Zeus-Serapis

In Hellenistic Alexandria, the Ptolemies did their best to blend the Greek and Egyptian cultures. To this end they even invented new gods, such as Zeus-Serapis, who combined cult elements of the Greek god Zeus with those of the Egyptian Osiris and the sacred bull Apis. The three corkscrew curls draped over his forehead are characteristic of this god’s iconography. The Greek artist Bryaxis produced the first cult statue of this god.