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Ethnic Identity in Graeco-Roman Egypt

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Ethnic Identity in Graeco-Roman Egypt EGYT 1550 Ethnic Identity in Graeco-Roman Egypt Instructor: Dr. Rachel Mairs Tu Th 9am – 10.20am Sayles Hall 012 EGYT1550 Ethnic Identity in Graeco-Roman Egypt! Egypt under Greek and Roman rule was the original ‘multicultural society’, with communities of Egyptians, Greeks, Jews, Romans, Nubians, Arabs and even Indians. This course will explore the sometimes controversial subject of ethnic identity in Egypt ‘after the Pharaohs’, through a focus on the everyday lives of individual people and communities. Topics will include: • multilingualism; • ethnic conflict and discrimination; • gender and intermarriage; Evidence will be drawn from ancient texts on papyrus as well as recent archaeological excavations. Instructor: Rachel Mairs! Tu Th 9:00-10:20! Week 1: History and Geography ! In-class quiz, 7 Feb (map exercise and multiple choice history questions). ! Read an outline of the history of Ptolemaic and Roman Egypt (see syllabus for suggestions). Egypt ‘after the Pharaohs’: Conquests by Alexander the Great (322 BC), the Romans (30 BC) and the Arabs (AD 641) ‘Pharaoh Alexander’ ‘Pharaoh Alexander’ The Oracle of Ammon, Siwa, 331 BC ‘Pharaoh Alexander’ Alexander at the temple of Karnak (Thebes) ‘Pharaoh Alexander’ Louvre museum Full, traditional Egyptian list of royal titles (stp n Ra ‘chosen one of Ra’, mry Imn ‘beloved of Ammon’, etc.), but with ‘Alexandros’ transliterated from Greek alphabet into hieroglyphs. Alexander’s royal titulary (Luxor temple) The Decree of Memphis (‘Rosetta Stone’): Ptolemy IV, 218 BC The Decree of Memphis (‘Rosetta Stone’): Ptolemy IV, 218 BC Callimachus (c. 310-240 BC) ! Greek critic and poet, from Cyrene on the Mediterranean coast of Libya, which at that time was under Ptolemaic rule. ! Lived in Alexandria during the reigns of Ptolemy II Philadelphos (‘sibling-loving’) and Ptolemy III Euergetes (‘the benefactor’). ! Wrote a survey of the books contained in the Library of Alexandria (now lost). ! Favoured short, epigrammatic verses and coined the famous Greek saying ‘mega biblion, mega kakon’ (‘big book, big evil’). Theocritus (early-mid third century BC) ! Greek poet from Sicily. ! Lived in Alexandria for a time in the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphos. ! Wrote longer verses: hymns, dialogues, etc. ! Was very, very complimentary about the Ptolemies. Theocritus and the Ptolemies Theogony ll. 79-88, “From Zeus come kings; nothing is more divine than the lords of Zeus. And so you chose them as your own portion. You gave them cities to guard, and you seat yourself in the high point of cities, overseer of those who rule their people with crooked judgements, and those who rule otherwise. You have given flowing wealth to them and abundant prosperity. It is reasonable to judge by our king; for he has far exceeded the rest. At evening he accomplishes what he thinks of in the morning. At evening the greatest things, the lesser as soon as he thinks of them.” Hymn to Zeus ll. 1-8, “From Zeus let us being, and at Zeus, best of the immortals, let us cease, Muses, whenever we hold forth in song; but of men let Ptolemy be spoken of first and last and in etween, for he is the most distinguished of men. Heroes, who of old came from demigods, when they accomplished fair deeds hit upon skilled songsters, but I know how to praise and would sing of Ptolemy.” Encomium of Ptolemy Philadelphos ll. 13-15, “In lineage such a man to accomplish a great deed was Ptolemy, son of Lagos, when he stored up in his heart a plan that no other man could have devised.” Sotades (early-mid third century BC) ! Greek poet from Maroneia (could be either Thrace or Crete). ! Lived in Alexandria during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphos. ! Wrote obscene satirical poems. ! Made the mistake of lampooning Philadelphos’ marriage to his sister, Arsinoe: “You’re sticking your prick in an unholy hole.” ! He was imprisoned, escaped, was tracked down by Ptolemy’s admiral, shut up in a chest made of lead, and thrown into the sea. ! For obvious reasons, few quotations from his work survive. The Ptolemies and Rome ! Egypt was the last of the Hellenistic kingdoms to fall to Rome (leaving out the Hellenistic states in Bactria and India…). ! But Rome had long exercised great control over the external and internal affairs of the Ptolemaic kingdom: Diplomatic contacts went back as far as the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphos. Ptolemaic Egypt stayed friendly with Rome during the Roman wars with Carthage. But a patron-client relationship begins to develop in the second century BC, with Rome as the most powerful party. Rome got involved in Ptolemaic dynastic struggles; Ptolemaic kings (e.g. Ptol. VI Philometor) might even go to Rome to sollicit Roman help. Rome protected Egypt from Seleucid Syria in the Sixth Syrian War (ended 168 BC). Cleopatra VII Philopator (reigned 69-30 BC) maintained some degree of Egyptian independence throughout her relationships with Julius Caesar and Mark Antony, but following the Battle of Actium in 30 BC, Egypt became a Roman province. Envoys from Alexandria, C. P. Cavafy (1863-1933) For centuries they hadn’t seen gifts at Delphi as wonderful as those sent by the two brothers, the rival Ptolemaic kings. But now that they have them, the priests are nervous about the oracle. They’ll need all their experience to decide how to express it tactfully, which of the two— of two brothers like these—will have to be offended. And so they meet secretly at night to discuss the family affairs of the Lagids. ! But suddenly the envoys are back. They’re taking their leave. Returning to Alexandria, they say. And they don’t ask for an oracle at all. The priests are delighted to hear it (they’re to keep the marvelous gifts, that goes without saying) but they’re also completely bewildered, having no idea what this sudden indifference means. They do not know that yesterday the envoys heard serious news: the “oracle” was pronounced in Rome; the partition was decided there. The Roman Empire under Augustus Pharaoh Augustus 27 BC – AD 14 Temple of Kalabsha, Lower Nubia Pharaoh Augustus Temple of Dendur, Lower Nubia, now in Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Roman Aegyptus Roman Egypt: Some key dates I Bronze figure of the najor port fol Lgyptian hawk-god was the greatl Ilorus drcssed in ! 30 BC, Battle of Actium, Egypt of the wj Rotnan at tlotu', of orre unknown provenance becomes a Roman province. N.eligion Tl-rere can bê ulclerstancl d which a class ! AD 212, Emperor Caracalla Ptolemaic pe1 they are loo{ Dendera, Edf extends Roman citizenship to tules are sub{ Although t isrn, there wd all inhabitants of the empire. section on Nl gods as Ra, tl shipped alml to*a.ds monl heart and tonl ! Reign of Constantine (AD decreed that.l observecl feal 306-337): end of official example, Hol however, the gocls that chd persecution of Christianity, fying animalq chus fish, an! Each of thii division of Roman Empire into is far from sii merge togetl Thus Horus, i East and West (‘Byzantine the sun-god { the god ofphl After Alexl Egypt’). onlv,I in the Gl Greek comml own gods wl Apollo, Thotl ! AD 641, Arab conquest. on. How the hippopotamrl A good e! equated with tant s¿ir-rctuaJ east. Amun-] DAVID PEACOCK of the functic ical evidence servecl by tl-re One of thq Dioiketes ldios Logos gtrabo (r7. r. r F¡nance l/C'Private officer Account' 'l'here are thr.e1 Epistrategoi tior-r there ale I 4 regional at Syene, as gu administrators horse units wh l"he city is, Equestrian offic¡als, of Roman government Royal Scribe of the centre, appointments. Secretary of nome remain in the Graeco-Egypt¡ans, government appointments. it. Another le¡ rnents ofwhi( Local executive magistrates, 'elected' or co-opted. while the thit include the I Officials appointed to Apollinaris. compulsory public servtces. Strabo is m fill in the detl clence includr well as papyri Diagrarl showing the these, as the urban topography of Roman Egypt has been little stuclied. The two During the fir bureaucratic structul'e of best unclerstood are oxyrhynchus and Arsinoe, whence the eviclence is derived four lìoman Egypt. alae(cavt flom papyri. It appears that theywere places of some sophistication ancl wealth. which accordr Thus, Oxyrhynchus had a gyrnnasium, public baths, a theatre, and about The units d twenty temples, while Arsinoe had running water supplied by two Leservoirs between diffel into which water was pumpecl from an arm of the Nile. struct their hi] During tl-re first two centuries AD, the llolres and their netropolises enjoyed attested auxill little in the way of self-government, but in no zoo Septir-r-rius Severus ordered the Koptos ar,l the creation of town councils in each nolrìe, a step towarcls upgrading the in nr 59. Duri] metropolises to municipia (a municipiumberng, in essence, a self-goveming leturning to l borough). This, however, lecl to considerable reser-rtment, for with increased Mons Porphy] responsibility came increased financial burcleus to the holclers of office. fronr the lecol Under Roman rule, all lnales between the ages of r4 and 6o were obligecl to Another el pay a poll tax aur.rually. Roman citizens were exempt, but these probably only (Aswan)in n{ formecl a minor part of the population. The upper classes, the'metropolites', before endin$ paid at a reduced level. Class was, thus, a subject of some collseqLlence and at The tasks tl the age of r4 a metropolite boy woulcl be required to present his creclentials. empire was o( and east of E! TheArmy their eating il (Aswan) woul As in other provinces, the main agent of control was the almy.
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