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    Antiquity: First Historical Colonies

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    Ryan Onell
    Greeks have been present in Egypt since at least the 7th century BC. In the 7th century BC, Naucratis was founded as the first permanent Greek colony in Egypt. Under the rule of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemaic dynasty that followed, Greek influence grew in Egypt with the founding of Alexandria and Greek becoming an official language.

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    Antiquity: First Historical Colonies

    Uploaded by

    Ryan Onell
    7 views2 pages
    Greeks have been present in Egypt since at least the 7th century BC. In the 7th century BC, Naucratis was founded as the first permanent Greek colony in Egypt. Under the rule of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemaic dynasty that followed, Greek influence grew in Egypt with the founding of Alexandria and Greek becoming an official language.

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    Antiquity

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    Greeks have been present in Egypt since at least the 7th century BC. In the 7th century BC, Naucratis was founded as the first permanent Greek colony in Egypt. Under the rule of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemaic dynasty that followed, Greek influence grew in Egypt with the founding of Alexandria and Greek becoming an official language.

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    7 views2 pages

    Antiquity: First Historical Colonies

    Uploaded by

    Ryan Onell
    Greeks have been present in Egypt since at least the 7th century BC. In the 7th century BC, Naucratis was founded as the first permanent Greek colony in Egypt. Under the rule of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemaic dynasty that followed, Greek influence grew in Egypt with the founding of Alexandria and Greek becoming an official language.

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    Antiquity[edit]

    Greeks have been present in Egypt since at least the 7th century BC. Herodotus visited Egypt in
    the 5th century BC and claimed that the Greeks were one of the first groups of foreigners that
    ever lived in Egypt.[4] Diodorus Siculus claimed that Rhodian Actis, one of the Heliadae, built the
    city of Heliopolis before the cataclysm; likewise the Athenians built Sais. Siculus reports that all
    the Greek cities were destroyed during the cataclysm, but the Egyptian cities including Heliopolis
    and Sais survived.[5]

    First historical colonies[edit]


    According to Herodotus (ii. 154), King Psammetichus I (664–610 BC) established a garrison of
    foreign mercenaries at Daphnae, mostly Carians and Ionian Greeks.
    In 7th century BC, after the Greek Dark Ages from 1100–750 BC, the city of Naucratis was
    founded in Ancient Egypt. It was located on the Canopic branch of the Nile river, 45 mi (72 km)
    from the open sea. It was the first and, for much of its early history, the only permanent Greek
    colony in Egypt; acting as a symbiotic nexus for the interchange of Greek and Egyptian art and
    culture.
    At about the same time, the city of Heracleion, the closest to the sea, became an important port
    for Greek trade. It had a famous temple of Heracles. The city later sank into the sea, only to be
    rediscovered recently.
    From the time of Psammetichus I onwards, Greek mercenary armies played an important role in
    some of the Egyptian wars. One such army was led by Mentor of Rhodes. Another such
    personage was Phanes of Halicarnassus.

    Hellenistic times[edit]
    Main articles: History of Ptolemaic Egypt and Ptolemaic dynasty
    Rule of Alexander the Great (332–323 BC)[edit]
    Alexander the Great conquered Egypt at an early stage of his conquests. He respected the
    pharaonic religions and customs and he was proclaimed Pharaoh of Egypt. He established the
    city of Alexandria. After his death, in 323 BC, his empire was divided among his generals. Egypt
    was given to Ptolemy I Soter, whose descendants would give Egypt her final royal dynasty – a
    glittering one, largely Greek in flavor. Its capital was Alexandria. Ptolemy added legitimacy to his
    rule in Egypt by acquiring Alexander's body. He intercepted the embalmed corpse on its way to
    burial, brought it to Egypt, and placed it in a golden coffin in Alexandria. It would remain one of
    the famous sights of the town for many years, until probably destroyed in riots in the 3rd century
    AD.[6]
    The Ptolemaic dynasty (323–30 BC)[edit]

    Cleopatra VII along with her son Caesarion as Pharaoh


    The initial objective of Ptolemy's reign was to establish firm and broad boundaries to his newly
    acquired kingdom. That led to almost continuous warfare against other leading members of
    Alexander's circle. At times he held Cyprus and even parts of mainland Greece. When these
    conflicts were over, he was firmly in control of Egypt and had strong claims (disputed by
    the Seleucid dynasty) to Palestine. He called himself king of Egypt from 306 BC. By the time he
    abdicated in 285 BC, in favour of one of his sons, the Ptolemaic dynasty was secure. Ptolemy
    and his descendants showed respect to Egypt's most cherished traditions – those of religion –
    and turned them to their own advantage.
    Alexandria became the centre of the Greek and Hellenistic world and the centre of international
    commerce, art and science. The Lighthouse of Alexandria was one of the Seven Wonders of the
    Ancient World while during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus, the Library of Alexandria was the
    biggest library in the world until it was destroyed. The last Pharaoh was a Greek
    princess, Cleopatra VII, who took her own life in 30 BC, a year after the battle of Actium.[6]

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