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Alexandria Serapeum
Computer painting
Charlene Brown
Computer painting
Charlene Brown
This painting of the Temple
of Serapis at Alexandria doesn’t actually exist except on
my computer.
A little background... After Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in the
4th century BCE, a combined Hellenistic-Egyptian god in human form,
equivalent to the very popular Apis, was introduced to reconcile the two belief
systems. An impressive temple was built (apparently vaulted in lodestone) that
housed a colossal wood and iron statue of Serapis “which was neither supported
on a base, nor attached to the wall by any brackets, but remained suspended.”
Later Christians considered this engineering feat diabolical trickery and the temple was ordered destroyed in the 4th century CE. This miraculously suspended statue of Sirapis may not have actually existed, which would account for its absence in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World…
Later Christians considered this engineering feat diabolical trickery and the temple was ordered destroyed in the 4th century CE. This miraculously suspended statue of Sirapis may not have actually existed, which would account for its absence in the list of the Seven Wonders of the World…
