Apis

Lightning struck a cow that had never calved. She conceived Apis, a bull destined for a sacred role. Another account says that a ray of light descended upon a cow incapable of bearing another calf and fertilised her.

A special priest searched the land for a calf bearing twenty-nine distinguishing marks. Once the priests recognised them, they selected him as the new Apis and took him to Memphis. There, he was honoured as the physical manifestation of Ptah, described as the renewed life, double, or deputy of that god. He was believed to contain Ptah’s soul.

The high priest of Ptah crowned Apis at the full moon. Apis and his mother then moved into palatial quarters within the grounds of the temple of Ptah. His mother received a sacred name, such as “the one of Bastet”, and was honoured as a manifestation of Isis. Priests watched Apis closely because they believed that his actions carried meaning.

A festival called the Running of the Apis Bull was recorded as early as the First Dynasty. By the Late Period, Apis had become a national mascot. When he died, people mourned him as Osiris and gave him an extravagant funeral. In death, Apis was worshipped as a form of Osiris. The connection produced the name Osiris-Apis, later Serapis or Sarapis. One account says that the bull’s soul rose to heaven and joined Osiris. Serapis was therefore linked with the Underworld and with riches beneath the earth. The Greeks identified him with Hades.