Serapis is a Graeco-Egyptian god. Serapis was devised during the 3rd century BCE on the orders of Ptolemy I of Egypt as a means to unify the Greeks and Egyptians in his realm. The god was depicted as Greek in appearance, but with Egyptian trappings, and combined iconography from a great many cults, signifying both abundance and resurrection. A serapeum was any temple or religious precinct devoted to Serapis. The cultus of Serapis was spread as a matter of deliberate policy by the Ptolemaic kings, who also built an immense Serapeum in Alexandria.

Georg Ebers, German Egyptologist and novelist. Ebers early conceived the idea of popularizing Egyptian lore by means of historical romances.