The cult of Apis was highly discriminatory in its
worship of bulls. Rather than all bulls, the cult
worshipped a special, carefully chosen individual
animal. Apis (Hapi in Egyptian) was a live bull
kept in the temple of Ptah in Memphis. Apis was
believed to be the tangible representative of a
powerful god who could not be directly
experienced, rather like the role of the Pope in
Catholicism. The god to which Apis was attached
changed through time and administrations. The
first was Ptah, who was later usurped by Osiris,
who was in turn displaced by Atum. The bull
acted as an oracle for the Egyptians, who could
crave boons, ask questions or just communicate
to their deity. The movements of Apis, were
thought to reflect the response of the god. In
this sense, Apis was very much a domestic god
in the sense that only the aristocracy and the
priestly class were thought to fully be a part of
the impenetrably complex and forbidding world
of state-level religion: Apis, by contrast, was
directly reachable by anyone.
The life and death of the bulls were a matter of
serious concern for Egyptians. When the
incumbent died, a search not unlike that
undertaken by the Tibetans for a new Dalai Lama
would explode into action. The successor had to
match 29 different attributes that constituted
physical perfection in the Apis bull, including
having no subsequent siblings, being black with
a white diamond on its forehead, and possessing
thick tail hair (Herodotus). The pomp and
ceremony surrounding the discovery of an
appropriate bull was considerable, as
summarised by Apis Diodorus:
“… During the forty days, none but women are
admitted to see him, who being placed full in his
view, pluck up their coats and expose their
person. Afterwards, they are forbidden to come
into the sight of [Apis]. . .”
After this, Apis was moved by sacred barge to his
sanctuary in Memphis, at the southern end of the
Temple of Ptah. Following an elaborate
enthronement ceremony, Apis was led out of the
hall through the eastern (rising sun) door and
presented to the people massed outside. His life
would have been one of untrammelled luxury: he
was fed the best foods, slept on luxurious
bedding, had his own harem, was given hot
baths, massaged and perfumed. Every day, he
was taken out to exercise, his slightest
movement interpreted as answers to questions
posed by his believers. Yes/no answers were
obtained by asking a question and then seeing
which of the two enclosures he entered on the
way back to his stalls. His mother was also kept
in luxury in an adjacent sanctuary.
Bulls, oddly, were the main sacrifice offered to
Apis, as recounted by Herodotus: “Bulls are
considered the property of Apis, and therefore
tested in the following way: A priest appointed
for the purpose examines the animal, and if he
finds even a single black hair upon him,
pronounces him unclean; he goes over him with
the greatest care, first making him stand up,
then lie on his back, after which he pulls out his
tongue to see that, too, it is "clean” according to
the recognized marks… He also inspects the tail
to make sure the hair on it grows properly; then,
if the animal passes all these tests successfully,
the priest marks him by twisting round his horns
a band of papyrus, which he seals with wax and
stamps with his signet ring. The bull is finally
taken away, and the penalty is death for anybody
who sacrifices an animal which has not been
marked in this manner.”
The importance of bulls meant that such
sacrifices were not undertaken lightly, however,
being reserved for special occasions. Even Apis’
birthday was celebrated in a seven-day festival
in
which he was led through the streets with a choir
of singing boys. His death (sometimes
accelerated by drowning if he became infirm in
advanced old age) was heralded by a 60-day
mourning period, during which pious Egyptians
kept their heads shaven and only ate vegetables.
The corpse was taken through the western door
and given a spectacular funeral. Evidence
suggests that his flesh was eaten, and that his
head and bones were mummified. They were
then placed in a richly decorated coffin and
buried with their canopic jars, and even
sometimes their ushabtis.
The dead Apis, having become an Osiris, was
worshipped as a god of agricultural fecundity
and the afterlife. When the Greeks took over
Egypt, they translated the name of the dead Apis
as “Osorapis,” which lead to a confusion, and
eventually an amalgam with their own god
Serapis, who was worshipped according to Greek
tradition in the Serapeum in Alexandria. Both
gods came to be worshipped together at the bull
necropolis in Saqqara that we now call the
Serapeum.
This bronze Apis is an excellent example of its
type. Dating from the Late period (600-500 BC),
it stands 3.75” tall on an incorporated plinth (it
has been mounted on a display block for ease of
exposition). Bearing the sacred disc and uraeus,
it is also decorated with geometric designs
incorporated into the original mould. Stance is
dynamic, with the left legs placed forward and
the right legs about to be lifted. Muscle detailing
and other aspects of the body are sensitively
modelled, with all small details well marked and
no casting flaws. The proportions of the body are
exact and elegant. The condition and patina are
superb. This is a truly exceptional piece of
ancient metal sculpture, and a credit to any
collection.
- (X.0721)
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