The cult of Amun represents one of the most remarkable religious phenomena of the ancient world; a deity who rose from obscure origins as a primordial personification of hiddenness to become the supreme god of the Egyptian empire, whose influence extended from the Nile Valley into Nubia, Libya, and the Greek world.

The identity of the Greco-Egyptian Serapis (known to the Greeks as Serapis and the Egyptians as Asar-Hapi) is shrouded by an impenetrable veil of mystery. While this deity was a familiar figure among the symbols of the secret Egyptian initiatory rites, his arcane nature was revealed only to those who had fulfilled the requirements of the Serapic cultus.