Just an incredible piece of ancient art. And WE KNOW WHO MADE IT! The Hellenistic artist Sophilos, in about 200 BC.
Berenike II (wife of Ptolemy III) is shown as the personification of Alexandria.
Dr. Joann Fletcher writes: “her ship's prow crown and anchor-shaped brooch emphasised her key role in naval successes during her joint reign with husband Ptolemy III."
What’s interesting to you about the period / place?
What do you want to know more about?
In short, what about Ptolemaic Egypt led you here?
I’ll start: I love Ptolemaic Egypt because of the sheer number of Greek papyri preserved, which give us a MUCH BETTER window into daily life than almost anywhere else in the ancient world!
The papyrus fragment dates to 285-280 BCE. For any non-papyrology nerds out there, that’s HELLA HELLA EARLY for Greek papyri — I think our very earliest we have at all are from c.300.
This show that pretty much as soon as Greek became a common administrative / elite language in Egypt, the Odyssey was there too. Which makes sense! Homer was quintessential to the education curriculum of any Greek speaker.
Book is "a reassessment of Ptolemaic state intervention in industry and trade, an issue central to the economic and political history of Hellenistic Egypt."
Published by Cambridge University Press.
Such a beautiful example of the combination of Egyptian and Greek styles in the early Ptolemaic period!
From the British Museum:
"The 'nemes' headdress, plain at the top but ribbed on the lappets, and the uraeus identify the subject as a ruler. The mouth has drill holes in the corners, forcing the lips into a wide smile. The wide, fleshy nose, cheeks and chin are representative of portraits of the Thirtieth Dynasty and Ptolemaic periods, but the slightly raised eyebrows are carved in a more naturalistic manner than those on Late Period sculpture. The large, fleshy ears are also characteristic of Ptolemaic portraiture."
Photo by the British Museum.
Hey everyone! I'm Phil ( u/AlexandriaPod ), the moderator for r/PtolemaicEgypt.
This is a sub to talk about anything and everything relating to the Ptolemaic Dynasty, the Greek rulers of Egypt from about 305 to 30 BCE.
What to Post
Post whatever you want, so long as it's related to the Ptolemaic period. That can be Hellenistic art, Alexandrian poetry, Roman mosaics depicting Alexandria, contemporary Egyptian statues, Greek philosophy... even Homer (since, after all, the Great Library at Alexandria tried to gather EVERY BOOK in the WORLD)!
Community Vibe
The Ptolemaic capital, Alexandria, was home to men and women, to Greeks, Egyptians, Jews, Persians, and countless other peoples. PLEASE, for the love of the goddess Isis and god Serapis, be friendly, constructive, and inclusive.
How to Get Started
Welcome to Alexandria, folks.
Hi y’all.
I have four credits on audible I need to use. I love historical fiction and myth retelling — like Ferdia Lennon’s Glorious Exploits or anything by Madeleine Miller.
I also enjoy East Asian retelling like She Who Became the Sun and Daughter of the Moon Goddess.
Any suggestions? Thanks !!!
EDIT: WOOPS I completely forgot to actually include the link to the podcast!!
The name is Alexandria: a Hellenistic World Podcast!!!
Website link is here and should have functioning links on the homepage to all the relevant platforms.
https://alexandriapod.wordpress.com
Hey all, hope this is the right place to post.
A couple months ago I started a podcast aimed at combining my two interests: history and writing. Each ep starts and ends with a historical fiction short story, interrupted in the middle by a little lecture.
So, for instance, the ep I’m finishing now opens and closes with the story of a young enslaved woman in the Macedonian court, with a section in the middle explaining the historical context and whatever important facets of Macedonian identity I felt the main POV character wasn’t able to naturally witness.
The trouble is, when people ask me what the it’s about, I’m struggling w/ figuring out how to sell this pod quickly (as in an elevator pitch). Is it a historical audio drama with a history lecture attached? A history pod that incorporates hist-fic elements??
How would y’all approach this?
Thanks in advance !!
