A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Greco-Egyptian deity Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form that was accepted by the Ptolemaic Greeks of Alexandria. There were several such religious centers, each of which was called a serapeion/serapeum or poserapi, coming from an Egyptian name for the temple of Osiris-Apis.
Remains of the Serapeum of Alexandria
Marble bust of Serapis, Roman copy after a Greek original from the 4th century BC
The Catacombs beneath the Serapeum of Alexandria
Sketch of Palazzo Colonna (1534–1536) by Marten van Heemskerck showing the remains of the ancient Temple of Serapis.
Serapis or Sarapis is a Graeco-Egyptian god. A syncretic deity derived from the worship of the Egyptian Osiris and Apis, Serapis was extensively popularized in the third century BC on the orders of Greek Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter, as a means to unify the Greek and Egyptian subjects of the Ptolemaic Kingdom.
Marble bust of Serapis wearing a modius
This pendant bearing Serapis's likeness would have been worn by a member of elite Egyptian society. Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
Bronze votive tablet inscribed to Serapis (2nd century)
High cleric of the cult of Serapis, Altes Museum, Berlin