Apis (god) 1

Apis (god)

Statue of Apis, 30th Dynasty, Louvre

, or, or, or

Hapiin hieroglyphs

In Egyptian mythology, Apis or Hapis (alternatively spelled Hapi-ankh), is a bull-deity that was worshipped in theMemphis region. "Apis served as an intermediary between humans and an all-powerful god (originally Ptah, laterOsiris, then Atum)." [quote: Virtual Egyptian Museum]According to Manetho, his worship was instituted by Kaiechos of the Second Dynasty. Apis is named on very earlymonuments, but little is known of the divine animal before the New Kingdom. Ceremonial burials of bulls indicatethat ritual sacrifice was part of the worship of the early cow deities and a bull might represent a king who became adeity after death. He was entitled "the renewal of the life" of the Memphite god Ptah: but after death he becameOsorapis, i.e. the Osiris Apis, just as dead humans were assimilated to Osiris, the king of the underworld. ThisOsorapis was identified with the Hellenistic Serapis, and may well be identical with him. Greek writers make theApis an incarnation of Osiris, ignoring the connection with Ptah.

Apis (god) 2

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Apis was the most important of all the sacred animals in Egypt, and, as with the others, its importance increased astime went on. Greek and Roman authors have much to say about Apis, the marks by which the black bull-calf wasrecognized, the manner of his conception by a ray from heaven, his house at Memphis with court for disportinghimself, the mode of prognostication from his actions, the mourning at his death, his costly burial, and the rejoicingsthroughout the country when a new Apis was found. Auguste Mariette's excavation of the Serapeum at Memphisrevealed the tombs of over sixty animals, ranging from the time of Amenophis III to that of Ptolemy Alexander. Atfirst each animal was buried in a separate tomb with a chapel built above it.Khamuis, the priestly son of Ramesses II (c. 1300 B.C.), excavated a great gallery to be lined with the tombchambers; another similar gallery was added by Psammetichus I. The careful statement of the ages of the animals inthe later instances, with the regnal dates for their birth, enthronement, and death have thrown much light on thechronology from the Twenty-second dynasty onwards. The name of the mother-cow and the place of birth often arerecorded. The sarcophagi are of immense size, and the burial must have entailed enormous expense. It is thereforeremarkable that the priests contrived to bury one of the animals in the fourth year of Cambyses.

Herald of PtahThe cult of the Apis bull started at the very beginning of Egyptian history, probably as a fertility god connected tograin and the herds. In a funerary context, the Apis was a protector of the deceased, and linked to the pharaoh. Thisanimal was chosen because it symbolized the king’s courageous heart, great strength, virility, and fighting spirit. TheApis bull was considered to be a manifestation of the pharaoh, as bulls were symbols of strength and fertility,qualities which are closely linked with kingship ("strong bull of his mother Hathor" was a common title for gods andpharaohs).

Apis (god) 3

The symbolresembling an ankhthat the markings ofan Apis bull wouldhave created on hishead when depicted

with his mother's sundisk

Occasionally, the Apis bull was pictured with her sun-disk between his horns, being one offew deities associated with her symbol. When the disk was depicted on his head with hishorns below and the triangle on his forehead, an ankh was suggested. It also is a symbolclosely associated with his mother.

Apis was originally the Herald (wHm) of Ptah, the chief god in the area around Memphis. Asa manifestation of Ptah, Apis also was considered to be a symbol of the pharaoh, embodyingthe qualities of kingship.

The bovines in the region in which Ptah was worshipped exhibited white patterning on theirmainly black bodies, and so a belief grew up that the Apis bull had to have a certain set ofmarkings suitable to its role. It was required to have a white triangle upon its forehead, awhite vulture wing outline on its back, a scarab mark under its tongue, a white crescent moonshape 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, andworshipped as an aspect of Ptah. His mother was believed to have been conceived by a flash of lightning from theheavens, or from moonbeams, and also was treated specially. At the temple, Apis was used as an oracle, hismovements being interpreted as prophecies. His breath was believed to cure disease, and his presence to bless thosearound with virility. He was given a window in the temple through which he could be seen, and on certain holidayswas led through the streets of the city, bedecked with jewelry and flowers.

Ka of Osiris

Stele dedicated to an Apis, dating to Year 21 of Psamtik I(c.644 BCE)

Sometimes the body of the bull was mummified and fixed in astanding 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 apowerful protector. As a form of Osiris, lord of the dead, itwas believed that to be under the protection of the Apis bullwould give the person control over the four winds in theafterlife.

By the New Kingdom, the remains of the Apis bulls wereinterred at the cemetery of Saqqara. The earliest known burialin Saqqara was performed in the reign of Amenhotep III byhis son Thutmosis; afterwards, seven more bulls were buriednearby. Ramesses II initiated Apis burials in what is nowknown as the Serapeum, an underground complex of burialchambers at Saqqara for the sacred bulls, a site used throughthe rest of Egyptian history into the reign of Cleopatra VII.

Apis was the most popular of the three great bull cults of ancient Egypt (the others being the bulls Mnevis andBuchis.) The worship of the Apis bull was continued by the Greeks and after them by the Romans, and lasted untilalmost 400 A.D.

Apis (god) 4

From bull to man

Bust of the Hellenistic-Egyptian god Serapis, Roman copyof an original by Bryaxis which stood at the Serapeion of

Alexandria, Vatican Museums.

Egyptian pendant represents lions or Apis Bull.The Walters Art Museum.

According to Arrian, Apis was one of the Egyptian Gods forwhich Alexander the Great performed a sacrifice during hisseizure of the country from the Persians.[2] After Alexander'sdeath, his general Ptolemy Soter made efforts to integrateEgyptian religion with that of their new Hellenic rulers.Ptolemy's policy was to find a deity that should win thereverence alike of both groups, despite the curses of theEgyptian priests against the gods of the previous foreign rulers(i.e. Set who was lauded by the Hyksos). Alexander hadattempted to use Amun for this purpose, but he was moreprominent in Upper Egypt, which was not so popular withthose in Lower Egypt, where the Greeks had strongerinfluence. Nevertheless, the Greeks had little respect foranimal-headed figures, and so a Greek statue was chosen asthe idol, and proclaimed as anthropomorphic equivalent of thehighly popular Apis. It was named Aser-hapi (i.e.Osiris-Apis), which became Serapis, and was said to be Osirisin full, rather than just his Ka.

The earliest mention of a Serapis is in the authentic deathscene of Alexander, from the royal diaries (Arrian, Anabasis,VII. 26). Here, Serapis has a temple at Babylon, and is of suchimportance that he alone is named as being consulted onbehalf of the dying king. His presence in Babylon wouldradically alter perceptions of the mythologies of this era,though fortunately, it has been discovered that theunconnected Bablyonian god Ea was titled Serapsi, meaningking of the deep, and it is this Serapsi which is referred to inthe diaries. The significance of this Serapsi in the Hellenicpsyche, due to its involvement in Alexander's death, may havealso contributed to the choice of Osiris-Apis as the chiefPtolemaic 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 theexperts was one of the Eumolpidae, the ancient family from whose members the hierophant of the EleusinianMysteries had been chosen since before history, and the other was the scholarly Egyptian priest Manetho, whichgave weight to the judgement both for the Egyptians and the Greeks.

Plutarch may not however be correct, as some Egyptologists allege that the Sinope in the tale is really the hill ofSinopeion,

Apis (god) 5

Mask of a mummy of holy bull(Kunsthistorisches Museum)

a name given to the site of the already existing Serapeum at Memphis.Also, according to Tacitus, Serapis (i.e. Apis explicitly identified asOsiris in full) had been the god of the village of Rhacotis, before itsuddenly expanded into the great capital of Alexandria.

The statue suitably depicted a figure resembling Hades or Pluto, bothbeing kings of the Greek underworld, and was shown enthroned withthe modius, which is a basket/grain-measure, on his head, since it was aGreek symbol for the land of the dead. He also held a sceptre in hishand indicating his rulership, with Cerberus, gatekeeper of theunderworld, resting at his feet, and it also had what appeared to be aserpent 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 inthe Greek world, reaching Ancient Rome, with Anubis being identifiedas Cerberus. The cult survived until 385 AD, when Christiansdestroyed the Serapeum of Alexandria, and subsequently the cult wasforbidden by the Theodosian decree.

Modern useThe pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk uses the Apis bull as its logo.

References[1] http:/ / en. wikipedia. org/ w/ index. php?title=Template:Ancient_Egyptian_religion& action=edit[2] Anabasis of Alexander (http:/ / websfor. org/ alexander/ arrian/ book3a. asp), Arrian, from websfor.org

External links• The Virtual Egyptian Museum: Apis (http:/ / www. virtual-egyptian-museum. org/ Collection/ FullVisit/

Collection. FullVisit-JFR. html?. . / Content/ MET. LL. 00887. html& 0)  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911).

Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

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Article Sources and ContributorsApis (god)  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=616516907  Contributors: -Ril-, 12 Noon, 83d40m, A. Parrot, Aldux, Andres, Ariconte, Astatine-210, Betacommand, Bill Thayer,Catalographer, Charles Matthews, Chochopk, Cmdrjameson, Colonies Chris, Comatmebro, Cronos, Cst17, Cynwolfe, D'Agosta, Damate, Decora, Design, Dina, Dmthoth, Dougweller, Eastlaw,Elmo iscariot, Erik9, Farthur2, FinnWiki, Finnbjorn, Frietjes, Frtillman, Gogo Dodo, Gryffindor, Gtrmp, Haploidavey, Haymouse, Hoof Hearted, Idot, J.delanoy, JLaTondre, Jarble, Jastrow,Jeccabreen, Jic, John of Reading, JohnnyMrNinja, Juangarcia1982, Kajk, Karasar, Kazubon, Kerowyn, Khruner, Knightt, Lisasmall, Llywrch, Lockeownzj00, Marcok, Markh, Mayz, McGeddon,Midnightblueowl, Mintrick, MishaPan, Mlpkr, Nepenthes, Nethency, Nk, Ottarvendel, PT05Benni, Paul Barlow, Pfr92, Pigman, Pollinator, Pwqn, R'n'B, Rai Rai5170, Reedy, Ritchy, Romanm,SamaraDyva, Sardanaphalus, Shabook, Simon Peter Hughes, Station1, Stephen b 1993, Svdmolen, T@nn, TUF-KAT, Tahir mq, That Guy, From That Show!, Toddles*13, Tutmosis, Urco, VegasBleeds Neon, Veledan, Williamb, Woohookitty, Y-barton, Zerida, 72 anonymous edits

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