Apis The Bull
APIS the Bull of Memphis, which enjoyed the highest honours
as a god among the Egyptians. (Pomponius Mela; Aelian, On the
Characteristics of Animals; Lucian's De Dea
Syria) He is called the greatest of gods, and the god of all
nations, while others regard him more in the light of a symbol of
some great divinity; for some authorities state, that Apis was
the bull sacred to the moon, as Mnevis was the one sacred to the
sun.
According to Macrobius (Saturnalia i. 21), on the other hand, Apis was regarded as the symbol of the sun. The most common opinion was, that Apis was sacred to Osiris, in whom the sun was worshipped and sometimes Apis is described as the soul of Osiris, or as identical with him. (Diodorus Siculus i. 21; Plutarch; Strabo, Geography xvii. p. 807.)
In regard to the birth of this divine animal Herodotus (iii) says, that he was the offspring of a young cow which was fructified by a ray from heaven, and according to others it was by a ray of the moon that she conceived him. (Suid., Aelian, II. cc.; Plutarch's De Iside et Osiride) The signs by which it was recognised that the newly born bull was really the god Apis, are described by several of :he ancients. According to Herodotus it was requisite that the animal should be quite black, have a white square mark on the forehead, on its back a figure similar to that of an eagle, have two kinds of hair in its tail, and on its tongue a knot resembling an insect.
Pliny, who states that the cantharus was under the tongue, adds, that the right side of the body was marked with a white spot resembling the horns of the new moon, Aelian says, that twenty-nine signs were required and some of those which he mentions have reference to the later astronomical and physical specuitions about the god. When all the signs were found satisfactory in a newly born bull, the ceremony of his consecration began. This solemnity described by Aelian, Pliny, Ammianus Marcelmis and Diodorus.
When it was made known, says Aelian, that the god was born, some of the sacred scribes, who possessed the secret nowledge of the signs of Apis, went to the place of his birth, and built a house there in the direction towards the rising sun. In this house the god was fed with milk for the space of four months, and after this, about the time of the new moon, the scribes and prophets prepared a ship sacred to the god, in which he was conveyed to Memphis. Here he entered his splendid residence, containing extensive walks and courts for his amusement. A number of the choicest cows, forming as it were the harem of the god, were kept in his palace at Memphis.
The account of Diodorus, though on the whole agreeing with that of Aelian, contains some additional particulars of interest. Pliny and Ammianus Marcellinus do not mention the god's harem, and state that Apis was only once in every year allowed to come in contact with a cow, and that this cow was, like the god himself, marked in a peculiar way. Apis, moreover, drank the water of only one particular well in his palace, since the water of the Nile was believed to be too fattening. The god had no other occupation at Memphis, than to receive the services and homage of his attendants and worshippers, and to give oracles, which he did in various ways. According to Pliny, his temple contained two thalarni, and accordingly as he entered the one or the other, it was regarded as a favourable or unfavourable sign.
As regards the mode in which Apis was worshipped, we know, from Herodotus (ii. 38, 41), that oxen, whose purity was scrupulously examined before, were offered to him as sacrifices. His birthday, which was celebrated every year, was his most solemn festival; it was a day of rejoicing for all Egypt. The god was allowed to live only a certain number of years, probably twenty-five.
If he had not died before the expiration of that period, he was killed and buried in a sacred well, the place of which was unknown except to the initiated, and he who betrayed it was severely punished. (Arnob. adv. Gent. vi. p. 194.) If, however, Apia died a natural death, he was buried publicly and solemnly, and, as it would seem, in the temple of Serapis at Memphis, to which the entrance was left open at the time of Apis' burial. (Pausanias; Plut. de Is. et Os. 29.)
The name Serapis or Sarapis itself is said to signify "the tomb of Apis." Respecting the particular ceremonies and rites of the burial, its expenses, and the miracles which used to accompany it, see Diodorus i. As the birth of Apis filled all Egypt with joy and festivities, so his death threw the whole country into grief and mourning; and there was no one, as Lucian says, who valued his hair so much that he would not have shorn his head on that occasion. (Lucian's De Dea Syria) However, this time of mourning did not usually last long, as a new Apis was generally kept ready to fill the place of his predecessor; and as soon as he was found, the mourning was at an end, and the rejoicings began. (Diodorus i)
The worship of Apis was, without doubt, originally nothing but the simple worship of the bull, and formed a part of the fetish-worship of the Egyptians; but in the course of time, the bull, like other animals, was regarded as a symbol in the astronomical and physical systems of the Egyptian priests. How far this was carried may be seen from what Aelian says about the twenty-nine marks on the body of Apis, which form a complete astronomical and physical system. For further details respecting these late speculations, the reader is referred to the works on Egyptian mythology by Jablonsky, Champollion, Pritchard, and others.
The Persians, in their religious intolerance, ridiculed and scorned the Egyptian gods, and more especially Apis. Cambyses killed Apis with his own hand (Herodotus iii. 29), and Ochus had him slaughtered. (Plutarch) The Greeks and Romans, on the other hand, saw nothing repugnant to their feelings in the worship of Apis, and Alexander the Great gained the good will of the Egyptians by offering sacrifices to Apis as well as to their other gods. (Arrian, Epicteti Dissertationes). Several of the Roman emperors visited and paid homage to Apis, and his worship seems to have maintained itself nearly down to the extinction of paganism.
From Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and MythologyFrom The Virgin Birth Doctrine By Jocelyn Rhys
In Egypt we also find that "Apis, the sacred bull of Memphis, was believed to have been begotten by a deity descending as a ray of moonlight on the cow which was to become the mother of the sacred beast; hence he was regarded as the son of the god."
From The Christ by John E. Remsberg
Nearly every animal has been an object of worship. This worship flourished for ages in Egypt and India In Egypt the worship of the bull (Apis) was associated with that of Osiris (Serapis). The cow is still worshiped in India. Serpent worship has existed in every part of the world.
Remnants of animal worship survived in Judaism and Christianity. Satan was a serpent; Jehovah, like Osiris, was worshiped as a bull; Christ was the lamb of God, and the Holy Ghost appeared in the form of a dove.
From Myths Of Babylonia And Assyria
The Hebrew "nephesh ruach" and "neshamah" (in Arabic "ruh" and "nefs") pass from meaning "breath" to "spirit".[60] In Egypt the god Khnumu was "Kneph" in his character as an atmospheric deity. The ascendancy of storm and wind gods in some Babylonian cities may have been due to the belief that they were the source of the "air of life". It is possible that this conception was popularized by the Semites. Inspiration was perhaps derived from these deities by burning incense, which, if we follow evidence obtained elsewhere, induced a prophetic trance. The gods were also invoked by incense. In the Flood legend the Babylonian Noah burned incense. "The gods smelled a sweet savour and gathered like flies over the sacrificer." In Egypt devotees who inhaled the breath of the Apis bull were enabled to prophesy.
From The Golden Bough. The Myth of Osiris
Wherefore to this day each of the priests imagines that Osiris is buried in his country, and they honour the beasts that were consecrated in the beginning, and when the animals die the priests renew at their burial the mourning for Osiris. But the sacred bulls, the one called Apis and the other Mnevis, were dedicated to Osiris, and it was ordained that they should be worshipped as gods in common by all the Egyptians, since these animals above all others had helped the discoverers of corn in sowing the seed and procuring the universal benefits of agriculture.”
From Herodotus The History. The Third Book: Thalia
About the time when Cambyses arrived at Memphis, Apis appeared to the Egyptians. Now Apis is the god whom the Greeks call Epaphus. As soon as he appeared, straightway all the Egyptians arrayed themselves in their gayest garments, and fell to feasting and jollity: which when Cambyses saw, making sure that these rejoicings were on account of his own ill success, he called before him the officers who had charge of Memphis, and demanded of them—“Why, when he was in Memphis before, the Egyptians had done nothing of this kind, but waited until now, when he had returned with the loss of so many of his troops?” The officers made answer, “That one of their gods had appeared to them, a god who at long intervals of time had been accustomed to show himself in Egypt—and that always on his appearance the whole of Egypt feasted and kept jubilee.” When Cambyses heard this, he told them that they lied, and as liars he condemned them all to suffer death.
From The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius
(ll. 1562-1563) Thus he spake, and readily Euphemus held out his hands towards the clod, and thus addressed him in reply:
(ll. 1564-1570) "If haply, hero, thou knowest aught of Apis
(12) and the sea of Minos, tell us truly, who ask it of you. For not of our will have we come hither, but by the stress of heavy storms have we touched the borders of this land, and have borne our ship aloft on our shoulders to the waters of this lake over the mainland, grievously burdened; and we know not where a passage shows itself for our course to the land of Pelops."
From Works, Volume One by Lucian of Samosata
Hermes. That is Tomyris. She will cut off Cyrus's head, and put it into a wine-skin filled with blood. And do you see his son, the boy there? That is Cambyses. He will succeed to his father's throne; and, after innumerable defeats in Libya and Ethiopia, will finally slay the god Apis, and die a raving madman.
Charon. What fun! Why, at this moment no one would presume to meet their eyes; from such a height do they look down on the rest of mankind. Who would believe that before long one of them will be a captive, and the other have his head in a bottle of blood?--But who is that in the purple robe, Hermes?--the one with the diadem? His cook has just been cleaning a fish, and is now handing him a ring,--"in yonder sea-girt isle"; "'tis, sure, some king."
