الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Alexandria, as the Hellenistic capital of Egypt, constituted a cosmopolitan metropolis par excellence, where the contact between diverse cultures was particularly intense. This was due to the continuous process of coexistence and interplay among different ethnic groups, mainly Greeks and Egyptians, and the resulting cultural coherence. As a result Alexandria would assume a unique multicultural character. In this context, Gods who originated in the Egyptian pantheon obtained a universal character as, their adherents became more diverse, so would their cultic practices. Through Alexandria, Isiac cults were spread across the Mediterranean, in ports and areas with which the Ptolemies had diplomatic relations, in areas under the Ptolemaic control and/or its sphere of cultural and religious influence and in ports and trade centers. Delos was the most appropriate place to host the Isiac cults moreover it acted as a gateway for those cults to other commercial ports and the Roman Empire . In addition, the Egyptian religious presence in the island surpassed the circle of Isiac cults to more extensive and large ones that prove the diversity of the religious forms in the island .
In Delos, ”Egyptian” gods of Alexandria faced a new setting and seemed to have passed by other steps of acculturation. The following timeline indicates the complex of relations between Delos, Athens, Alexandria, Macedon and Rome and offers an illustration of the political conditions affecting the Isiac cults in Delos :
In 250 BCE, when Delos fell under the influence of the Macedonians, there is the earliest evidence of Isis cult (RICIS 202/0160) and the foundation of Sarapeion A, B and C.
In 166 BCE, during the Second Athenian Domination period, Sarapeion A was closed and re-opened and Sarapeion C became quasi-official.
In 146 BCE, when Delos and the rest of Greece as well became part of the Roman Empire, the Egyptian cults became public under the imperial patronage.
In 88 BCE, Mithradate of Pontus attacked Delos, and the sanctuaries of Egyptian gods were partially destroyed, then we have evidence of the restoration of the Isieon.
In 69 BCE, Delos was sacked by pirates and the ”Egyptian” sanctuaries demised.
Although limiting the religious interaction to political influence is quite a narrow view , we cannot neglect the cultural conditions resulting from the local history, the previous religious practices and the economic liberation of the city. Crossing the fields of history and religion, Delos is representative of an important trade and religious center with a cosmopolitan community where sailors, merchants, politicians, priests, pilgrims and ordinary craftsmen coexisted and interacted with each other. This special environment comprises an obvious case study for the establishment and diffusion of Isiac cults in conditions that could be comparable to Alexandria.
Delos boasted three Sarapeia, two private Sarapeia A and B and a public one Sarapeion C, all of which located on the road which runs up the hill of Mount Cynthus, near the small stream of Inopos, the area now known as the ”terrace of the foreign gods.”