Ptolemy, a general and one of the
somatophylakes (bodyguard companions) of
Alexander the Great, was appointed
satrap of
Egypt after Alexander's death in 323 BC. In 305 BC he declared himself Pharaoh Ptolemy I, later known as Sōter "Saviour". The
Egyptians soon accepted the Ptolemies as the successors to the
pharaohs of independent Egypt. The new dynasty adopted the Egyptian titles and iconography, and respected local traditions, while also preserving their own
Greek language and culture.[8][6] The Ptolemaic period was marked by the intense interactions and blending of the
Greek and
Egyptian cultures.[9] Under the Ptolemies,
Hellenistic religion was largely influenced by
religious syncretism and
imperial cult.[10][11] Elements of Greek education became widespread in urban spaces, culminating in the foundation of the
Mouseion (including the
Library of Alexandria) and the
Serapeum.[12] During the Hellenistic period, the city of
Alexandria founded by Alexander the Great would gradually surpass
Athens taking its place as the intellectual centre of the
Mediterranean world.[13]
Ptolemy VIII Physcon (170–163 BC, 145–116 BC) married Cleopatra II, then
Cleopatra III; temporarily expelled from Alexandria by Cleopatra II from 131 to 127 BC, then reconciled with her in 124 BC.
Dates in brackets on the
Cup of the Ptolemies represent the regnal dates of the Ptolemaic pharaohs. They frequently ruled jointly with their wives, who were often also their sisters, aunts or cousins. Several queens exercised regal authority. Of these, one of the last and most famous was
Cleopatra ("Cleopatra VII Philopator", 51–30 BC), with her two brothers and her son serving as successive nominal
co-rulers. Several systems exist for numbering the later rulers; the one used here is the one most widely employed by modern scholars.
Continuing the tradition established by previous
Egyptian dynasties, the Ptolemies engaged in
inbreeding including
sibling marriage, with many of the pharaohs being married to their siblings and often co-ruling with them.[20] Ptolemy I and other early rulers of the dynasty were not married to their relatives, the childless marriage of siblings
Ptolemy II and
Arsinoe II[21] being an exception. The first child-producing incestuous marriage in the Ptolemaic dynasty was that of
Ptolemy IV and
Arsinoe III, who were succeeded as co-pharaohs by their son
Ptolemy V, born 210 BC. The best-known Ptolemaic pharaoh,
Cleopatra VII, was at different times married to and ruled with two of her brothers (
Ptolemy XIII until 47 BC and then
Ptolemy XIV until 44 BC), and their parents were also likely to have been siblings or possibly cousins.[15]
Contemporaries describe a number of the Ptolemaic dynasty members as
extremely obese,[22] while
sculptures and
coins reveal prominent eyes and swollen necks. Familial
Graves' disease could explain the swollen necks and eye prominence (
exophthalmos), although this is unlikely to occur in the presence of morbid obesity. This is all likely due to
inbreeding depression. In view of the familial nature of these findings, members of the Ptolemaic dynasty are likely to have suffered from a multi-organ fibrotic condition such as
Erdheim–Chester disease, or a familial
multifocal fibrosclerosis where thyroiditis, obesity and ocular proptosis may have all occurred concurrently.[23]
^Jones 2006, p. xiii: "They were members of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Macedonian Greeks, who ruled Egypt after the death of its conqueror, Alexander the Great".
^Jeffreys 2005, p. 488: "Ptolemaic kings were still crowned at Memphis and the city was popularly regarded as the Egyptian rival to Alexandria, founded by the Macedonian Greeks".
^Robins 2001, p. 108: "...Cleopatra VII, the last member of the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty to govern Egypt. Although the Ptolemies were not only Greek by origin but also by culture, they adopted from the Egyptians the custom of royal brother-sister marriage".
^Southern 2009, p. 43: "The Ptolemaic dynasty, of which Cleopatra was the last representative (...) stemmed from Ptolemy Soter, a Macedonian Greek in the entourage of Alexander the Great".
^Depuydt 2005, p. 687: "during the Ptolemaic period, when Egypt was governed by rulers of Greek descent...";
Pomeroy 1990, p. xvi: "...while Ptolemaic Egypt was a monarchy with a Greek ruling class"
^Epiphanius of Salamis, however, puts the total number of years of the Ptolemaic dynasty at 306, presumably calculated from 306/5 BC to 1 AD. See: Epiphanius' Treatise on Weights and Measures – The Syriac Version (ed. James Elmer Dean), University of Chicago Press 1935, p. 28 (note 104). Compare On Weights and Measures.
^Rutherford 2016, p. 4: "The second (phase of relationship between Greek and Egyptian culture) begins when Egypt is taken over by a Greek-speaking elite in the last decades of the fourth century. From then on, the two cultures coexisted, which inevitably resulted in interactions and mutual influence between them".
^Fletcher, Joann (2008). Cleopatra the Great: The Woman Behind the Legend. New York: Harper.
ISBN978-0-06-058558-7, image plates and captions between pp. 246-247.
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ISBN9780195365511.
Jones, Prudence (2006). Cleopatra: A Sourcebook. University of Oklahoma Press.
ISBN9780806137414.
Pomeroy, Sarah (1990). Women in Hellenistic Egypt, From Alexander to Cleopatra. Wayne State University Press.
ISBN9780814322307.
Southern, Patricia (2009) [2007]. Antony and Cleopatra: The Doomed Love Affair That United Ancient Rome and Egypt. Amberley Publishing.
ISBN9781848683242.
Potter, David (2009). "Hellenistic religion". In Erskine, Andrew (ed.). A Companion to the Hellenistic World. John Wiley & Sons.
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Holbl, Gunther (2001). "Ptolemaic period". In Redford, Donald (ed.). Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Vol. 3. Oxford University Press.
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Jeffreys, David (2005) [1999]. "Memphis". In Bard, Kathryn (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge.
ISBN1134665253.
Depuydt, Leo (2005) [1999]. "Rosseta Stone". In Bard, Kathryn (ed.). Encyclopedia of the Archaeology of Ancient Egypt. Routledge.
ISBN1134665253.
Robins, Gay (2001). "Queens". In Redford, Donald (ed.). Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt. Vol. 3. Oxford University Press.
ISBN0195138236.
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