Believed That Sarapis and Asclepius Were the Same God, A

CHAPTER EIGHT

Many, according to Tacitus (Historiae, IV, 84, 5) believed that Sarapis and Asclepius were the same god, and a late Roman in scription from Labena in Crete provides epigraphical support of his statemenU During the Hellenistic period, however, the two gods are never explicitly identified, although the cult of Asclepius and Hygieia is often closely connected with that of Sarapis and Isis. Individuals express interest in both gods in the same document, 2 Sarapis or Isis is venerated near or beside statues of Asclepius,3 and at Delos, Serapeum C provides dedications of the late second century B.C. to Asclepius, to Asclepius and Hygieia, and to Isis Hygieia.4 The two cults also seem to have used such strikingly similar practices as daily morning and evening services 5 and priestly vestments.6 Beyond this, the cult statue of Asclepius at Epidaurus, the work of Thrasymedes in the first half of the fourth century B.c., bore a noteworthy resemblance to the Hellenistic Sarapis statue in Alexandria both in pose and iconography. 7 Pausanias even mentioned (II, 27, 6) an "Egyptian" epithet of Asclepius, Hygieia and Apollo at Epidaurus.

1 SIRIS, 161: ~~L :E€pttm8~ 'Acrx);l)mij> tQ(1."pij>. 2 From the first century A.D., SIRIS, 249; and IG, V, 2, 269, in which a sacrifice to Asc1epius and Hygieia is associated with a share ~v 1."01:<; 'rcr~Q(xo1:<; XQ(L 7tUP0'P0p~xor<; 8d7tVOL<;. 3 Pausanias, III, 22, 13 and VII, 26, 7. 4 CE, 205, 204, and 124. Compare IG, XII, 3, lO87, which can be restored ['Acrx):1J]m[ij> X]Q(L 'Y[y~€](1l' or [:EQ(ptt]m [XQ(L "Icr~ X]Q(L 'Y[y~€](Il'. 5 Theocritus, Epigrammata, 8, Gow (Anthologia Graeca, VII, 659); Kaibel, Epigrammata Graeca, 1027; Aelian, fr. 98; Aristides, XLVII, II; Porphyrius, De Abstinentia, IV, 9; and Apuleius, Metamorphoses, XI. Compare E. and L. Edelstein, Asclepius (Baltimore, 1945), II, pp. 193-194, with review by M. Nilsson, inAJP, LXVIII (1947), p. 218, adding the hymns from Epidaurus. IG, IV2, I, 132-134, and Athens, IG, IP, 4533; and Nilsson, Divine service in late antiquity, in HThR, XXXVIII (1945), pp. 63-69. 6 Edelstein, op. cit., II, p. 192; and F. Sokolowski, Lois Sacrt!es de l' Asie Mineure (Paris, 1955), p. 43. 7 Picard, Manuel, III, I, pp. 2I5-22I. SARAPIS AND ASCLEPIUS

Sarapis and Asclepius also shared similar powers and interests. In Hellenistic central Greece, for instance, they both received manumitted slaves,l and both naturally performed miracles of healing for their devotees. Demetrius of Phalerum was cured of blindness by Sarapis, and also wrote five books about dreams and cures involving Sarapis.2 Tacitus (Historiae, IV, 82) records that Vespasian performed several miraculous healings under the auspices of Sarapis when he was in Alexandria in A.D. 69. Inscriptions in the Delos Serapea frequently allude to dream appearances, which parallel those in which Asclepius appeared at his shrines.3 A dedication at Cnidus thanks Sarapis, Isis, and all the gods for a cure.4 Prayers to Sarapis for health are also frequent in Ptolemaic Egypt.6 The hymns of Demetrius of Phalerum may indicate that it was the royal court that provided the initial impetus for faith in Sarapis as a healing god. The idea was not confined to the royal propaganda, but was also congenial to the popular view, for the documentation just cited consists almost entirely of expressions of ceremony and popular piety. Demetrius' hymns also show that Sarapis assumed his interest in healing during the reign of Ptolemy I, since he dropped from public activity and involvement in royal projects as soon as Ptolemy II became king. 6 The tradition about dream appearances also originated, apparently, during the reign of Ptolemy I. These two features, together with the iconographical similarity of the statues of Sarapis at Alexandria and Asclepius at Epidaurus, make clear the extent to which aspects of Asclepius' divine personality helped form the conception of Sarapis at the

1 Sarapis: at Chaeronea, IG, VII, 3301-3399, passim; at Orchomenus, IG, VII, 3198-3204; at Naupactus, SEG, XII, 295 and 296; all are from the second century B.c. Asclepius: at Elatea, IG, IX, I, 120-127; at Naupactus, IG, IX, I, 359-361, 364-370, 379-385. Dionysus: at Naupactus, IG, IX, I, 372-378. 2 Artemidorus, Onirocritica, II, 44; Diogenes Laertius, V, 76. 3 P. 49, n. 1 above. 4 SIRIS, 268. It may be significant that 6o:pocrco:u't"l)<;, with its connotation of physical healing, is a position held by officials particularly in the Greco Egyptian cults. 5 For example, SB, V, 7618, from Memphis, ae