Práticas religiosas no Egito greco-romano: o culto de Serápis - Volume I - Texto; Práticas religiosas no Egito greco-romano: o culto de Serápis - Volume II - Corpus

Abstract

Serapis, a deity conceived by Ptolemy I Soter, the first pharaoh of the Lagid dynasty (305-30 BC), was designed to assume the role of guardian of the new sovereigns and the city of Alexandria, in Egypt. This research’s main objective is to understand the religious practices associated with the cult of Serapis during the period of Greco-Roman Egypt, adopting as the main source of analysis the material culture represented, mainly, in figurines and terracotta lamps that portray the divinity in different forms and contexts. In addition to analyzing this material culture, we propose to catalogue, organize and carry out an analysis of the material data collected, seeking to understand not only the visual representations of Serapis, but also the ritual practices and the social and cultural context in which these pieces were produced and used. The iconography of Serapis, influenced by characteristics of Greek deities and distinctly Egyptian elements, such as her own name, reflects the cultural interactions between these two civilizations and their respective belief systems. Based on material culture. This research aims to investigate how these cultural interactions manifested themselves in the material representation of the deity and the cult practices associated with it, allowing a deeper understanding of the religious and social dynamics of Greco-Roman Egypt. We argue that Serapis emerged from the process of entanglement of Egyptian and Greek cultures, as conceptualized by archaeologist Phillip Stockhammer (2012), highlighting the complexity of cultural and religious relationships in the Ancient World, permeated by constant influences and interactions.