Serapeum

Serapeum
/ser'euh pee"euhm/, n., pl. Serapeums, Serapea /-pee"euh/.
a place, as a burial site, building, or group of buildings, dedicated to Serapis.
[1835-45; < LL Serapeum < GK Serapeîon]

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▪ ancient temples, Egypt
also spelled  Sarapeum, or Sarapieion,  

      either of two temples of ancient Egypt, dedicated to the worship of the Greco-Egyptian god Serapis (Sarapis). The original elaborate temple of that name was located on the west bank of the Nile (Nile River) near Ṣaqqārah and originated as a monument to the deceased Apis bulls, sacred animals of the god Ptah. Though the area was used as a cemetery for the bulls as early as 1400 BC, it was Ramses II (1279–13 BC) who designed a main gallery and subsidiary chambers (repeatedly enlarged by succeeding kings) to serve as a catacomb for the deceased Apis bulls who, in death, became assimilated to the god Osiris as Osiris-Apis. The Greeks living near Ṣaqqārah worshiped this god as Osorapis, which under the Ptolemaic dynasty became Serapis, and the temple was thereafter called the Serapeum.

      The ruins of the Serapeum at Ṣaqqārah were first discovered in 1850 by Auguste Mariette (Mariette, Auguste), a French Egyptologist. The subterranean chambers, which he entered in 1851, yielded the burials of 64 Apis bulls, together with thousands of inscribed objects. A second area of the Serapeum underwent excavation beginning in the 1980s.

      Another important Serapeum was built at Alexandria, the new Ptolemaic capital. When Ptolemy I Soter (reigned 305–284 BC) wanted to select an official god for Egypt, he chose Serapis, ordering his architect Parmeniscus to design what became one of the largest and best known of the god's temples. There Serapis was worshiped in a purely Greek ritual until AD 391, when the Serapeum was destroyed by the patriarch Theophilus (Theophilus of Alexandria, Saint) and his followers. In Roman times other Serapeums were constructed throughout the empire.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • serapeum — [ serapeɔm ] n. m. • sérapéon 1752; mot lat., du gr. serapeion ♦ Archéol. Nécropole du Hâpi (le taureau Apis), en Égypte. ♢ À l époque hellénistique, Temple où l on adorait les divinités gréco égyptiennes. ● serapeum ou sérapéum nom masculin (bas …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Serapeum — Sérapéum 29°52′N 31°15′E / 29.867, 31.25 …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Sérapéum — est le nom donné par les Grecs aux temples de Sérapis et aux sépultures des taureaux sacrés, incarnations du dieu Apis. Sommaire 1 Memphis 2 Alexandrie 3 Canope 4 Bibliographie …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Serapeum — de Ampurias, España. Serapeum (en latín) o serapeión (en griego) es el nombre dado por los antiguos romanos a los templos de Serapis y especialmente al construido en Alejandría por Ptolomeo I, el denominado Serapeum de Alejandría. Los …   Wikipedia Español

  • Serapēum — (griech. Sarapeion), Tempel des Serapis (s. d.), dergleichen es im Altertum mehrere gab. Der berühmteste war der zu Alexandria, der an Pracht nur dem römischen Kapitol nachgestanden haben soll. Er lag in dem südlichen Teile Alexandrias; in seinem …   Meyers Großes Konversations-Lexikon

  • Serapeum — Serapēum, Tempel des Sarapis (s.d.), bes. die 1850 bei Sakkara freigelegte Anlage …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Serapeum — A serapeum is a temple or other religious institution dedicated to the syncretic Hellenistic Egyptian god Serapis, who combined aspects of Osiris and Apis in a humanized form that was accepted by the Ptolemaic Greeks of Alexandria. There were… …   Wikipedia

  • Serapeum — Der Begriff Serapeum steht für: Serapeum (Altes Ägypten), altägyptischer Begriff, mit dem Bauten im Zusammenhang des Apis Stieres beziehungsweise der ägyptisch hellenistischen Gottheit Serapis geweihte Tempel bezeichnet werden Serapeum (Sakkara) …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Serapeum — Se|ra|pe|um 〈n.; , pe|en〉 Tempel des Serapis, des ägypt. Gottes der Unterwelt [lat., <grch. serapeion] * * * Serapeum   das, s/... pe|en, griechisch Serapeion das, s/... peia, Heiligtum für den Gott Sarapis; Serapeia wurden an vielen Orten,… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Serapeum — Cualquiera de los dos templos del antiguo Egipto que estaban dedicados al culto del dios grecorromano Serapis. El templo original fue construido durante el reinado de Ramsés II en la ribera occidental del Nilo, cerca de Saqqara, un lugar… …   Enciclopedia Universal

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