When Alexander died in 323 BC, his generals divided his empire. Ptolemy, son of Lagus, took Egypt, first as governor and from 305 BC as king. His family ruled Egypt for nearly three hundred years, longer than any of the native dynasties of the New Kingdom.
Key idea
Ptolemy I and his heirs ruled from Alexandria, with its Library, Museum and great lighthouse (the Pharos), as Greek kings to the Greeks and as pharaohs to the Egyptians. They built and rebuilt great Egyptian temples, such as Edfu and Philae.
Two faces of one dynasty
| To the Greeks | To the Egyptians | |
|---|---|---|
| Title | basileus (king) | pharaoh, with five names and two cartouches |
| Language | Greek, the language of government | Egyptian, written in hieroglyphs and Demotic |
| Capital | Alexandria, a Greek city | Memphis remained the place of coronation |
| Religion | Greek gods; the new god Serapis | temples of Horus, Isis, Hathor and others, rebuilt on a grand scale |
Why it works
A small Greek-speaking ruling class governed millions of Egyptians. To keep Egypt peaceful and productive, the Ptolemies needed the temples, which owned land, kept records and spoke for the gods. Building temples, honoring sacred animals and taking part in Egyptian rites won the priests' support. The priests' decrees, like the one on the Rosetta Stone, praised the king in return.
Alexandria
- The Museum (a shrine of the Muses) was a research institute where scholars lived and worked, paid by the king.
- The Library tried to collect every book in Greek; it was the greatest library of the ancient world.
- The Pharos lighthouse, finished around 280 BC under Ptolemy II, stood over 100 m high and became one of the Seven Wonders.
- Manetho wrote his history of Egypt for the early Ptolemies.
Worked example: Reading the Rosetta Stone
The Rosetta Stone (196 BC) records a decree of Egyptian priests honoring Ptolemy V, written in hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek. Why three scripts?
- Hieroglyphs were the sacred script of temples.
- Demotic was the everyday Egyptian script of documents.
- Greek was the language of the king and the government.
Answer: So that priests, ordinary literate Egyptians and Greek officials could all read it.
Common mistake
Thinking the Ptolemies ignored Egyptian religion. They built and rebuilt great Egyptian temples, like Edfu, Dendera, Kom Ombo and Philae, and appear on their walls making offerings as pharaohs.