Serapis

An Egyptian god with many attributes in the ancient Greek pantheon, i.e. fertility, the Sun, healing and keeper of the dead.

The god Serapis evolved into the Greek pantheon from the dualistic Egyptian deity associated with the sacred Apis Bull; after death, the Apis Bull became Osiris-Apis; during the Greek dominated period of Egyptian history, generally referred to as the Ptolemaic Period (roughly 323-30 BCE), the duel nature of Osiris-Apis became homogenized into the singular deity of Serapis; an immense underground structure known as the Serapeum near the ancient Egyptian cemetery of Sakkara served as the burial place of the Apis Bull.

Serapis was worshiped throughout the Mediterranean basin; his worship seemed to transcend ethnic boundaries and earned him reverence in the Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures.

There were two precincts dedicated to Serapis on the Akrokorinth, i.e. the Akropolis (Acropolis) of the city of Korinth (Corinth), when the traveler and historian, Pausanias described the Akrokorinth circa 160 CE.

• Descriptions of Greece, book 2 iv 6
• Temples, Tombs and Hieroglyphs, chapter 10, Miscellaneous Dynasties