis bull was often depicted on
private coffins as a powerful protector.
As a form of Osiris, lord of the dead,
it was believed that to be under the protection
of the Apis bull would give the person
control over the four winds in the afterlife.
By the New Kingdom, the remains of the Apis bulls were interred
at the cemetery of Saqqara. The earliest known burial in Saqqara
was performed in the reign of Amenhotep III by his son Thutmosis;
afterwards, seven more bulls were buried nearby. Rameses II
initiated Apis burials in what is now known as the Serapeum,
an underground complex of burial chambers at Saqqara for the
sacred bulls, a site used through the rest of Egyptian history
into the reign of Cleopatra VII.
From Bull to Man
Under Ptolemy Soter, efforts were made
to integrate Egyptian religion with that
of their hellenic rulers. Ptolemy's policy
was to find a deity that should win the
reverence alike of both groups, despite
the curses of the Egyptian priests against
the gods of the previous foreign rulers
(i.e Set who was lauded by the Hyksos).
Alexander had attempted to use Amun
for this purpose, but he was more prominent
in Upper Egypt, which was not so popular
with those in Lower Egypt, where the Greeks
had stronger influence. Nethertheless,
the Greeks had little respect for animal-headed
figures, and so a Greek statue was chosen
as the idol, and proclaimed as anthropomorphic
equivalent of the highly popular Apis.
It was named Aser-hapi (i.e. Osiris-Apis),
which became Serapis, and was said to
be Osiris in full, rather than just his
Ka.
The earliest mention of a Serapis is in the authentic death
scene of Alexander, from the royal diaries (Arrian, Anabasis,
VII. 26). Here, Serapis has a temple at Babylon, and is of
such importance that he alone is named as being consulted
on behalf of the dying king. His presence in Babylon would
radically alter perceptions of the mythologies of this era,
though fortunately, it has been discovered that the unconnected
Bablyonian god Ea was titled Serapsi, meaning king of the
deep, and it is this Serapsi which is referred to in the diaries.
The significance of this Serapsi in the hellenic psyche, due
to its involvement in Alexander's death, may have also contributed
to the choice of Osiris-Apis as the chief ptolomeic god.
According to Plutarch, Ptolemy stole the statue from Sinope,
having been instructed in a dream by the unknown god, to bring
the statue to Alexandria, where the statue was pronounced
to be Serapis by two religious experts. One of the experts
was the one of the Eumolpidae, the ancient family from whose
members the hierophant of the Eleusinian Mysteries had been
chosen since before history, and the other was the scholarly
Egyptian priest Manetho, which gave weight to the judgement
both for the Egyptians and the Greeks.
Plutarch may not however be correct, as some Egyptologists
alledge that the Sinope in the tale is really the hill of
Sinopeion, a name given to the site of the already existing
Serapeum at Memphis. Also, according to Tacitus, Serapis (i.e.
Apis explicitely identified as Osiris in full) had been the
god of the village of Rhacotis, before it suddenly expanded
into the great capital of Alexandria
The statue suitably depicted a figure resembling Hades or
Pluto, both being kings of the Greek underworld, and was shown
enthroned with the modius, which is a basket/grain-measure,
on his head, since it was a Greek symbol for the land of the
dead. He also held a sceptre in his hand indicating his rulership,
with Cerberus, gatekeeper of the underworld, resting at his
feet, and it also had a what appeared to be a serpent at its
base, fitting the Egyptian symbol of rulership, the uraeus.
With his (i.e. Osiris') wife, Isis,
and their son (at this point in history)
Horus
(in the form of Harpocrates), Serapis
won an important place in the Greek world,
reaching Ancient Rome, with Anubis being
identified as Cerberus. The great cult
survived until 385 AD, when Christian
fundamentalists destroyed the Serapeum
of Alexandria, and subsequently the cult
was forbidden by the Theodosian decree.
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