sarapeum

Updated: July 22, 2026

+1123+. In Egypt under the Ptolemies there arose a sort of monastic life: after the cult of Sarapis was established men wishing to devote themselves to religious meditation would go to the Sarapeum and shut themselves up in cells. It is, however, not clear that there was an organization or any sort of communal life in connection with these gatherings.

Crawford Howell Toy - Introduction to the History of Religions: Handbooks on the History of Religions, Volume IV