The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire · Character
Serapis
- Supporting
- First seen · Book 1 · Ch. 128
A massive deity statue that dominates its space with the weight of ancient worship, its composite form suggesting both divine power and the accumulated reverence of generations.
- Gender
- male
- Age
- Timeless deity
- First appears
- Book 1 · Ch. 128
- Books
- 1
Serapis was an Egyptian deity whose colossal statue in Alexandria represented the syncretism of Greek and Egyptian religious traditions. The statue was eventually destroyed during the Christian era when a soldier struck it with a battle-axe, causing its cheek to fall, followed by the complete overthrow and breaking of the idol, with its limbs dragged through the streets and the carcass burned in the Amphitheatre.
Description
A colossal statue composed of plates of different metals, seated in imposing scale with a basket or bushel upon its head. The figure holds a sceptre in its left hand while its right grasps an emblematic monster with the head and body of a serpent, its three tails terminating in the heads of a dog, lion, and wolf. The statue bears similarity to Jupiter but is distinguished by its basket and the three-headed monster.
Story so far
BOOK 1The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire / Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes)
Appearances
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