Department of World Cultures University of Helsinki Helsinki Macedonian Kings, Egyptian Pharaohs The Ptolemaic Family in the Encomiastic Poems of Callimachus Iiro Laukola ACADEMIC DISSERTATION To be publicly discussed, by due permission of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Helsinki in auditorium XV, University Main Building, on the 23rd of September, 2016 at 12 o’clock. Helsinki 2016 © Iiro Laukola 2016 ISBN 978-951-51-2383-1 (paperback.) ISBN 978-951-51-2384-8 (PDF) Unigrafia Helsinki 2016 Abstract The interaction between Greek and Egyptian cultural concepts has been an intense yet controversial topic in studies about Ptolemaic Egypt. The present study partakes in this discussion with an analysis of the encomiastic poems of Callimachus of Cyrene (c. 305 – c. 240 BC). The success of the Ptolemaic Dynasty is crystallized in the juxtaposing of the different roles of a Greek ǴdzȅǻǽǷȏȄ and of an Egyptian Pharaoh, and this study gives a glimpse of this political and ideological endeavour through the poetry of Callimachus. The contribution of the present work is to situate Callimachus in the core of the Ptolemaic court. Callimachus was a proponent of the Ptolemaic rule. By reappraising the traditional Greek beliefs, he examined the bicultural rule of the Ptolemies in his encomiastic poems. This work critically examines six Callimachean hymns, namely to Zeus, to Apollo, to Artemis, to Delos, to Athena and to Demeter together with the Victory of Berenice, the Lock of Berenice and the Ektheosis of Arsinoe. Characterized by ambiguous imagery, the hymns inspect the ruptures in Greek thought during the Hellenistic age. These poems link Ptolemaic kings and queens with the deities they address and embroider this linkage with Egyptian cultural concepts. The Victory of Berenice and the Lock of Berenice contain a subtext in which Berenice II is portrayed in Egyptian terms whereas the Ektheosis of Arsinoe examines the mortuary aspects of Graeco- Egyptian Ptolemaic Egypt. The Ptolemies created a new audience for the poets of their court when they established a bilingual cadre of scribes. The scribes, together with the indigenous priests, were a heterogeneous group, but some were thoroughly Hellenized, as the case of Manetho confirms. The encomiastic poetry of Callimachus legitimized the status of the Ptolemies amid the native Egyptian elite, but also made their style of kingship more familiar to the Greeks. Acknowledgements It is my pleasure to express my heartfelt gratitude to people who have helped me with this study. My greatest debt is to Mika Kajava and Erja Salmenkivi, under whose supervision this dissertation was written. I am grateful for their patience with my countless drafts, but also for their advice, encouragement, guidance and kindness. I am also indebted to several scholars who read and commented on my work during its progress. Of these, I would like to single out Marja Vierros who read a large portion of the manuscript and offered several constructive observations. In terms of practical help, I owe a special thank you to Eva Nyman-Kaarakka. I would like to acknowledge my gratitude to Silvia Barbantani, Richard Hunter and Susan Stephens for their time and effort in shaping the manuscript into its final form. I should also like to thank Robert Whiting who revised the English of this study. Any remaining errors are my own responsibility. My deepest thanks go to my family and friends. The unwavering support of my parents and sisters has carried me throughout my life. Finally, I owe more than can ever be expressed to my spouse and daughter for their love and their support. This study would not have been possible without financial support from the Alfred Kordelin Foundation, the Ancient Mediterranean and the Near East Project (University of Helsinki), the Ella and Georg Ehrnrooth Foundation, the Jutikkala Fund of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, the Olkiluoto Research Foundation, the Oskar Öflund Foundation and the University of Helsinki (chancellor’s travel grant and dissertation completion grant). I thank each and every one of them for their generosity. Iiro Laukola Helsinki, August 2016 Contents Abstract 3 Acknowledgements 4 Abbreviations 6 1 Introduction 8 2 Callimachus and Ptolemaic Alexandria 17 3 The Birth of a Divine Ruler: Ptolemy II Philadelphus 45 3.1 The Hymn to Zeus 49 3.2 The Hymn to Delos 67 4 The Divine Sisters: Arsinoe II and Philotera 86 4.1 The hymns to goddesses 89 4.2 The Ektheosis of Arsinoe 100 5 The Divine Couple: Ptolemy III Euergetes and Berenice II 116 5.1 The Victory of Berenice 127 5.2 The Lock of Berenice 151 6 Conclusions 173 Bibliography 177 Indices 198 Index locorum 198 Personal names 208 Geographical names 210 General index 211 Abbreviations AB Posidippi Pellaei quae supersunt omnia, C. Austin & G. Bastianini, Milano 2002. AG Anthologia Graeca. AP Anthologia Palatina. Berger Die geographischen Fragmente des Eratosthenes, H. Berger, Amsterdam 1964. CA Collectanea Alexandrina, reliquiae minores poetarum Graecorum aetatis Ptolemaicae, J.U. Powell, Oxford, 1925. DK Die Fragmente der Vorsokratiker, H. Diels & W. Kranz, Berlin 1951 – 1952. FGrHist Die Fragmente der griechischen Historiker, F. Jacoby, Berlin-Leiden 1923–. GP The Greek Anthology. Hellenistic Epigrams, A.S.F. Gow & D.L. Page, Cambridge 1965. Harder Callimachus: Aetia, Introduction, Text, Translation, and Commentary, A. Harder, Oxford 2012. Hollis Callimachus: Hecale, A.S. Hollis, Oxford 2009. I.Didyma Die Inschriften von Didyma, A. Rehm & R. Harder, Berlin 1958. IG Inscriptiones Graecae, Berlin 1873–. LSJ A Greek-English Lexicon, with a Revised Supplement, H.G. Liddell & R. Scott & H.S. Jones, Oxford 1996. LÄ Lexicon der Ägyptologie, W. Helck & E. Otto & W. Westendorf, Wiesbaden 1975 – 1992. 6 Massimilla Callimaco. Aitia. Libri primo e secondo: Introduzione, testo critico, traduzione e commento, Pisa & Roma 1996. Libro terzo e quarto: Introduzione, testo critico, traduzione e commento, Pisa & Roma 2010. G. Massimilla. OGIS Orientis Graeci inscriptiones selectae, W. Dittenberger, Leipzig 1903 – 1905. Pf. Callimachus I-II, R. Pfeiffer, Oxford, 1949 – 1951. Pyr. The Ancient Pyramid Texts, R.O. Faulkner, Oxford, 1969. RE Paulys Realencyklopädie der classischen Altertumswissenschaft, A.F. Pauly & G. Wissowa (et al.), Stuttgart-München 1894 – 1997. SEG Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum, Leiden-Amsterdam 1923–. SH Supplementum Hellenisticum, H. Lloyd-Jones & P. Parsons, Berlin 1983. 7 1 Introduction Callimachus of Cyrene (c. 305 – c. 240 BC), the great poet of the Hellenistic period, lived in an age of revisions. His era saw the rise of a new kind of poetry that sought influence not primarily from the Homeric epics, but instead embraced everything refined, light and learned. However, this devotion to small-scaledness was in contravention of the political changes of the period. The conquests of Alexander the Great had profoundly restructured the ancient world. Vast imperial states replaced the small-sized ȂȎǽǷǻȄ and, as a result, the concept of ȁ̗ǼȁȇǾǯǿǹǵΡ had to be redefined. Alexander’s premature death (323 BC) caused a political vacuum. After complex power struggles, the Successors of Alexander, the ǗǻǮǶȁȉȁǻ, divided the many-sided empire of the Great King of Macedonia. Ptolemy, the son of Lagus, ruled Egypt, first as a satrap and later as a king. The immeasurable wealth of Egypt enabled the Lagid dynasty to transform Alexandria, their new capital, into a centre of culture and learning similar to Athens at its prime. Accordingly, the Ptolemies attracted men of letters from all over the Greek-speaking world to partake in this endeavour. Especially the city of Cyrene, an old Doric colony situated in the eastern part of Libya, sent some of its brightest minds to the Ptolemaic court. One of those expatriates was Callimachus. Callimachus, then, lived most of his adult life in Alexandria. This recently established city was the Ptolemaic capital, but also the centre of the post-classical Greek world. At the same time, the mere appearance of Alexandria was at least partly shaped by Egypt’s indigenous elements: traditional materials, such as sphinxes, obelisks and temples to Egyptian deities, adorned its cityscape.1 The Graeco-Egyptian duality also characterized the governance of the patrons of Callimachus, the Ptolemies. Unlike the preceding Achaemenid kings, the Ptolemaic court resided in Egypt. This country, defined by its time-honoured Pharaonic tradition, had existing structures of government and a powerful priestly elite that controlled the Two Lands. Consequently, the Ptolemaic regime needed to find a balance between their traditional way of ruling, 1 McKenzie 2007, 32-34. Alexander the Great was apparently responsible for initiating the construction of the temple of Isis. See Arr. Anab. 3.1.5: ȂȎǺȁȄȁ̹ǿǽdzǾǴǮǿǷǻdz̳Ȇ͗ǿȆȁξ˿ȃǵȁȇǼdz͕dz̳Ȇ͗ȄȆ͏ȅǹǾǷίdz Ȇ΢ȂȎǽǷǻ˿ǺǹǼǷǿ̜ǿdzȆǷ˫ǵȁȃ͏ǿ˻ǿdz̳Ȇ΢ǶǷDZǾdzȅǺdzǻ˿ǶǷǻǼdz͕̘Ƿȃ͏̬ȅdzǼdz͕ǺǷϋǿ͆ǿȆǻǿȋǿȆϋǿǾ͑ǿ ̂ǽǽǹǿǻǼϋǿ̣ȅǻǶȁȄǶ͑ǔ̗ǵȇȂȆDZdzȄǼdz͕Ȇ͗ȆǷίȉȁȄʹȂǷȃǻǴǷǴǽΡȅǺdzǻ. 8 that is, the Greek ǴdzȅǻǽǷȏȄ and the traditional Egyptian king, the Pharaoh. The encomiastic texts of Callimachus provide a unique perspective into this political and ideological undertaking that took place in the court of the first Ptolemies. The Ptolemaic regime required assistance and advice from the native Egyptians because the new rulers wished to portray themselves as the continuation of the Pharaonic tradition. It is likely that they consulted especially the priestly elite of Memphis,2 the old capital of Egypt. The Ptolemies adopted a peaceable and cooperative style of leadership towards their Egyptian subjects. This pragmatic approach benefited both the Greek rulers and the Egyptians priests: indigenous priests helped the new rulers run the country and maintain stability while the Macedonian Pharaoh simultaneously granted the legitimacy of the priests. Thanks to the significance of the Egyptian temples in the Ptolemaic economy,3 the close liaison also enhanced the treasury of the Lagid kingdom. The core of the new regime was Greek, but there were, of course, Egyptians at various levels of Ptolemaic officialdom. Some of them were bilingual scribes working in the local government, some held more prestigious positions.