How is a mythical narrative composed and why does it dominate over other parallel narratives? How can the various versions of a myth be interpreted? Is there a core of historical truth in the contradictory traditions?

Is Sarapis a god of Greece or Egypt, young or ancient, ancestral or foreign? The myths of antiquity, even when they eventually gained a written form, systematically relinquished the element of staticness and continued to evolve, with additions, subtractions, and alterations of certain branches of their narrative body.

This study focuses on the materials from which a myth is crafted and the ways in which they interweave to form convincing explanatory versions of their contemporary historical reality. Sarapis, a god born at the dawn of the Hellenistic era alongside the Ptolemaic kingdom, is not examined as an already established divine figure with certain qualities and defined worship practices.

The aim of the book is to present the way in which the personality of the god gradually formed during the 3rd century B.C., that is, in the years when the theological and ritual foundations of the worship were laid, before it overwhelmed the Greco-Roman world.

Helen Fassas studied classical philology and ancient history at the Universities of Athens and Exeter. In 2011, she received her PhD from the University of Athens and in 2019 completed her postdoctoral research in collaboration with the National Hellenic Research Foundation.

Her academic activity focuses on the cults of the Hellenistic world and the religious trends and spiritual currents of Greco-Roman antiquity. She teaches at the Open University of Cyprus and at College Year in Athens/DIKEMES. Her articles have been published in international journals, collective volumes, the Greek press, and online. She has translated and commented on the letters of Julian of Antioch (Letters to the Philosopher Iamblichus, Stigmi Publications, 2016).