compared to what? jews in alexandria played a crucial role in the political, economic, cultural and religious life of hellenistic and roman alexandria, with jews comprising about 35% of the city's population during the roman era. serapis was intended to be, in plutarchs words, "god of all peoples in common, even as osiris is" and the fact that a greek (timotheus) and an egyptian (manetho) agreed on the statues identity was taken as a sign from the god that he would assume this role. ptolemy i built a grand temple for his worship, the serapeum, which came to house the statue from sinope. with serapis at the center of religious devotion, ptolemy i began a rigorous building program which was continued by his son and successor ptolemy ii philadelphus (r. 285-246 bce) who had co-ruled with him since 285 bce. the great library at alexandria, begun under ptolemy i, was completed by ptolemy ii, who also added to the serapeum. as he was linked with the afterlife and transformation, serapis became known as a redeemer god and savior who granted believers eternal life. pentateuch was compiled around 270 bce using greek sources found at the great library of alexandria > emperor hadrian, who put down the bar kokhba revolt in jerusalem in the 130s and exiled all jews from jerusalem, said that serapis worship and christianity in alexandria were identical and practiced in syncretism, adding that serpais had contributed to judaism and samaritanism as well. > hadrian equated serapis worship with christianity, went on to found his own dying-and-rising mystery cult based on the strange death of his lover antinous while undergoing special mystery rites on the nile, making antinous statue the third most common in antiquity after augustus and hadrian himself. > antinous holding a cross and grapes looking exactly like coptic christian iconography from the 500s or 600s
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