Nectanebo II

This chapter discusses the fraught relationship between Second Sophistic discourse and koinē fiction of the second and third centuries ce. Taking its point of departure from a comparison (synkrisis) of Dio of Prusa’s first oration On Kingship and the α-recension of the Greek Alexander Romance, the chapter goes on to argue that Second Sophistic
discourse and koinē fiction are not just two different bodies of contemporaneous writings that happened to appear side by side. Rather, they remain engaged in an intertextual agon where literary production in koinē—as opposed to Attic—Greek constitutes a dialectical negation of the overtly imperialist political agendas and monologic cultural
objectives that inform Second Sophistic composition. Further consideration of the Life of Sekoûndos and the Story of Aseneth shows how koinē fiction of this period not only aggressively contests the goals and priorities of the Second Sophistic, but pointedly turns its norms and ideals inside out.

ABSTRACT: This lecture covers the period succeeding the First Persian occupation of Egypt, and including the Second Persian Occupation, namely Dynasties 28-31: (1). Independent Late Period Egypt, Dyns.28-30: ca. 404–343 BC; (2). Dynasty 28: 404-399 BC, King Amyrtaeus (II); (3). Dynasty 29: 399-380 BC: Kings Nepherites I; x (Muthis?); Hakor (Achoris); Nepherites II; (4). Dynasty 30: 380-343 BC; Kings Nectanebo I; Teos (Tachos); Nectanebo II; (5). The Second Persian Occupation: “Dynasty 31”: 343-342 BC; Kings Artaxerxes III (Ochus); Arses; Darius III (Codoman); and concluding with (6). The advent of the Macedonian Dynasty: Alexander the Great. The lecture then proceeds with a brief examination of other Aspects of Late Period Egypt (especially Dyns.27-31), including (a). An Overview of various broad aspects and trends; (b). Sculpture; (c). private burials and mummification; animal cults and animal mummification; and (e). International Relations, At the end of the lecture, I provide some selected sources on Late Period Egypt, primarily Dyns.27-31, and some selected sources on Alexander the Great.

The “rescue” of the Sanctuary of Isis on Philae Island and its reconstruction on Agilkia Island provided to Egyptologists the opportunity to study many new evidences of the earliest stages of the architectural and theological history of this site, that were removed, dismantled or reused by the Ptolemies with a constant succession of new fabrics. Among these structures and their epigraphic evidences, dating from Dynasty XXV to XXX, the so-called “kiosk” of Nectanebo I still remains unpublished. This small but very important monument – especially for its particular architectural features as well as textual and iconographic contents – has been preserved by the Ptolemies on the southwestern corner of the island, away from its original position that still remains uncertain. Presenting the results of a study carried out in situ during the years 2006-2007, this article finally gives a comprehensive study of this monument, with an “editio princeps” of its epigraphic and iconographic corpus. It also tries to give an interpretation of the original form, the function and the theological significance of this monument, that contributes to put in evidence the importance of Dynasty XXX and Nectanebo I in “making history” of Philae island and the region of the First Cataract.

Publication of a newly acquired object of the Leiden Museum, viz. a granodiorite fragment (inv.no. F 2014/3.2), allegedly from the eastern Delta. The obverse shows sunk relief decoration in a single register, with the god Khnum working at his potter's wheel, flanked by two fragmentary figures (a cow-headed goddess and a man wielding a pestle). It proves to join to a fragment found by Naville at Bubastis of a seated statue of Nectanebo II; more parts of this statue were found during recent fieldwork at that site. Moreover, it can be demonstrated that the decoration was copied from a prototype developed during the reign of Ramesses II, and known from an architrave in the Luxor temple.

The present chapter demonstrates how Greek Middle Comedy practises burlesque of contemporary history – with ensuing political ramifications – through the means of mythological parody. The argument is substantiated through the analysis of two exemplary cases from the fragmentarily surviving corpus of the fourth-century BC comic poet Ephippus, where contemporary historical figures are presented in mythical, albeit recognizable, disguise. It is argued that (i) in the play "Busiris" Ephippus uses the mythical persona of the title-figure as a disguise for the Egyptian pharaoh Nectanebo II, and (ii) in his "Geryon" the Macedonian king Philip II can be identified as the historical equivalent of the mythical title-figure.

In 1896 a gold coin with hieroglyphic legends was found not far from Damanhur raising two-decades-long discussion on its genuineness. By the moment when its authenticity was proved and it became clear that the piece in question was the earliest gold pharaonic coin, it came to private collection of Yakountchikoff in Russia and for 80 years became inaccessible for scholars; even its whereabouts were unknown. The history of the coin is traced in the paper through the last century up to the present moment when it is kept in the Department of Numismatics, Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, the first adequate photographs of the piece are published and some ideas on the circulation of the gold coins under Dyn. XXX are brought forward.

A translation of a story from the Yosiphun (Josippon). There are other versions in Josephus and Pseudo-Hegesippus, but this one is somewhat unique, bearing parallels to the Toldot Yeshu literature, the Gospel of Luke, and the Alexander Romances.

The paper deals with a type of sculpture groups showing the falcon Horus with the last Egyptian king Nectanebo II (about one third of the falcon’s height) before him, as if protected by him (the best known and really artistically magnificent specimen of this type is a sculpture of green basalt MMA 34.2.1). Five sculptures of this type are inscribed at their bases; the inscriptions consist of the benediction (anx… “Be alive...”), including his titulary in the complete or in a somewhat shortened form added with the epithed; the one that must be especially mentioned is the titulary at the sculpture group from Tanis showing the epithet of Horus “the divine falcon, issue of Isis” (bik ntr[y] pr m %t) included directly in the nsw-bity name of Nectanebo II. As shown by J. Yoyotte (1959) and H. de Meulenaere (1960), the priestly titles of “god’s servants” (Hm-nTr) of “Nectanebo-the-Falcon” (Nxt-@r-@byt-pA-bik) or simply “The Falcon” (pA-bik) found rather widely in the monuments of the late 4th – 3rd centuries B.C. belonged to the priests, who provided for the worship of these sculpture groups; one can conclude that these images were placed and their cult was established in most local temples of Egypt, where Nectanebo II carried out building or restorations. Symptomatically, these priests were employed in Ptolemaic time as a sort of experts in belabouring the new forms of royal ideology (J. Quaegebeur, 1985, 1989). The interpretation proposed for the sculpture groups of “Nectanebos-the-Falcons” is based on the hypothesis by O.D. Berlev (2004) concerning the functioning of private nao-, theo- and symbolophorous statues of the New Kingdom and the Late Period: according to Berlev, the owner and beneficiary of such statue, when taking in his hands a god’s image or a symbol, caused god to embody in it and to surround him with a sort of “protective field” (made in Egyptian notions by the god’s “force” – bA). In the case of the “Nectanebos-the-Falcons” the identifier causing the god Horus to aspire to the king was his name (Nxt-@r-@byt – “Strong is Horus of [the town of] @byt, i.e. a statement pertaining to the god Horus, son of Osiris and Isis, worshipped at Behbeit el-Hagar in Lower Egypt). Naturally, the name belonged to the king immanently; hence the god embodied in the king’s person as such, which is, in fact, asserted in the inscription of the Tanis sculpture. When comparing “Nectanebos-the-Falcons” to the earlier types of Egyptian royal statuary, one has to take into consideration the “falcon statues” of the Old and the New Kingdoms (statues showing the king with the falcon behind his head or with some elements of the bird’s apparel in his head chief; e.g, the famous statue of Chefren CG 14) and the Ramesside “protection groups” showing king before Horus in completely the same position as “Nectanebos-the-Falcons” (their antecedent in the Old Kingdom was the so-called “Hierakonpolis group”, CG 14717). As noticed by A.O. Bolshakov (2000), the “falcon statues” accentuated the image of the king and not of the bird; hence, he was presented as quite a “free agent”, not so much depending on the deity as embodying it due to the specifics of his functions. The Ramesside “protection groups” were different, as they showed Horus not embodied in the king but separated from him and superseding him, though eager to help (probably to embody in him) when necessary. “Nectanebos-the-Falcons” do show the god permanently embodied in the king: but these statues stress the god’s superiority in this attitude and the fact that by merging in the king the god starts performing his duties (the inscription of the base of the Tanis sculpture), most probably, to mend its inadequacies. Apart of this relationship to god, the king might seem void of any sacral qualities. Incidentally, the statues of “Nectanebos-the-Falcons” create a totally new concept of “the terrestrial rule of Horus” through the king, which gradually develops into the idea of Horus’ ability to reign on earth even without such mediator (see the episode of Chabbash’s interlude in the Satrap Stela; Urk. II. 17.16-18.4).

This paper investigates the meaning of the phrase μαγικὴ ψυχή (magical soul) in PGM IV 154-285, which is actually a letter addressed to the pharaoh Psammetichus (or Psamtik) from his disciple Nephotes. In the letter Nephotes shows a procedure for acquiring power and divination
through systasis or composition, union with the God which is achieved by prescribed
rituals and cletic hymns, which include voces magicae. The divinity invoked is Typhon, who
is described as a terrific underground god in the Corpus PGM. The disciple is advising the
pharaoh not to be afraid when the sign of the divine encounter appears, with the following words: σὺ δὲ μαγικὴν ψυχὴν ἔχων ὁπλισθεὶς μὴ θαμβηθῇς· ("don't be afraid because you are armed, you have a magical soul"). Nephotes also addresses the pharaoh with the words: βασιλεῦ μέγιστε καὶ μάγων καθηγημών ("Almighty king and leader of magicians"). I investigate what this magical soul represents, not only in this particular procedure, but in relation with the whole Corpus, as well as by using external texts.

Theban tomb no. 190 is one of the scant historical sources
bearing evidence of several generations of a Theban priestly dynasty
living in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC. Presumably, the tomb’s owner
Nesbanebdjed(et) performed his duties in the Karnak Temple of Khonsu
under Nectanebo II. The present publication provides an improved copy
of the hieroglyphic inscriptions in TT 190 and discusses the obvious relevance of identifying people with similar names known from the monuments as Nesbanebdjed(et)’s relatives. A list of the personal names is supplied. The statues Cairo JE 37075, JE 36579 and the stelae Budapest MBA 51.1928, Prague MN P 1636 are also discussed, but the stela from Budapest was not considered as a monument belonging to the members of the family in question.

The different versions and rewrites of the Prose Roman d'Alexandre see the addition of two prologues and an epilogue. These additions expand the temporal perspective of the roman : from a linear biography of Alexander to a consideration of historical time, conceived as cycle, and a transposition on the divine plan. The temporality burst into the prose roman, a tool for mediation allowing the emergence of a new way of conceiving and telling the story. The new editor is thus part of this lineage of sages and astrologers, described in the first prologue, whose ability to merge three temporalities – past, present and future – is presented as a proof of erudition and nobility. The prose roman thus redoubled Alexander's continual preoccupation with posterity and the written record.

INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH (minus endnotes): During the Third Intermediate Period through Late Period, and possibly as early as the New Kingdom, a settlement formed at Tell Tebilla, near the mouth of a now defunct channel of the Mendesian branch of the Nile and beside a probable coastal embayment in Egypt’s northeast delta (fig. 1).  The coincidence of an outlet for a substantial Nile delta river branch, a natural protected coastal harbour, and the delta’s lush marshland vegetation, clarifies both Tebilla’s ancient name Ro-nefer (“beautiful mouth”) and the site’s initial foundation and prosperity as a riverine and maritime port for the inland provincial capital at Mendes (Tell Rub’a), 12 km to the south along the same river branch.  The town apparently flourished in the Saite period (Dynasty 26); it may have been revitalized in Dynasty 29, when Mendes briefly became a national capital, and its coastal port at Ro-nefer (Tebilla) presumably rose in importance.  Dynasty 30 marks a peak in the temple’s importance, with the construction of a new massive enclosure wall that may have been levelled during the Second Persian occupation in 342 B.C.  Although a few Ptolemaic inscriptions elsewhere attest to the continued existence of a temple at Ro-nefer, there is virtually no surviving evidence from Tebilla for occupation during this time.  By the early Roman period the coastal embayment became a closed lagoon (Lake Manzaleh), the Mendesian river soon dried up, and Tebilla became a land-locked and abandoned town beside emerging marshland (Daqhelieh Plain).

This article surveys the contrasted views of twelfth-century chroniclers about Alexander the Great's paternity. While some assumed the classical tradition that attributed it to Philip II, others affirmed that Alexander's real father was the Egyptian magician Nectanebo, who had come to Macedon after running away from his country during the Persian conquest. He became a major historical figure in the medieval West thanks to the gradual spreading of the Latin versions of the Life of Alexander written by Pseudo Callisthenes. The analysis of the chronicles shows that this problem concerned mainly authors writing in the sphere of the Germanic Empire, for whom Alexander the Great's empire was one of the emblematic steps of the translatio imperii. Nevertheless, the presence of the magician in these chronicles not only responds to questions of political theory; it should also be related to the growing interest among European intellectuals for the new knowledge and disciplines coming from the East, such as astronomy-astrology, alchemy and medicine, of which Nectanebo was a great expert.

Les differentes versions et reecritures du roman d’Alexandre en prose voient l’ajout de deux prologues et d’un epilogue. Ces additions elargissent la perspective temporelle du roman, de la biographie, lineaire, d’Alexandre a une prise en compte du temps historique, concu comme cyclique, et a une transposition sur le plan divin. La temporalite fait irruption dans le roman avec la prose, outil de mediation permettant l'emergence d'une nouvelle facon de concevoir et de dire l'histoire. Le nouveau redacteur s’inscrit ainsi dans cette lignee de sages et d’astrologues, decrite dans le premier prologue, dont la capacite a fusionner trois temporalites, passe, present et avenir, est presentee comme un preuve d’erudition et de noblesse. Le roman redouble ainsi la preoccupation continuelle d’Alexandre pour la posterite et la trace ecrite.

... Document Details : Title: 'Nectanébo-le-faucon' et la dynastie lagide Author(s): GORRE, Gilles Journal: Ancient Society Volume: 39 Date: 2009 Pages: 55-69 DOI: 10.2143/AS.39.0.2042605 Abstract : The cult of Nectanebo II is well documented in the Ptolemaic period. ...

The “erotic” Greek novels place at the centre of the plot an orthodox, heterosexual, monogamous, and lifelong love affair between a young man and a maiden. By contrast, the so-called “open” or “fringe” novels (a group of diverse works which share some basic common traits, such as a linear biographical narrative, non-organic structure, a trickster protagonist, the mixture of many storytelling genres, and a fluid textual transmission) treat eros in a starkly different manner: love stories are pushed to the margins of the narrative, in peripheral episodes or inserted tales; and instead of the idealized, model love of the erotic novels, there is a variety of deviant passions, forbidden liaisons, or sexual aberrations. The creators of the “open” texts consciously adopted the exact opposite practice than the erotic novels, in order to clearly demarcate their genre as a different mode of fictional storytelling. The pathology of love thus became a marker of generic identity.

Four examples are adduced from the corpus of the “open” novels to illustrate this proposition. In the "Alexander Romance" the main narrative is completely devoid of eroticism, even in episodes which would have been suitable for such treatment. The only love affair is the adulterous liaison between Nectanebo and Queen Olympias, an unlawful and immoral relationship which leads to the birth of Alexander. This is placed in the preliminaries of the story, provides the starting point for the plot, but has no further reverberations after the initial chapters. A similar type of structure is used in the much shorter "Life of Secundus the Silent Philosopher": an initial scene of pathological eros motivates the development of the plot. The "Historia Apollonii regis Tyri" reworks some of the standard themes of the canonical erotic romances (the idealized monogamous love, the lovers’ separation and reunion, the maiden who struggles to preserve her virginity) but arranges them in unusual new combinations and distorts their form. This idiosyncratic fragmentation of the traditional love plot is prefaced by a horrendous episode of father-daughter incest, which sets the action in motion but is forgotten afterwards. Finally, the "Life of Aesop" includes a series of tales about various aspects of perverse eroticism (exhibitionism, nymphomania, adultery, necrophilia, bestiality, rape, incest) — a veritable anthology of deviant sex dispersed through the narrative. These episodes are either inserted paradigmatic stories or secondary incidents without a central role in the plot. In these respects, the Life completely overturns the standard pattern of the erotic novels.

This paper proposes a reflection on the construction of the Alexander Romance and its Egyptian “apocalyptic” literary roots. As pointed out by many scholars, many Egyptian influences can be felt throughout the Alexander Romance: the story begins with a portrait of the last native Egyptian pharaoh Nectanebo II, who is revealed as Alexander the Great’s true father; and Alexander’s arrival in Egypt is presented along the lines of an Egyptian motif of the saviour king. Interestingly enough, the figure of king Nectanebo plays a prominent role in another literary text known as Nectanebo’s Dream, a fragmentary narrative conserved on a Greek papyrus from the second century BC (P. Leiden I 396), which can be completed by a handful of Demotic papyri (P. Carlsberg 424, 499 and 559). The story, as it can be reconstructed from these documents, belongs to the so-called apocalyptic or pseudo-prophetic Egyptian literature. Texts belonging to this kind of literature, for instance the Demotic “Chronicle”, the Oracle of the Lamb or (in Greek) the Oracle of the Potter, always follow the same narrative structure: a king who doesn’t pay the proper respect to the gods is delivered a prophecy about future catastrophic events and the invasion of Egypt by foreigners (Persians, Greeks, Romans, etc.). These prophecies then advertise the return to stability through the advent of a saviour figure personified by a new king or priest. The Egyptian elements in the Alexander Romance, together with other Graeco-Egyptian pseudo-prophetic texts, have often been interpreted as the production of Egyptian “nationalistic” reactions against the various foreign invasions of their country, a form of “propaganda” and the expression of a long-standing conflict that pitted the native Egyptians against the Graeco-Roman settlers. This article propose to go beyond the potentially anachronistic category of “nationalism”, and to ask whether the legend connecting Alexander to Nectanebo might rather be interpreted as the result of the cross-cultural interactions of narratives and counter-narratives within the frame of a Late Egyptian historical theology demanding piety of pharaohs and adherence to the precepts of the divine law (Ma’at or Hp).

Article à télécharger en libre accès sur le site de l'archive ouverte de l'Université de Genève (http://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:82398).

Résumé
Cet article propose une réflexion sur la construction du Roman d’Alexandre et sur ses origines remontant à la littérature de l’« apocalyptique » gréco-égyptienne. Ainsi que l’ont fait remarquer divers spécialistes, de nombreuses influences égyptiennes peuvent être décelées dans tout le Roman d’Alexandre ; notamment la présence d’un motif récurrent dans la pensée égyptienne, celui de l’avènement d’un roi juste, en l’occurrence Alexandre le Grand, chassant les étrangers impies hors du pays et rétablissant l’équilibre social et cosmique de la Maât. Il est intéressant de relever que la figure du roi Nectanébo, le père caché d’Alexandre selon le Roman, joue un rôle de premier plan dans un autre texte littéraire connu sous le nom du Songe de Nectanébo, un récit fragmentaire connu par un papyrus grec du IIe s. av. J.- C. (P. Leiden I 396) dont on a récemment pu compléter le déroulement grâce à la découverte de quelques papyrus démotiques (notamment les P. Carlsberg 424, 499 et 559). L’histoire, ainsi que l’on peut la reconstituer grâce à ces documents démotiques, appartient au courant littéraire égyptien qu’il est convenu d’appeler apocalyptique ou pseudo-prophétique. Les textes appartenant à ce type de littérature, par exemple la « Chronique » démotique, la Prophétie de l’Agneau ou (traduit en grec) l’Oracle du Potier, suivent toujours la même structure narrative : un roi au comportement impie se voit révéler dans une prophétie les malheurs que son comportement attirera sur l’Égypte, comprenant des événements catastrophiques et l’invasion de son pays par des armées étrangères (Perses, Grecs, Romains, etc.). Ces prophéties prédisent égalment que l’ordre  et la stabilité reviendront en Égypte grâce à l’avènement d’une figure salvatrice, incarnée par un nouveau roi ou par un prêtre.
La présence de ces éléments égyptiens dans le Roman d’Alexandre, ainsi que la production des autres textes pseudo-prophétiques, a souvent été interprétée comme le produit de réactions indigènes et « nationalistes » face aux invasions étrangères, comme une forme de « propagande » égyptienne. Je propose d’aller au-delà de ces notions potentiellement anachroniques de « nationalisme » et de « propagande » et de se demander si les récits reliant Alexandre à Nectanébo ne sont pas plutôt le résultat d’interactions entre récits et contre-récits composés pendant la Basse Époque dans le cadre d’une théologie historique trouvant ces racines dans la littérature d’époque pharaonique des Sagesses et des prophéties insistant sur la piété dont les pharaons sont censés faire preuve et sur leur adhésion aux préceptes de la loi divine (Maât ou loi-Hep).

Summary
This paper proposes a reflection on the construction of the Alexander Romance and its Egyptian “apocalyptic” literary roots. As pointed out by various scholars, many different Egyptian influences can be felt throughout the Alexander Romance; for instance, the presence of a recurrent Egyptian motive, the advent of a just king chasing the impious foreigners and establishing once again the Ma’at. Interestingly enough, the figure of king Nectanebo played a prominent role in another literary text known as Nectanebo’s Dream, a fragmentary narrative conserved on a Greek papyrus from the second century BC (P. Leiden I 396), which can be completed by a handful of Demotic papyri (especially P. Carlsberg 424, 499 and 559). The story, as it can be reconstructed from these documents, belongs to the so-called apocalyptic or pseudo-prophetic Egyptian literature. Texts belonging to this kind of literature, for example the “Demotic” Chronicle, the Prophecy of the Lamb or (translated in Greek) the Potter’s Oracle, always follow the same narrative structure: a king who doesn’t pay the proper respect to the gods is delivered a prophecy about future catastrophic events and the invasion of Egypt by foreigners (Persians, Greeks, Romans, etc.). These prophecies then advertise the return to stability through the advent of a saviour figure incarnated by a new king or priest. The Egyptian elements in the Alexander Romance, together with the Egyptian pseudo-prophetic texts, have often been interpreted as the result of native, “nationalist” reactions against foreign invasions, a form of Egyptian “propaganda”. I propose to go beyond the potentially anachronistic categories of “nationalism” and “propaganda”, and to ask whether the legend connecting Alexander to Nectanebo might the result of the cross-cultural interactions of narratives and counter-narratives within the frame of a Late Egyptian historical theology demanding piety of pharaohs and adherence to the precepts of divine law (Ma’at or Hp), itself inherited from the pharaonic Wisdom and Prophetic literatures.

... Document Details : Title: 'Nectanébo-le-faucon' et la dynastie lagide Author(s): GORRE, Gilles Journal: Ancient Society Volume: 39 Date: 2009 Pages: 55-69 DOI: 10.2143/AS.39.0.2042605 Abstract : The cult of Nectanebo II is well documented in the Ptolemaic period. ...