Overview

Ptolemaic Egypt stands at the crossroads of Egyptian and Hellenistic history. Unfortunately, it is often reduced to a last paragraph of Egyptian history, whereas the term Hellenistic may have overtones of obscurity and complexity. Within the field of Hellenistic studies Ptolemaic history is usually narrowed down to dynastic and political history, whereas the wealth of material in other fields such as law, economy, and religion is passed over as atypical. Alexander and Kleopatra are the exceptions to the rule, being the ancient-history publisher’s best man and woman (Ogden 2002).

Ptolemaic history with its 274 years (304-30 bc) yields Egypt’s longest-lived dynasty (the Eighteenth Dynasty attained 255 years, Taagepera 1979) and by far the most stable Hellenistic monarchy, thanks to Roman support. No Egyptian or Hellenistic king created a more successful dynastic cult. No Egyptian empire covered an area comparable to that of the early Ptolemies. No Egyptian or Mediterranean city had the international aura of Alexandria with its Pharos lighthouse, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The second Ptolemaic king was said to be the richest man of his time, and in no other Hellenistic empire was monetization so far-reaching. Some typical Egyptian features rose to a new high, like the Ptolemaic writing system introducing an enormous number of hieroglyphs and the Ptolemaic temples which are amongst the best preserved examples in the country. The famous trilingual Rosetta stone, a priestly decree honoring Ptolemy V (196 bc), became the key to the decipherment of hieroglyphs by Young and Champollion.

Ptolemaic history is more than a history of superlatives; it is the first multi-cultural society where East meets West: ‘‘Ptolemaic rule was the first European political intervention in the Near East’’ (Manning 2009). Despite Plutarch’s claim that

Alexander’s mission brought civilization to Asia (De Alex. fort. 328-9), in reality these Graeco-Macedonian rulers encountered in Egypt a high and long-standing civilization. How were the Ptolemies able to establish control? The key-word is ‘‘balance’’ (Manning 2009), i. e. balancing innovation and tradition on an institutional level and balancing give-and-take vis-a-vis the population and elite groups, resulting in a double-faceted Graeco-Egyptian society. Balance and state control are clear features of the Ptolemaic ‘‘Golden Age,’’ the first century when the empire was ruled by Ptolemies I to IV. The last 175 years, the ‘‘Age of Crisis,’’ are often considered a period of decline, but this view should be nuanced (Manning 2009; Quack-Jclrdens 2010), since most intervals of crisis functioned at the same time as driving forces of increasing state intervention.

The ‘‘balancing’’ policy of the Ptolemies is foreshadowed in Alexander’s visit to the Siwa Oasis. Why did the great king, who had probably been crowned Pharaoh at Memphis, travel 300 km to the remote oracle of Zeus-Ammon? What exactly happened remains a mystery, but Alexander ‘‘received the answer his soul desired’’ and subsequently he claimed to be the son of Ammon-Zeus. The decision to visit the oracle, sacred to Egyptians and Greeks, must have been calculated. As a descendant of Ammon, an offshoot of Amon-re, Alexander could present himself as a legitimate successor vis-a-vis the Egyptians, for whom Pharaoh was the son of Re. A response from an oracle enjoying prestige in the Greek world also legitimized his divine origin vis-a-vis Greeks and Macedonians, and indeed, the oracle of the Didymaean Apollo and the Erythraean Sibyl (both in Asia Minor) hastened to confirm his divine birth.