The cult of Sarapis in Hellenistic Egypt as a continuation of the policy of "merging peoples"

Abstract

As part of their policy aimed at creating a strong Hellenistic Egypt, the Ptolemies created and maintained the syncretic cult of Sarapis. Ancient sources have preserved several beautiful stories and legends about the appearance of this god and his cult in Egypt. The purpose of this work is to clarify the political role of this cult in Egypt, the peculiarities of its perception by different segments of the population, which ultimately influenced the change in the Ptolemaic policy towards the local population. The main research methods are both general philosophical methods – analysis and synthesis, and special – comparative-historical and comparative-genetic methods. In the modern world, there are a large number of countries (including Russia) in which different peoples live, having different traditions and beliefs. The study of the Egyptian version of the policy of "merging peoples" and the cult of Sarapis, as one of its components, helps to understand what factors should be avoided in an attempt to smooth out contradictions and create a strong interethnic association, which determines the relevance and novelty of the study. According to the creators, the cult of Sarapis should have been understandable and close to both Greeks and Egyptians. Therefore, the image of God, traditions and rituals included Greek and Egyptian elements, which was supposed to bring the population closer together on the basis of worship of this god and contribute to strengthening the central government. But in reality it turned out that in Egypt itself the cult of Sarapis did not become popular with either the Hellenes or the local population. The policy of uniting different ethnic groups on the basis of the religious factor without carrying out the same policy of rapprochement in other spheres (military, administrative, etc.) was doomed to failure.