What does this temple know ?
- This area was known as “ Acropolis “ after the foundation of Alex and it means the high hill to establish the temples .
The idea of the temple and its purpose
1- After the death of Alexander he left behind him a great Empire Egypt was under the leadership of Ptolemy first the famous general wanted to common between the Egyptian and the Greeks only one cult accepted by both sides , so he made a committee from Manyton the Egyptian priest and Themosys The Greek priest until they reached at the end to choose the new triad with Serapis as a father God with 2 figures [ human , animal ] the wife Isis as a mother goddess , and their son Harpocrates ( Horus The child ) .
2- Alex , thus 2 communities, Egyptians and Greeks lived side by side , each worshipping its own gods and speaking, its own language but the Ptolemies wanted a comman cult which could provide a meeting place for The Egyptians and Greeks , thus they started a new Triad
Serapis ......> The Father god
Isis ......> The mother god
Harpocrates ........> A son god ( Horus the child )
3- For The ancient Egyptians “ Serapis “ was the ancient Egyptian god Osiri - Hapi , the sacred Apis bull after his death for the Greeks .
The new god was identified with their supreme god Zeus .
4- Erected far them the Serapium temple , one of the greatest temples around the medatrainian sea [ the native district the west of the city Raqads .
We have very little information as the shape of this temple .
The temple was as arectangular figure , its access from the east and the Sanctuary was surrounded by columns from all the sides, the length of the temple from east to west 75 m and from north to south 87 m .
5- A black basalt statue was found at the sanctuary of Apis its cult had continued from the 3rd B.C , till the beginning of Christian period .
Beside the temple, the small library , so called , to distinguish it from the main library at the Museum.
The statue
1- Represents a bull between its horns the solar sun-disk with a Cobra on his forehead to protect him as a god from enemies the ears on the shape of 2 horns to listen to the prays of his followers, under the tummy , there is apedestal with an inscription dates to the era of the Roman Emperor Hadrian
2- That temple may have been destroyed by the Jews at the end of the reign of Trajan 98 - 117 A.D and a new one much larger was soon erected probably under the reign of Hadrian 117- 138 A.D .
This new temple was destroyed by the Christians in 391 A.D and on its ruin was built a monastery and a church in the name of Saint John , the Baptist which seems to last to the 10th century.
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