Negotiating Identity through the Architecture and Interior Decoration of Elite Households in Ptolemaic Egypt

In Ptolemaic Egypt (ca. 332–30 BC), numerous physical spaces served as loci of identity negotiation for elite individuals inhabiting a setting where imported Greek traditions interacted with local Egyptian ones. Such negotiations, or maneuverings, often took place through visual culture. This essay explores a sample of the Greek architectural elements and surface decorations used in wealthy Ptolemaic homes and what they communicate about the residents’ sense of identity. The decorative choices made for a home conveyed information about the social status and cultural allegiances of its owner(s). Some comparisons are possible between Ptolemaic homes in Alexandria, the Delta, and the Fayyum and those from other Hellenistic sites in the eastern Mediterranean such as Priene and Delos. Elites in Alexandria and the Egyptian chora incorporated Greek traditions into their homes and adapted them in increasingly novel ways, creating architecture and surface decoration that was uniquely Ptolemaic. These households were visually in dialogue both with broader Hellenistic trends and with their Egyptian context.

The Institution

Attention is devoted to the diffusion, terminology, and foundation of the institution of the gymnasium in Ptolemaic Egypt, including the possible link with the army and the evidence from archaeology. The chapter shows how gymnasia in Egypt were introduced both in the three poleis of the country as well as in villages, throughout the Ptolemaic period. It highlights the close connection that the institution had with military settlers but stresses how the gymnasium was not a military institution but rather the by-product of the settlers’ residence habits, promoted by Ptolemaic policies. Finally, it offers an account of the first and so far only archaeologically attested Hellenistic gymnasium of Egypt, recently uncovered in the village of Philoteris in the Arsinoite nome.

Outsiders: Integration and Rejection

This chapter focuses on the treatment of outsiders and on the possible procedures for inclusion in the gymnasia of Hellenistic Egypt: attention is devoted in particular to Egyptians, Judaeans, and the possible role of women in gymnasia. The gymnasium was the place for the assertion of specific aspects of Greek identity and those who took part in its life, including visiting guests, were admitted on the understanding that they shared and were willing to perform specific features of Greek culture. It is shown how Egyptians and Judaeans could be welcomed into the gymnasia of Egypt but how they could not and did not advertise or express themselves in them as anything other than ‘Greeks’, adopting or at any rate coming to terms with practices (including nudity) that at times clashed with traditional Egyptian or Judaean values. Women, on the other hand, found no room in the gymnasia of Ptolemaic Egypt: the gymnasium was essentially an institution built by and for men and so it basically remained from the beginning until the end of its days.

Gymnasia and Greek Identity in Ptolemaic Egypt

This is the first complete study of all the documentation relevant to the gymnasium and gymnasial life in Egypt at the time of the Ptolemies, the longest-reigning Hellenistic Royal House (323–30 BC). It analyses the diffusion, characteristics, administration, and developments of the institution of the gymnasium in Ptolemaic Egypt and its implications for the assertion of Greek identity. It shows how this institution and its people were affected by the local environment and how ‘those from the gymnasium’, the members of the most Greek institution ever, were truly embedded in the social and cultural milieu of the country where they lived: they were the ‘Greeks’ of Egypt. Thanks to the information from Ptolemaic Egypt with its papyrological sources, this work showcases the variety of concomitant features and different traditions alive and active in the Hellenistic world, thus contributing to a better understanding of the ancient world in all its complexity and vitality.

Introduction

The Introduction provides a background to set the book’s argument into the larger context of the Hellenistic world. After giving a brief account of Hellenism in Egypt before and after Alexander’s campaigns, the chapter provides comparative material by presenting selected examples of Hellenistic gymnasia outside of Egypt with their architectonic characteristics, their functions, and their cultural significance. It then provides the methodological and scholarly foundations of the analysis and reviews the main aspects that come into play for the study of the gymnasia of Ptolemaic Egypt. This sets the place of Egypt within the study of the larger Hellenistic world.

The Roman Annexation and Administration of Cyprus

The events leading up to and surrounding the annexation of Cyprus from Ptolemaic Egypt by Rome and the administration of the island have been studied at length. For the sake of brevity, this chapter summarizes key details in light of recent scholarly interpretations of the events that occurred throughout this period of transition in the island’s history (from Ptolemaic to Roman, then back to Ptolemaic rule, before securely returning to Roman rule once and for all in 30 BC). Literary evidence has been crucial for understanding the organization and character of Roman administration of the island from 58 to 22 BC. After 22 BC, literary references of the identities and activities of Roman officials posted to the island are sparse, and from here on it is the material record that is most instructive. This chapter examines familiar, previously overlooked, and new material, to analyse further the nature of local interactions with Rome’s representatives. The available evidence for the proconsuls of Roman Cyprus significantly outweighs information for other officials; therefore, this study deals only with their representation and does not address records of their subordinates. The following features of the epigraphic, numismatic, and literary sources will be examined: where monuments were set up, by whom and why; the use of epithets; and in general, the use of epigraphic conventions and language. This chapter presents a revised list of proconsuls before closing with discussion of local levels of administration—notably the koinon Kuprion

The Significance of the Divine Torah in Ptolemaic Egypt in Documentary and Literary Sources from the Third and Second Centuries BCE

This essay analyzes the Torah’s role in Judean communities from Ptolemaic Egypt in order to evaluate the significance of the Judean claim of divine origins for their law in relation to the conceptual or functional nature of this law. An introductory step explores the nature of the Judean communities in Egypt under the Ptolemies. The essay then moves to consider the nature of judicial practice in Ptolemaic Egypt, especially among Judean communities, where scholars have asserted overlap with the written Greek Torah in the interpretation of legal records. Given the largely negative finds from papyri documents concerning practical judicial conceptions, the discussion turns to depictions of Torah in the Letter of Aristeas and other Hellenistic-Judean literature. The argument demonstrates that direct references to the Torah conceive of its importance in philosophical terms and group affiliation rather than judicial categories, even when the conception of God as a divine legislator emerges.