Greek Gold From Hellenistic Egypt

8/21/2019 Greek Gold From Hellenistic Egypt

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T H E G R EA T S P H I N X , P Y R A M I D S O F G E Z E E HJ a n u a r y 1 7 ,1839(d e t a i l ) .

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2 0 0 1 T h e J .P a u l Ge t ty T r u s tGet ty P u b l i c a t i o n s1 2 0 0 G e t t y Cen t e r D r i v eS u i t e 50 0L o sA n g e le s , C a l i f o r n i a 90049-1682w w w .g e t t y . ed uC h r i s t o p h e r H u d s o n , PublisherM a r k G r e e n b er g , Editor in ChiefProject Staf fL o u i s e D . B a rb e r , Ma nuscript EditorM a ry L o u i s e H a r t , Curator ia l Coord inatorB n d i c t e G i l m a n , Editorial CoordinatorE l i z a b e t h B u r k e K a h n , Production CoordinatorJeffrey C o h e n , DesignerEl l enR o s e n b er y , Pho tographer

( G e t t yM u s e u m o b j e ct s )D a v i d F u l l e r , Car tographerLibraryo f CongressCa t a l o g i n g - i n - P ub l i ca t i o n D a t aP f ro m m er , M i cha e l .

Greek gold f rom He l len i s t i c Egypt/ M i c ha e lP f ro m m er w i t h E l a n a T o w n e M a r ku s .

p. cm. (GettyM u s eu m s tudies on art)Includes bibl iographica l references .I S B N 0 -892 36-633-8

i . Gold jewel ry , Hel len i s t i cEgypt .2 . G o l d j ew e l ry E g y p t . 3.J ew e l ry C a l i f o r n i a L o sA n g e l es . 4. J .P a u l G e t ty M us eum .I . J .P a u l G e t t y M u s e u m . I I . T o w n e - M a r k u s, Elana .I I I . T i t l e . IV . Ser ies .N K 7 3 0 7 . 3 . P48 20017 3 9 . 2 7 9 0 9 3 2 9 0 7 4 7 9 4 9 4 d c 2 1 2001029132

A llw o rk s a r e r ep ro d uced ( a n d p h o t o g ra p h sp ro v i d ed ) by co u r t e s y of the o w n er s, u n l e s so th e r w i s e in d ica t ed .T y p o g ra p h y by G & S T y p es e t t e r s , I n c . ,

A u s ti n ,T ex a sP r i n t e d in H o n g K o n g b y I m a g o
http://www.getty.edu/http://www.getty.edu/


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M A R I ON T R U E

FE e w evenings s tand ou t in mem ory a sclear lyas the on e on w hich I f i rs tcon-f ro n t ed the grea t co l l ec t iono f H e l l e n i s t i c go ld j ewel ry p r e s e n t e d in th isp u b l i c a t i o n [ F I G U R E 1 ] . V i s i t i n gN e wY o r k t oge th e r w i t h m y f r iend a n dcol-l e ag ueA r i el l eK o z lo f f, t h e n C u r a t o ro fA n c ie n tA r t a t the C l e ve la n d M u s e u mo fA r t , we had been inv ited to d in ne r a t the h o m eof collec tors L awrence and B ar-b a r a F l e i s c h m a n . D i nne r w a s t o b e f o ll ow e d b y a s pec i a l t r e a t .A s w e sea tedourse lves in the l i b r a r y , L a r r y p r odu c e d a s m a l l , b r ow n pa pe r b a g . F r om th ec r u m p l e d sack he l if ted ou t one t i s s u e - w r a ppe d ob j e c t af ter a no t h e r a n d la idthem on the t ab le , then s lowly he began to unw rap each p iece . F i r s t c ame them a g n i f i c e n t h a i r ne t m ou n t e d on ac u s h i ono frose -co lored sa t in ,i tslong t a s se lins i tu bu t i t s sma l le r one una t t ached bes ide i t . N ex t emerged the tw o b race le t sof in te r tw ined snakes , fo l lowed by the l a rge r , heav ie r pa i r o f a rmle t s , e achf o r m e d by a s ingle coi led serpent . The fragile S t ph a ne ( d i a d e m ) required them o s tpat i enc e , and w e held our co l lec t ive brea th as i ts exqu is i te ly decora ted sur-face w a s s lowly revea led . D am aged a nd r epa i red a lr eady in a n t i q u i t y , it m u s th a v e b e e n w or n t h i n b y it s p r ou d o w ne r . C ar e fu l ly , we se t i t a s ide so tha t wecou ld a d m i r ethe tw ol a rgef ingerr i ngs ,on edecora ted w i th a ni m a g eo f A r t e m i s ,theo the r w i th a n i m a g eo fT yche.A s Is l i ppe do n e r i ngon ,L a r ry cau t ione d tha tI m ight have to par t wi th m y f inger i f the r ing got s tuck. B y the t im e we got tothe E r t e e a r r i ngs and the s t r i ng o f co lo r fu l b e a ds , w e w e re a l m os t to o over-w h e l m e d to not ice them.

O n e o f t h e m o s t i n t r i g u i n g a s pe c ts o fa n t i q u i t i e si s the g l i m ps e t he yprovide u s in to pa s t l ive s. T he F l e i sch m an s had a lways been draw n to an t iqu i -t ies inpa r t i c u l a r b e c a u seo ft h e i r v e ry h u m a n a s s oc i a t ions ,a n dth i s co l l ec t iono f

FigureA s s e m b l a g e o fPto lema ic j e we l r y .Late third-earlys ec ond c en tu ry B. C .Gold,withgems, pea r l s ,poss ib ly she l l , andg lass -pas te i n l ay s .Mal ibu , J. Pau l Get tyM u s e u m ( 9 2 . A M . 8 ) .

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j ewe l ryhad avery pe r sona l appea l .A l l thepieces ,La r rytold u s ,w ere sa id tohavebeen fo und toge the r , poss ib ly in a grave . T hus , the pa ru re had once be longed toa woman who, a t leas t according to the t races on the pieces themselves , hadw o r n them of ten , su re ly w i th p leasu re . Ta lk ing toge the r abou t them a gn i f i ce nc eo fth ewhole ensemble ,w e ha d nod i f f icu l tyc o n j u r i n gup the i m a geo f aM e d it er -ranea n beauty, her dark hair pul led back into a chignon held in place by the hair -ne t , wea r ing the t a s se led S tphane a round he r t emples and the snakes a roundherwris ts a nda rm s . La r ry specu la ted upon theg leam ing appea ranceo f the goldasthewom an m oved th rough r o o m sl ightedb y oi ll a m p s .

F or a cura tor , perha ps the m o s td i f f icul t emo t ion to dea l w i th graceful lyis envy.B u i l d in gaco l lec t ion requ i re sahea l thy senseo fc o m p e t i ti o n and aw i l l-i ngne s s to be aggress ive in p u r s u i t of the grea t work o f ar t . It is a lways a badm om e n t w h e n you s e e s om e t h i ng you w a n t f o r you r c o l l e c ti on , on l y to f i nd ou ttha t i t has a lr eady been boug h t . I t i s a worse m om ent w hen you f ind ou t tha t i tha s a l r eady been bough t b y dea r f r i ends , even if they a re a l so you r bes t com-pe t i t o r s T r y i ngt o d i s gu i s eo u r base r feel ings w i th hypoc r i t i c a l sm i le s ,A r ie l leand I c ong r a t u l a t e d th e r ig h t fu l ly p r ou d n ew owners of the gold j ewelry , a s-s u r i n g them tha t we were ve ry happy for them to have acqu i red such an im por -t an t co l l ec t ion .La r rywas l a te r to recall that he had never seen two less s incerep e r f o r m a n c e s .

With t ime , w e a l lc a m e to l a u gh a b ou t t h a t i n f a m ou s e ve n i ng .A r ie l leand I accepted the mis sed opp or tu ni ty w i th fa ta l is t ich u m or , a nd t h e H e l l e n i s -ti cgold jewe l ry becameone of the keyd i s p l a ysin the F l e i s c hm a ns ' g r ow i ng co l-l ec t ion of anc ien t a r t . Some months l a te r , La r ry was to add m ore p ieces to thecol lec t ionthe s t r ingo f t iny gold cowrie shel ls and the two pa i r so f an te lope -head ea r r ings , wh ich the dealer c la imed ha d or ig ina l ly been pa r t of the groupbut had inadver tent ly become separa ted from the larger pieces .

S u dde n l yo n em o r n in g ,t heGe t tyM useu m ' s unexpec ted second chancecame. Larry ca lledto a sk i f w ew ou l d be interes ted ina c q u i r i ngt he He l len i s t i cgold f rom h i m . H eoffered few deta i ls , bu t I knew that , given the im portan ce ofthe a s semblage , he and B arba ra had begun to feel unco m for tab le abou t i t s secu -rityand the appropr ia teness o fhaving it in apr ivate col lec t ion. N o t w a n t i ng tor i sklos ingi taga in ,G e t tyM u s e u m D i re c to r J oh n W a ls h an d theBoardo f Trus t -ees acted swift ly to acquire the jew elry for the M use um in 1993.

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T h i s s p l e n d i d e n s e m b l e w a s exh ib i t ed to the p u b l i c for the f i r s t t i m ed u r i n g th e s y m p o s i u m o n A l e x a n d r ia a n d A l e x a n d r i a n i s m he ld a t the G e t t yM u s e um A p r i l2 2 2 5 , 19 9 3 - I t w a s o n th i s o cc a s io n t h a t M i c h a e l P f r o m m e r , t h eau tho r o fth i s m o n o g r a p h , f i r s t saw theco l lec t ion . H is in teres t in the exquis i tew o r k m a n s h i p a n d h i s a p p r e c i a t io n f o r t h e u n u s u a l im a g e r y w e r e s o i m m e d i -a tely ap p a ren t t ha t we i n v i t ed h im to un d e r t ak e the i n i t i a l p ub l i ca t i o n o f t h i scollect ion. T he pieces later provided th e fo cusof the jew el ry gal leryin the exhi-b i t i o n o f t he F l e i sc hm an co l l ec t i o n ,A Passion for Ant iqui t ies , wh ich w as sho wn inthe Get ty Vi l la i n M a l ib u( O c to b e r 1994 J an uar y 1995) and a t the ClevelandM u s eu m o f A r t ( F e b r u a r y A p r i l1995).When the j ewe l ry re t u rn ed to M a li buf rom Ohio, the en semble rema in ed o n d i sp l ay in theV i ll a un t i l the c losure o ft ha t b u i l d in g fo r ren o va t i o n s i n Ju ly 1997 .

M an y scho l a r s have a sk ed abo u t t he id en t i f i c a t io n of the group as anen semble . H o w re l iablei s thei n f o r m a t i o nthatt heo b j ec t s we re fo u n d t o g e the r?Li kea l l u n s u b s t a n t i a t e d s t a t e m e n t s t h a t m a y a c c o m p a n y w o r k s o f a rt o f u n d o c -u m e n t e d p r o v e n a n c e , t h i s a l l e g a t i o n h a d t o b e t a k e n w i t h s o m e s k e p t i c i s m .T ho ug h so m e o b jec t s , sucha s theb race l e t sor the f inge rr i n g s , c l ea r l y seemed tofo r m p a i r s , the g r o u p a s a w h o l e w o u l d n o t n ecessa r i l y have sug g es t ed o n esource a t f i rs t g lance . In fact , t h e i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m t h e v e n d o r that t h i s was as ing le en sem ble wo u ld p ro ve t o be ve ry va luab l e a s a p o in t o f d ep a r t u re f o r t hela ter sc ien t i f icstudies.T he de ta i led technicalstudyu n d e r t a k e n for the F l e i sch -m an s by Jack O g d en , a g rea t En g l i sh exp e r t o n an c i en t jewelry ,an d the an a ly s i so f t h e c o m p l e x i c o n o g r a p h y p r o v id e d b y M i c h a e l P f r o m m e r , a le a d i n g G e r m a nspecia l i s t in H e l l en i s t ic m e t a lw o rk a n d o rn am en t a l p a t t e rn s , g en e ra l ly sup p o r tt h i s t hes i s . Ogden's ex t en s ive rep o r t o n t h e e x t r a o r d i n a r y t e c h n i c a l f e a t u r e sexh ib i t ed b y the g o ld wo rk sug g es t ed the p i eces we re p ro bab lyn o t m a d e in thes a m e w o r k s h o p b u t that theywere a l l o f H e l l e n i s ti c E g y p ti a n w o r k m a n s h i p .T he evidence fo r th i s p ro ven an ce w a s f u r t h e r s t ren g then ed by the i m a g e s o ff e m a l e d e i t i e s rep re sen t ed in gold an d o n the en g raved g ems to n es ; a n d theseca n a l l be most p e r s u a s i v e l y i n t e r p r e t e d in r e l a t i o n s h i p to one a n o t h e r , a sM i c ha e l P f r o m m e r e x p la i n s indepth in the fo l l o win g .

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I N T R O D U C T I O N

T . h e g o l d j e w e l r y t r e a s u r e i n t h e J . P a u l G e t t y M u s e u m c a r r i e s w i t h i t t h ea l l u r eo f the m yth a nd m ys te ry o f E gyp t . Fa n ta s ie s o f d i s covery a nd a dven-t u r e , o f w e a l t h a n d g l o ry , a n d o f a n u n t o l d s t o ry l e a p t o m i n d i n t h e p r e s e n c e o fg o l d t h a t h a s b e e n h i d d e n f rom s igh t fo r a cou p le o f thou sa n d yea r s . S uch i s ther e a c t i o n to t h e s p l e n d i d p i e ce s t h a t m a k e u p t h e G e t t y 's P t o l e m a i c j e w e l r y [ S E EF I G U R E 1 ] . T h e e n s e m b l e i n c l u d e s tw o f i n g e r r in g s , a S t p h a n e ( d i a d e m ) , a p a i ro f e a r r i n g s w i t h E r o t e s, tw op a i r so fhoope a r r i n g s w i t h a n i m a l h e a d s, tw o s n a k ea r m l e t s a n d t w o s n a k e b r a c e l e t s , a n d a h a i r n e t , a s w e l l a s b e a d s o f go ld a n ds e m i p r e c i o u sstonea n ds e v e r a l g o l d c o w r i e s h e l l sthat c o u l d h a v e b e l o n g e d too n e o r m o r e n e c k l a c e s.

A t r e a s u r e o f s u c h i m p o r t a n c e r a i s e s m a n y q u e s t i o n s , p a r t i c u l a r l y ,w ha t i s i t a nd w here d id i t com e f r o m ?W a s i t f o r m e r l y p a r t o f t h e s p l e n d o r o f at e m p l e , w h e r e i t p e r h a p s d e c o r a t e d the s t a t u e o f a goddes s? Were the g o l d e nh a i r n e ta n d t h e s h i n i n g S t p h a n e o r n a m e n t s f o r t h e h a i r o f a p r i e s t e s s ?Were th ei m a g e s o f d e i t i e s s y m b o l s o f p i e t y , o r w e r e t h e y m e r e l y s y m b o l s o f w e a l t h ?Werethe de l i ca tehoope a r r i n g s a n d t h e c o i l e d s n a k e a r m l e t s a n d b r a c e l e t s a f f e c t i on -a te g i f t s to am o t h e r o r as i s t e r , o r w e r e t he y i n t e n d e d to a d o r n he r o n he r l a s tj o u r n e y t o th e f u n e r a l p y r e o r t o c o m f o r t h e r w i t h e a r t h l y r i c h e s i n t h e t o m b ?C o u l d t h e j e w e l ryha ve been w orn a t roya lfes t iv i t ie s tog lo r i fy t h e m o n a r c h y ? O rcou ld these p ieces ha ve been s ym bol ic o f the inc rea s ing w ea l th o f a c i ty on ther i se? I s the t r ea sure perh a ps the l a s t ves t ige o f a t r a gedy? Wa s the j ew el ry w ornb y av i c t i m o f w a r o r p l u n d e r o r d e a t h ? D i d it s o n e t i m e o w n e r h id e the gold sow e l lthat i t s w h e r e a b o u t s r e m a i n e d u n k n o w n a f t er h e r d e m i s e ? I s i t a m o d e r n

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assem blage o r an anc ien t t r easure? Was i t chance tha t r es to r ed the go lden t r ea -su re to modern w ond er and to a l l the ques t ions a nd c lose exam ina t ion?

Fie ld archaeology rarely resul ts in the theexc i t emen t of f inding sensa -t i o n a l ob jec t s . M ore o f t en such f inds a r e une ar thed by chance o r byi l legal d ig -g in g s , and fo r th a t r eason they p resen t real puz z les fo r a r chaeo log i s t s and a r th i s t o r i a n s . O f t e n o n ly g l i m m e r so f the i r h i s to ry r em ainby the t im e such p iecesf ina l ly r each a m use um or a co l l ec t ion . R esearcher s mu s t then tu rn de tect ivesin o rder to t ry to r econs t ruc t the m o s t essen t i a l aspec t s of the ob jec t s ' o r ig ina lcontext , w hich is necessary i f they are to be correct ly in terprete d and placed inthe i r h i s to r i ca l p e r spec t ive .A s i t isdevoid o f any known p rovenance , the Ge t tyj ewel ry assemblage p resen t s such a cha l l enge . Bu t num erou s c lues con ta ined inthe objects themselves point to Egypt as the or igin of the gold .

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T H E J E W E L R Y

ne of the f inge r r ings i s se t w i th an in tag l io -ca rved orang e -b row n sa rds h o w i n g the f igure ofT yc he , th e G r e e k godde ss o f good f o r t u ne [ S E EF I G U R E S 2 4 a d ] . The gem is f ixed in ab u r n i s h e d f ou r - s t e ppe d b e z e l cr e a te dby a r epousse /chas ing t echnique . T he r ing i tse l f is not sol id cas t , b u t hol low ,c ons t r u c t e d f rom hammered shee t go ld . The second f inge r r ing i s s e t w i th acarved ca rn e l i an d e p i c t i n g A r t e m i s , the G r e e k godde s s o f h u n t i n g [ S E E F I G -U R E S 27a-d]. T h i s r i ng is l i ke w i s e c ons t r u c t e d f rom h a m m e r e d g o ld , bu t i tw e i gh s m or e t h a n the f i r s t r i n gand is for as l igh t ly l a rge rf inger . I t s cabochoncarne l i ani s t r ans luce nt ye t s a tu ra ted red-orange in co lor .

T w o beau t i f u l a nd de l i ca te ha i r o rnaments add to the g r a nde u r o fthe g r o u po fjewel ry .T he d i a d e m l i k e S t p h a n e[ F I G U R E S 2 a b ; S E EA L S O F I G -U R E 21d] con s i s t so f tw o l e a f - s h a pe d s i de s , e a c h m a nu f a c t u r e df rom o ne m a j o rpieceo f sheet gold.Atorch w i th tw is ted r ibb on" f l ames" isa pp l i e doneach s ide[ S E E F I G U R E S 2 i b c ] . T he bodie s of the torches cons i s t o f pa ne l so f de s i gnscreatedbycomplex appl iedf i l igree andde c or a ti ve g r a nu l a t i on . S u r r ou nd i ng theto rches a re f lora l t end r i l s spr in ging f rom t iny ca lyxes of acanthus on each s ideof the b a c kof the S t p ha n e [ S E E F I G U R E 21e] .T he de l icacyo f these t endr i l sisin m a r ke d c on t r a s t to the h e a v ie r f o r m sof the torch . I n s om e a r ea sthe torchescovert h e t e nd r i l s , i nd i c a t i ng t h a t t h e t o r c he s m u s t h a v e b e en a n a nc i e n t m od i -f i c a tion of the o r ig in a l des ign . T he two s ides of the S tpha ne a re jo ined w i th adou b le -h inge con s t ruc t ion in the cente r f ro n t of the S tphane , marked by a goldH e r a k l e s kno t [ S E E F I G U R E 16] . The pins that hold the hinges in place arem ade of tw is ted w i re , an anc ien t t echniqu e , and ind ic a te tha t e ach h ing e has

Figure 2aStphane ,front v i e w .Late third-early secondc e n t u r y B .C. Go ld ,withcarne l i an , glass,a ndpossibly shell. D iame te rabou t 15.2 x 16.7 cm(6 x65/8in.). Ma l ibu ,J. Pau l Get t y Museum( 9 2 . A M . 8 . 2 ) .Figure2bBack v iew of Stphane,figure 2a.

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Figure 3aHai rne t , s i de v i ewshowing p ro f i l e o fAphrod i t e . La tethird-ear ly s e c o n d c e n t u r yB.C. Gold sheet , app l i edgold de ta i l , w i t h s t one(poss ib l y garne t ) beadsan d i n lays . Domeheight 6.5cm(2Vi i n . ) ;d iameter at base8 cm ( 3 V s in .). M a l i b u ,J. Pau l Ge t t y Museum(92.AM.8.1).

Figure 3bThree-quar t e r v i ew o fha i rne t , f i gu re 3a.oppositeFigure 3cMeda l l i on o f ha i rne t ,f i gu re 3 a , s h o w i n gA p h r o d i t e .


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been preserved w ithout anym odern repair . O r iginal ly , e ightg r ou ps o ft as s e le d pe nda n t s h u n ga tr eg u la r in te rva l s f romthe bot tom edge of the S t p h a n e [ S E E F I G U R E 2 a ] . T hef i v e s u r v i v i n g p e n d a n t s a r e d e c o r a t ed w i t h c a r n e l i a n ,c r i z z l e d green g la s s , a nd avery c o r r o d e d ivory-coloredm a t e r i a l ,p r ob a b l y s h e l l [ S E E F I G U R E 2 i a ] .T heo the r ha i ro r n a m e n t a nexq u is i t e go ld ha i r -n e t c o n s i s t s o f ac e n t r a l m e da l l i on ,apa t t e r ne d b a nd t h a tp a s s e d a r o u n d th e base o f t h e w e a r e r ' s h a i r b u n , a n d th echa instha t l inkthese tw o together [ F I G U R E S 3 a c ] . O r n a -m e n t a l dou b l e - s t r a nd t a s s e l s da ng l e f rom the m e d a l l io na n d f rom the pa t t e r ne d b a nd [ S E E F I G U R E 3 2 e ] .T he cen-t ra l m e da l l i on de p i c ts A ph r od i t e w i t h a t iny Eros tuggingat the s h ou l de r of her g a r m e n t . T he i m a g e is ra ised b yr epouss f rom as i ng l ec i r cu la rd i s ko f gold sheet tha t w asl a t e r chased fo rde t a i l .T he m e d a l l i o ni ss u r r o u n d e d by aser ies of shor t tubes made of rol led sheet gold and proba-b lyo r i g i n a l l y i n l a i d w i t h t i n y co lo r fu l g e m s o r p e r h a p spear l s . C onc e n t r i c b a nds o f f il i g r eed and appl ied decora -t ion , cons t ruc ted f rom tw is ted w i rea n dbeads o rg r a nu l e s ,su r ro un d the por t r a i t o f A phrodi te . T he lower edge of thef lex ib le dom e con s i s t s o f a na r ro w gold ban d deco ra tedw i t h ad e l i ca te ly app l iedf i l igreev ine des ign w i th r ep oussleaves , s p i r a l - b e a de d w i r e , a n d g r a n u l a t e d d e t a i l s [ S E EF I G U R E 3 2 a ] . T h e b a n d i s m a d e u p o f t w o ha lves .A s o nthe S t p h a n e,aH e r a k l e s k n o t j o i n sthe tw o s i de s on theto p [ S E EF I G U R E 32,b], but the t r u e f a s t e n i ngw as a t t hebot tom wi th a p in (which i s no t pre se rved) th rough twos i m p l e loops o fgold w i re . E igh t t r ip le rows o f gold spoolbeads connec t th e m e d a l l io nto th eb a nd [ S E E F I G U R E 320] .B e t w e e n t h e s poo l r ow s a r e d i a gona l c h a i n s w i t h s m a l lm a l ea n d f e m a l e r e pou s s m a s ks w h e r e th e c h a i n s in t e r -sec t [ S E E F I G U R E S 3 2 f - i ] .

Figure4Ear r i ngswithH e l len is t icEro tes , rosette d i s k s ,a nd bu l l heads.Late third-early s ec ondc en tu ry B. C . Go ld ,wi t h pear ls .Height 4.5cm( 3/4in.).Malibu,J. P a u l Get ty Museum( 9 2 . A M . 8 . 5 ) .

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O ne o f th e three sets o fe a r r i n g s i n c o r p o r a te s c h u b b yf igures ofw i n g e dEro tes c a r ry ing to rches [ F I G U R E 4 ] , T h e e a r r i n g s , m a d e u p o f o v er a h u n d r e ds e p a r a t e s m a l l c o m p o n e n t s r a n g i n g f rom shee t go ld to m inu te g r anu les , a r ecom posed o f th r ee m a j o r se gm ent s : a bu l l head , a rose t t e , and an E r te [ S EEF I G U R E S 22a-c]. Be tween the bu l l head and the rose t t e i s a pear l . The E r tes u s p e n d e d f rom th e roset te isc o m p o s e d of two sheet -gold repouss halves sol -dered toge ther . T h ew i n g s , p a t e r a , t o r ch , b a n n e r s , a n d b a n d o l i e r w i t h g r a n u l e sa rea l l separ a t e f ea tu r es tha t were ind epen den t ly so ldered on t othe f igure .

T h e t w o o t h e r p a i r s o f e a r r in g s a r e i d e n t ic a l l y m a n u f a c t u r e d h o o p sw i t han te lope heads [ F I G U R E S 5ab] .T h is is the bes t -know n ear r in g type f rom theH e l l en i s t i c w o r l d , a nd these an te lope heads d i sp l ay the typ ica l char ac te r i s -t i c s r o u n d e d , d o e l i k e f e a t u r e s ; c i r c u l a r e y e s; a n d h o r n s a r c h i n g b a c k o v erthe h e a d .

Figure5aAnte lope -head ea r r i ngs .Probab l y latethird-earlys ec ond c en tu ry B. C .Gold a nd pear ls ; s toneor pas te in lays m iss ing .Diame te r abou t 2.0 x1.4cm 3 ( / 4 x V 2 in. ) .Mal ibu , J. Paul GettyMuseum (92.AM.8.3-.4).Figure 5bDetail o f an te lope headf rom ea rr ing ,figure 5 a ,with c h a ra c t e r i s t ica rc hed ho rns , doe l i kef e a t u re s , a n d c i r c u l a reyes (or ig ina l ly i n la id ) .

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P a i r s o f s n a k e a r m l e t s [ F I G U R E S 6ac] a n d b ra ce -l e t s [ S E E F I G U R E S 35a c ] add to the e x o t i c a p p e a l of theg r o u p o fj e w e l ry .T he bra ce le t s a nd a rm le t s so close ly ma tc hea ch o ther in t h e i r t e c h n i q u e a n d s ty lethat t h e y m u s t h a vebeen conceived a s a set. Eachof the hea vy a rm le t sconsistso f a s i n g l e m u l t i p l y c o i le d s n a k e d e s i g n e d t o e n c i r c l e th ew e a r e r ' s u p p e r a r m . T h e b ra ce le t s , ma de u p o f f o u r sol-dered go ld co i l s ,a ree a c h c o m p o s e d o f t w o fu l l sna kes f a c -i n g i n o p p o s i t e d i r e c t i o n s . A l l t h e s n a k e s a r e e m b e l l i s h e dw i t h d e c o r a ti v e e n g r a v i n g a n d p u n c h i n g . A s is u s u a l f o rs u c h p a i r s , th e a r m l e t s a n d bra ce le t s ea ch f o rm m i r r o ri m a g e s of theother. O n t he ba ck o feach is a hi n g e d j o i n tw i t h e l a b o r a t e f i l i g r ee d e c o r a t io n [ S E E F I G U R E S 6bc] .T he h i n g e w a so r ig ina l ly he ld c losed by a p in cons t ruc tedf rom a c o p p e r - a l l o y tu b e , w h i c h r e m a i n s i n p l a c e o n o n e o fthe a r m l e t s [ S E E F I G U R E 6b,l e f t ] .B eca use copper i sm u c hh a r d e r t h a n g o l d , i t w a s o f t e n u s e d to s t r e n g t h e n s t r e s spo in t s such a s c l a sps .

T he las t p ieces in the j e w e l r y a s s e m b l a g e a re f rag-m e n t s o f c h a i n s o r n e c k l a c e s . T h e s t r a n d o f m u l t i c o l o r e dg e m s a n d go ld cons i s t s o ftwen ty -e igh t spheres a n d beads[ S E E F I G U R E 37] .T he r a n d o m a r r a n g e m e n to f the bea ds ism o d e r n . T h e s e p a ra t e s m a l l p o l i s h e d o r a n g e c a r n e l i a n w i t ha d r i l lho le in i t s s tem i s o f a m a te r i a ls i m i l a rto the ca rne l i a nbea ds in the s t r a nd . T he shor t cha in o f ho l low go ld cow r ieshel ls has n o c l a sp , so i t mayo r ig in a l ly ha ve been longer[ S E E F I G U R E 36]. I t c o n s i s t s t o d a y o f twe lve she l l s con -nected by s t r ip - t w i s t e d d o u b l e s t r a n d s of go ld w i re .Thed e c o r a t i o n o n the conca ve s ide of the s h e l l s isi n c i s e d .

oppositeFigure 6aPair of matching armletswi th s ing le co i l ed snake.Probab l y late third-ear ly s e c o n d c e n t u r yB C Go ld . D i a m e t e rabout 7.6 x 6.9 and7.1 x 6.7 cm (3 x2 3 a n d 2 3 x 2 5/e in. ) .M a l i b u , J. Pau l Ge t t yMuseum (92.AM.8.6).Figure 6bB a c k o f a r m l e t s ,f i gure 6 a.

aboveFigure 6cClose-up of hinge ofon e o f the a r m l e t s ,f i gure 6a; p in m i ss ing .

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A L E X A N D E R T H E G R E A T :A N E W G O D I N E G Y P T

G reek gold f rom Egypt seems l ike a cont rad ic t ion in t e rm s s ince anc ien tGreek a nd E gyp t i a nc iv i l iza t i o n swere a s d i s t i nc t as twocu l tu re s cou ldbe . Y e t , a t the t ime when th i s j ewel ry was crea ted, the land of the N i l e w a s nolonger ru led by na t ive Egyp t ian pha raohs bu t ra ther byM a c e don i a n k i ngs. I nthe cou r t o fthese fo re ign k i ngs , G r e e k c u l t u r e s e e m e d to t r i u m ph ov er the oldwo r ld of the pha rao hs .

T he gold jewelrycan be t raced back to the th i rd a nd second centu -ries B . C . , w h e n G r e e k c u l t u r eha dd ram a t ica l ly spread ac ross the b o u n d a r i e so fth eG r e e k m o t h e r l a nd .I t wa s ape r iod when the in f luen ce o fGreece extended a sfa r a s Pe r s ia an d I n d i a , an agew i th G reek c i t ie s in C e n t r a l A s ia , and a t i m e inwhich even th e nomadic people s f rom th e A s ia n s teppes were accus tomed toG r e e k t r ad i t ions . Th i s e ra was l inked a s no o the r to a s ing le m a n A l ex a n de rtheG r e a t [ F I G U R E 7 ] .W i th o u th i m a n d h i sl e ge nda r ym i l i t a ryc a m pa i gns t h e rewould have been no Greek cul ture in Egypt , no G r a e co - M a c e don ia n k i ngs onthe th rone o f the pha raohs , and no a s sem blage ofjewel ry .

In 336 B . C . , at the age of twen ty-one , A lexande r a scended to the t h r oneof M acedn , a r eg ion in the nor the rn p a r tof the G reek wor ld a round m o d e r n -day T hessa lon ik i . T he M acedo nians and the Greeks were not e spec ia l lyfo n d o feacho the r , a l though the M aced onian s d id u se the Greek lang uag e and had c loseaf f in i t ie s w i th Greek cu l tu re . T he democra t i c Greek c i ty s t a te s we re s t ronglyoppos ed to the socia l s t ruc ture of the M a c ed o n ia n s , w ho were ru led by k ingsa nd aproud a r i s toc racy .O p en c on f r o n t a t i on e nsu e d w h e n P h i l i pn, the f a therofA l e xa nde r the Grea t , forced the s p l i n t e r e d G r e ek w or l d u nde r M a c e don i a nsupremacy. W h enA lexander succeeded to the thronea f ter thea s sas s ina t ion o f

Figure 7Por t ra i t of A lexande r th eGrea t . Greek, c i rc a320 B.C . Marb le . Height29.1cm(ll1/2in.).Mal ibu , J. Pau l Get tyMuseum (73.AA.27) .

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h is f a t h e r , th e G r e e k s i m m e d i a t e l y r e b e l l e d a n d r e f u s e d to s u r r e n d e r u n t i lA lexander ' s fo r ces cap tu red the i r p roud c i ty o f Theb es , burn ed i t to the g rou nd ,and soldi tspeople in toslavery.T hedest ruct ion of Thebes openedthe wa y for they o u n g k i n g to m a r s h a l h is forces a nd the t roops o f h i s a l l iesa g a i n s t th e P e r s i a nE m p i r e .

In the m idd le o f the fou r th cen tu ry B .C . the em pi r e o f the Pe r s i anA c h a e m e n i d s s tr e tc h e d f rom the coas t s o f m o d e r n - d a y T u r k e ya nd Sy r i a to theborder s o fI n d i a , a n d f rom theC e n t r a l A s i a n s t e p p es o fm o d e rn - d a y T a j i k i s t a nto the p y r a m i d s o f anc ien t Egyp t. A lexander ' s cam paign ag a ins t th i s vas t a ndp o w e r f u l em pi r e wa s no t an unpro voked ac t o f wa r . In the ea r ly f i f th cen tu ryB . C .the P e r s i a n s ha d cap tu red the cityo fA t he n s a n d b u r n e d d o w n the t emples o ntheA kropo l i s . Whi le theGreek v ic to r iesat theba t t l e so fS a l a m i s ( 48 0 B . C . )a ndP la t aea (479 B .C. ) had saved Greece f rom the P e r s i an yoke , the Greek c i t ie s onthe coast ofA s ia M i n o r c o n ti n u e d to be at the mercyof theA c h a e m e n i d k i n g s .Even thoug h A lexander thus had the m ora l back ing o f the Greek w or ld , na t iveM acedon ians and m ercenar ies fo rmed the bu lk o f hi s l egendary a rmy . A nd whi l eeven T hrac i a ns , peop le f rom the nor thern f r ingeo f the Greek w or ld , were und erA l e xa n d e r' s c o m m a n d , fewGreeks served him . I n fact, t h o u s a n d s ofGreek mer -cenar ies jo ine dt he r anksof theP e r si a n a rm yto fighta ga ins t A lexander,and evenafter th em o s tdevastat ing de feat the Greek m ercenar ies s tub bor nly re jected A lex-ander ' s appea l t o j o i n the M aced on ian a rmy . N ever the less , i n a p ivo ta l conf ron -t a t ion in 333B . C .at I ssos , on the southern coast of mo dern T urkey, A lexanderc rushed the Pe r s i an forces.T his victory opened the routes to S yr ia , P alest ine , andeven Egypt .

I t w a s a t I s sos tha t P to l emy , the son of Lagos , f i r s t s tepped in to thespo t l igh to fw or ld history ,and we get ag l im p s eof the man w ho was toru l e Egyp tand es t ab l i sh a dynas ty [ F I G U R E 8]. T h e R o m a n h i s t o r i a n A r r i a n r e p o rt s t h a tP t o l e m y a c c o m p a n i e d A l e x a n d e r a t I s s o s w h e n the l a t t e r pur sued the f lee ingP e r s ia n k i n g . A l t h o u g h n o t a m e m b e r o f t h e M a c e d o n i a n n o b i l it y , P t o le m y b e -cam e A lexander 's pe r so na l bodyguard (somatophylax) a n d a n i m p o r t a n t off icerbecause o f h i s mi l i t a ry ach ievem ent s and h i s f r i e n d s h i p wi th the young k ing .

A l e x a n d e r u l t i m a t e l y a b a n d o n e d h i s p u r s u i t o f t h e P e r s i a n k i n g a n dturned instead to con qu er ing the coast of P alest ine. He reached Egypt in 332 B .C . ,but not as a conquero r ; r a ther , he c a m e to r escue the E g y p t i a n s w h o h a d been

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sub j ec t ed to the P e r s ian ru le tha t had ended centu r ie s o fEgypt ian sovereignty.T he local P ers ian governm ent capi tu-l a ted , and the people o fEgypt gree ted A lexande r and theM a c e do n i an s as the ir n ew ru lers . I n M e m p h is , the oldEgypt i an cap i t a l , A lexande r a scended the th rone of thepha ra ohs an d becam e in the eyes of the Egy pt ians the newH o r u s ,the fa lcon god(P seud o-K a l l i s thenes 1 .34.2 ) .A t t h esam e t ime , he became the son of O s i r i s , the Eg ypt ian godof th e u nde r w or l d and m y t h ic a l k i ngo f Egypt , a s we l l ast h e son o f A m m on R e , t h e su n god w h om t h e G r ee ksequated with Z e u s t h es u p r e m ef igu re of the Greek pan-t h eon . T hus , a young k ing f rom a provincia l a rea of theGreek wor ld suddenly em erged a s a new god in Egypt .

I n o r de r to l e g i t i m i z e h i s d i v i ne st a t u s , the newpharaoh t r ave led wes t th rough the L ibyan dese r t to thef a m o u s orac leo fA m m on in the oas i s o fS i w a h , w h e r e hewa s gree ted a sA m m o n 'sson . A lexande r and a l l the P to le -m i e s that were to fo l low h im on the t h r one o fEgypt we reviewed asM acedonian k ings , Egypt ian pha raohs ,a ndl iv inggods . Educatedin thec u l t u r a l t r a d i t i onso fanc ien t Greeceby the fam ous ph i losophe r A r i sto t l e, A lexande r w a s sud-denly the ru le r of an O r i e n t a l k i ngdom w h o s e t r ad i t ionsref lected t h o u s a n d s o fyearso fh i s tory .T o t h e G r e e k m i ndthis could not have been more myster ious or exot ic .

In 331B . C . A l ex a n d er left Egypt , neve r to r e t u r nthere ag a in al ive . Before de pa r t i ng , he f o u n d e d on theM e d i te r ra n e a n coas t a new c i ty tha t bore h i s n am e A lexandr ia . Wi th in a fewye a r s A l e x a nd ri ano ton ly becamethe new capi t a l o f Egypt , but i t a l so emerged as the m o s tim por tan t cen te r o f the M edi te r r anean . However, be foret h i s c ou ld h a p pe n A l e x a nde r s ti l l h a d t o a s s e m b l e h isforces for adecisive bat t le aga inst th e Pe r s i ans . In 331 B . C .a t G a u ga m e l a , ne a r the r ive r T igr i s inA s s yr ia , A l e xa nde rdefeated D a r i u sin, a nd t h e P e r s i a n E m pi r e o f t he A c h a e -

SlFigure 8Por t ra i t o f P to l em y i.Al l eged l y found in theFay um . Abou t 30 0 B . C .Marble. Height 26 cm(10V A in. ) . C openhagen ,Ny Ca r l sbe rg Glyptotek( c a t . n o . 253a).Photo:J o Seising.

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igurRecons t ruc t ion of thetom of A l exande rth eGreatan d the necropo l isofthe Ptolemiescreated by Ptolemy iv .Model and photo by Fa.Panasensor. BerndKammermeier.Reproduced by cour tesyof Fa.Panasensor.

m e n i d s fina l ly co l l apsed , the reby en d in g i t s l engthy threa t t o the G reek andEgyp t ianwor lds .

After th is b r i l l i an t v ic tory A lexander stormed through As ia , reach ingthe borders o f I n d i a before r e t u r n i n g to B aby l on i n 323 B . C . In t h i s o ld M e s o -pota m ian ca pital , A lexander sudde nly died. He was thir ty -three years old . Thisunexpected event forced h is genera l s , who had been busy prepar ing for newc a mp a i g ns a nd c on que s t s , to a r r an ge f o r A lexander s success ion . T he n ob i l i t yof Mac edn divided the newly expanded em pire am ong Alexander s gen erals .One of t he ma ny governors soon t o depar t for t he i r new reg ions was P to lemy,son of Lagos , who had a r ranged to rule Egypt . Wi th authori ty over this o ldpharaon ic rea lm Pto lemy gained con t ro l of one of the m o s t impor t an t par t s o fA le x a nde r s e m p i r e.

Ptolemy did not enter Egypt as a king. He assumed t h a t t i t le in 3067305 B.C. , however, t he reby foun d in g the house of P to lemy and the dynas ty ofthe Lagids , which w as to rule E gyp t u n t i l t he dea th of the f am ous K leopa t ra vuin 30 B.C. To ce lebrate the deif ied founder of the dynasty of the Lagids, thek ings were a ll name d Pto lemy; they were d is t ingu ished by second nam es suchas Ptolemy i Soter (the savior), Ptolemy in Euergetes ( the benefactor) , andPtolemy ivPhilopator ( the o ne w h o loves h is f ather) .

A lexander sem balmed body was re turned to Egypt in a go lden sarcoph-agus and chariot in 3 2 2 / 3 2 1 B .C . A t o m b was prepared for him in the old capi-

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ta l o f M e m ph i s , b u t w i t h i n a f e w ye a rs P t o l e m y i had theb ody t r a ns f e r r e dto the new c a p i t a lo fA l e x a n d r ia [ F I G U R E9].T he re th e f ou nde r of an e m p i r e w h o h a d ushered in an e w a g e f o u n d his f inal r e s t ing p lace w i th in a circle o fP t o l e m a i c tombs tha t wou ld grow ove r the next tw o cen-tu r ie s. The d iv ine k ing w as so im por tan t for the l eg i t im i -z a t i on of the new dynas ty of the P t o l e m i e s tha t its firstsilvercoins were issued with th epo r tra i t head o fA lexande rth eGreat.O n these coins A lexanderi ssometim es por trayedw i th a m in ia tu r i z ed In d ian e lep han t sk in on h i s head a s as ym b o l of his t r i u m p h in I nd i a . I n s t e a d of or in a dd i t i onto the e lephant t u s ks a nd t r u nk , A l e x a nde r is a lso of tens h ow n w i t h r a m ' s h o r ns overhis ears [ F I G U R E 10] , whichrefer to his descent f rom t h e E gyp t i a n r a m - h o r ne d godA m m on. A lexande r is fu r the rm ore of ten depic ted drapedin a n aegis bordered by snakes , an a t t r ibu te o f Z e u s, th em a i n god in the Greek pantheon. These unique a t t r ibu te sce lebra te th e ascension of a new god.

A f t e r A lexande r ' s dea th , o rac les prophes ied tha tthe count ry tha t he ld the body of the l egenda ry k ing w ou ldbe ex t reme ly power fu l and weal thy (A el ian Varia Historia12.64). These prophecies proved t rue : In the th i rd centu ryB . C . Egypt was inc on t r o l o fa l m o s ta ll the coas ta l r eg ionsof the eas te rn M edi te r r an ean , and , a s a supe rpow er w i th as t rong nava l pre sence , she mo re or l e ss r egu la ted t r ade andc o m m e r ce . T o m a i n t a i n t h e i r w e a l t h a n d p o s i t i o n , t h eP tolem ies , jus t l ike the ancien t pharao hs , ba t t led en dless lywi th Syr ia a n d M e s o p o ta m i a . T h ei r m a i n e n e m y was theS e l e u c i dE m p i r e , f o u n d e db ya n o t h e ro fA l e x a n d e r 's g e n -era l s ,w h o s er ea lm s t re tched f rom Syr ia to the b o r de r s o fI n d i a . T h e P t o l e m i e s a nd t h e S e l e u c id s w e r e pe r e nn i a le ne m i e s . T he so-ca ll ed S yr ianW a r s typ i f i edt he pol i t i c a lrelations between the tworea lm s , which were charac ter izedb y f r e q u e n t t r a n s i t i on s be t w e e n pe a c e a nd b l oody w a r .

Figure1Te t rad rac hm ofL y s i m a c h o s . Obv e rs e :A l e x a n d e r as sonofZ e u s - A m m o n , withr a m s horn a n d d i adem .317-309 B.C. Silver.London, The Br i t i shMuseum (1919.8-20.1).

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Figure11Aer i a l v i ew o f A lexand r i ain the time of thePtolemies. The harborwi th the Pha ros look ingno r th o ve r the M ed i -t e r r a n e a n Sea is in thefo reg round . Drawing :Ul r i ke Den is .

Figure12R e c o n s t r u c t i o n d r a w i n gof t he Pha ros , th elighthouseofA l e x a n d r i a ;bu i l t be tween 297and 283 B.C. O r ig ina lof s tone , height 120-140 m. F rom H.T h i e r s c h , Pharos,AntikeIslam un d Occident(Le ipz ig1909),fo ldou t f ron t i sp iece .


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A L E X A N D R I A , A N E W C I T YI N A N O L D W O R L D

I n the roman t i c t r ad i t ion o fA lexander' s b iography , S e r ap is (a god c o m b i n -ingEgyp t i an a n d Greek character is t ics , invented b yP t ol em yi) appeared inone o fA lexander' s d r e a m s .Q u o t in gH o m e r, the goddi rected A lexander to thesitew here he w as to f o u n d his new city , A lexandr ia [ F I G U R E n].T he city n o tonly exploi ted the w e a l th o fEgyp t bu t a l so impor t ed luxury i t ems f rom placesas f a r away as In d i a . To p ro tec t the sh ips en te r ing i t s ra ther dangerou s harbo r s ,Sos t r a tos o fK n i d o sw asc o m m i s s io n e d toerectag igan t i c l i gh thou se .T hel i gh t -house was b u i l t be tween 297a nd 283 B . C . F I G U R E 12 ] on the i s l an d of P haros ,f rom w h i c h it took its n a m e . S o m e120-140 mh i g h , the l i g h t h o u s e m u s t h a v ebeen r egarded in a n t iq u i ty as a skyscr aper . I t s con s t ruc t ion cos tmore than e igh th u n d r e d t a l e n t s t h ee q u i v a l e n to f20,800kg ofs i lver .T heP h a r o s , w h i c hw a s

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Figure13aModelofthef/ia/amegos,th e sh ip pa lace o fP t o l e m y i v ; s ide v iew .Orig ina l built between222/221and 204B . c .M o d e l built fo r docu -men ta ry film T he Under-water Journey ofKleopatra by Gun te rKlein.Model andphotoby Fa . Panasenso r . B e rn d K a m m e rm e i e r .Rep roduct ion byc o u r t e s y o f F a . Pana-sensor .Figure13bR e c o n s t r u c t i o n d r a w i n goffrontof theThalamegos, f igure 13a.

o n e o f the Seven Wo n d ers o f t he A n c i en t Wo r ld , su rv ived in to t he fo u r t een thc e n t u r yA .D .w h en i t wa s d es t ro y ed by a ne a r t h q u a k e .

A l e x an d r i a w a s m o s t d e f i n i t e l y a royal c i ty . T h e g e o g r a p h e r S t r a b os t a t e s t ha t p a l ace qu a r t e r s o n ce o ccup i ed a qu a r t e r o r p e rh ap s even a t h i rd o f thecity. T he o lder palaces were located o n Cap e Lo ch i as , w he re each P to l em yerec t ed h i s o wn p a l ace mo re o r l e s s a d j a c e n t t o t ho se o f h i s p red ecesso rs . Thep a l a c e a n e s se n t i a l ro y a ls y m b o l e v e n m u t a t e d i n t o ash ip in the f o rm o f thef a m o u s c a t a m a r a n Tha lamegos [ F I G U R E S i 3 a b ] , c r e a te d u n d e r P t o l e m yiv(r.222-204B . C .) f o rt r a v e l i n go n t h e N i le a nd i t st r i b u t a r i e s . H o w e v e r, m u c h l iket h e o t h e r e x a m p l e s o f P t o l e m a i c a r c h i t e c t u r e d i s c u s s e d b e l o w , t h e c a b i n o n t h i ss h i p h a d f ea tu r e s m u c h m o r e c lo s e ly l i n k e d t o a M a c e d o n i a n p a l a c e t h a n t o a nan c i en t sh ip . I n fact, a l t ho ug h P to l emy ivf u n c t i o n e d as an E g y p t i a n p h a r a o h ,l i k e th e P t o l e m a i c l in e b e f o r e h i m , th e o n l y E g y p t i a n e l e m e n t s in h i s p a l aces h i p were fo un d i n a s i n g l e ro o m o n the up p e r d eck .

J u s t as the Get ty jewel ry a l l ud es to E g y p t i a n i d e a s , a l t h o u g h it s ico-n o g r a p h y i sG r e e k ,so the s a m e c u l t u r a l b l e n d i n gisr e p r e s e n t e d inA l e x a n d ri a ntombssomeof the o n ly examp les ofA l exan d r i an a rch i t ec tu reof the Ptole-

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m aic per iod to su rv ive. T he m et rop o l i s , a nd espec i a l ly the roya l qua r t e r s , su f -fered e x te n s iv e d a m a g e i n t h e t i m e s o f th e R o m a n e m p e r o r s . T h e c i ty c e n t e rw as l i tera l lyr e b u i l t b e g i n n i n gin theninetee nth century. Co nsequent ly ,n o tevenas ing le g round p l an from an A lexandr i an house ex i s ts t oday . The sam e ho lds t r uefo r A l e x a n d r i a n p a l a c e s, i n c l u d i n g the pa l ace o f K l e o p a t r avu, w h i c h has sooften sparked thei m a g i n a t i o n .

A l though dep lo r ab ly f ew r ema ins su rv ive , we know tha t the A lexand r i annob i l i ty l ived i nh o u s e so fGreek style w i th central colonnaded cour tyards , s im i-la r to the one seen in an i m p o r t a n t t o m btha t ac tua l ly incorpora t es such ap e r i -s ty le [ F I G U R E 14] .A s i n G r e e k h o u s e s , t h e r e w a s a m a s s i v e b a l u s t r a d e a b o v ethe c o l u m n s a b u t t i n gthe f la troof . O r iented tow ard these inn er cour tyards , Greekhouses m ayhave p resen ted f acades tha t were no tvery app ea l in g aes the t i ca l ly .

T he r a ther r es t r a ined n a tu re of the exter iors o fo r d i n a r y h o m e swas,however , inm a r k e d c o n t r a s tto theexter iorso froyal palac es.I na d d i t io n toplay-ing a r e l ig ious ro l e , Egyp t i an k ings r ep resen ted the s t a t e . The i r a r ch i t ec tu r a lr e p r e s e n t a t i o n s had to beo p u l e n t a ndeven d r ama t i c . T he i r pa lacesa n d t e m p l e swere cons t ruc ted wi th impress ive facades , huge rows o f co lonnades , and corn-

i g u r 4Rec ons t ruc t i on d rawingof per i s t y le c o u r t y a r dof Tomb 1 ofMustafaPas ha . Hel len ist icera. Univers i ty o f Tr ier ,Arc haeo log i c a l Institute,Drawing C o l l e c t i o n(1996.17B). Drawing :Ulr ike Denis . M i c h a elPf rom m er .

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Figure 15Rec ons t ruc t i on d rawingof in terior o ftempleliketomb f rom Sukh el -W a r d i a n ( A l e x a n d r i a )withkline (d in ing c o u c h )an d altar.Latethird-ear ly second cen tu ryB C Univers i ty of T r i e r ,A r c h a e o l o g i c a l Institute,Drawing C o l l ec t i on(1998.1B2). Drawing:Ul r ike Denis. M i c h a e lPf rom m er .

p lex en t r ances tha t p r epared the v i s i to r for h is step up to a higher level of thewor ld . A b r i l l i a n t exa m ple of this arc hi tectural langu age is preserved in theanc ien t desc r ip t ion o f the sh ip pa l ace o f P to l emyiv [ S E E F I G U R E S i3a-b,31].T h e r e w i n d o w s h a d b e c o m e a d o m i n a n t f e a t u r e o f t h e a r c h i t e c t u r a l l a n g u a g e ,desp i t e th e fact tha t those w indows were p robably a lways kep t c losed . Bo th thew i n d o w m o t i f and the whole s t r uc tu re o f these b u i l d i n g s a re r e m i n i s c e n t o ft h e p a l a c e s i n th e M a c e d o n i a n h o m e l a n d o f t h e P t o l e m a i c k in g s . T h e ro y a la r ch i t ec tu r e , l ike the j ewel ryo f t h e A l e x a n d r i a n n o b i l it y ,ref lected M a c e do n ia ndescen t .T hein ter ior ofpr ivate houses andpalaces m u s thave been decorated bycolorful m o s a i c s l ike thosed i scovered m os t r ecen t ly in the eas t e rn pa l ace quar -ters in A l e x a n d ri a . O n e m o s a i c d e p i c t s w i t h s t r i k i n g r e a l i s m the dog of thepa t ron ; ano ther shows ascene wi th t w o m e nw r e s t li n g .

T h e A l e x a n d r ia n t o m b e a s i ly p a s s e s a s a n e n t i r e l y G r e e k s t r u c t u r eu n t i l w e no t i ce t h e r ow o f E g y p t i a n s p h i n xe s p r o t e c t i n g thet o m ba nd t h e de -c e a s e d [ S E E F I G U R E 14]. T h e i n t e r i o r c h a m b e r s o f t o m b s s o m e t i m e s t o o k o nth e i l l u s i o nofG r e e k t e m p l e s , a si l l u s t r a t e di n F I G U R E 15 by the i n n e r e n t r a n c ew i th i t s st eps a nd ped im en t and a n a l t a r fo r vo t ive o f fe r ings . B u t w i t h i n t h e

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c h a m b e r ,w h e r ew ewou ld expect th e s t a t u eof a god in the caseo f a t e m p l e , w ee nc ou n t e r a m a g n i f i c e n t k line (d in ing couch) , a symbol ic r e s t ing p lace for thedeceased. Just above the kline is a smal l niche meant to hold the remains of thedeceased. B y t h e t i m e theP t o le m i e s ha d t o m b sl ike th is one , the af terl i fe of thedead w a s t h ou gh t to be be t te r than i t had been in the t radi t ional Greek view.A c c or d ing toH o m e r 's descr ipt ion of the fateo f h is m o st br i l l ia nt heroes , sucha sA c h il l es ,the Greeks be l ieved th a t ap e r s o n e v e n a h e ro b e c a m e no t h i ngbut ashadow in theu np l e a s a n t da r k w or l d o fHades , the Greeka f t e rwo r ld . T hefa r mo re appe a l ing Egy pt ian v iewof the af terl i fe saw thedeceased fu se o rm e r gew i t h the god O s i r is , afact tha t m a ye x p l a i nth e r iseo f new r e l ig ions such as theD i o n y si a nm ys te r ie s , wh ichoffered a tl e a s t som e sor t o fde s i r a b l eaf terl i fe . P e r -h a ps E gyp t i a n i c onog r a ph ya n d s tyle were not the ca ta lys ts fo r the b l e n d i n gofthe two cu l tu re s , bu t the Egy pt ian wa y of th in kin g ce r t a in ly seems to have t akeni ts placein the m i x t u re .

D e s p i t e the legend abou t A lexande r the G r e a t ' s f ou nd i ng o fA l ex a n-dr i a , recent discoveries in the muddy wa te r s of the ha rbor o f A lexandr ia byunde rwa te r a rchaeologi s t s have revea led grand monuments in pha raonic s ty lec rea ted m any centu r ie s be fore A lexandr ia becameaP tolem aic c ity.T heinscr ibedn a m e so f the pha raohs r i s ingou t o fthe i rw e t t om b i nc l u de R a m s e sn (r .12901 2 2 4 B . C . )and his fa ther , Se thos i (r. 13041290 B.C.) , both repre sent inga nera when pha ra onic Egypt r anked am ong the l e ad ing powers of the M edi te r -r a n e a n .Th is s t a tu sw a sr e s to r e d u nde rt here ignof theP t o l e m i e s .T heth i rd cen-tu ry B .C . ea s i ly r iva led the m o s t b r i l l i a n t pe r iods o f Egypt ' s pha raonic pas t .T h e se p r e v i ou s ly su b m e r ge d m onu m e n t s h av e c e r ta i n l y s t i m u l a t e d t oda y 'sin te re s t in the Eg ypt ian pas t ; i t i s not d i f f icul t to im agin e tha t they migh t havecont r ibu ted grea t lyto a r i s i n gEgy pt ian ae s the ti c in the new capi t a lat the t i m eo fP t o l e m i e s ' r u l e .

We can be sure tha t Egypt ian in f luence , or a t leas t the acceptance ofEgy pt ian ideas , increased over th ecentur ies .A t the end of theth i rd centu ryB .C. ,P t o l e m yivand h iss i s t e r/w i fe , A r s inoin,werethe f irs tP to lem a ic ru le rst ocallthe Egypt ians to a rms an d to have them t r a ined in M acedo nian m i l i t a ry t ac t ic s .S e l e u c o - S y r i a n forces in Pa le s t ine th rea tened the very exis tence of the P to le -m i e s a n d forced t h i s m ob i l i z a t i on .T he e n e m yw a s de f e a t e d , but the pr icef o r

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the success on the ba t t l e f i e ld w a s a r i s e i n E g y p t i a n n a t i o n a l i s m . T h i s g ro w -ing Egyp t i an ambiance , however , r emained an a l ien concep t i n A l e x a n d r ia ap r im ar i ly Greek c i ty in the th i rd cen tu ryB . C .A nc ien t au thor s ins i s t ed tha t theP t o l e m a i c m e t r o p o l i s w as located "c lose to" but not " in" E g y p t. A d d i t i o n a l l y ,a l t h o u g h A l e x a n d r i a w a s i n d ee d m u l t i c u l t u r a l ,m em ber s o f the Greek e l i t e con-t inued to t ry to protect thei r advantages in the faceo f a l a rge coun t ry tha t m ain -t a ined i ts own p h a r a o n i c t ra d i t i o n s .A n e x a m p l eof thed i f fe rences can be seenin the two cu l tu r es ' v i ews o f the i r r u l e r s . T he Greeks v i ewed th e P t o l e m i e s a sm o r t a l M a c e d o n i a n k i n g s ; a c c o r d in g l y , e a ch s u c c e e d i n g P t o l e m y h a d t o g a r n e rthe respect of h is forces and of the M a c e d o n i a n g u a r d.T o t h e E g y p t i a n s , h o w -ever , the P t o l e m a i c p h a r a o h s w e re g o d s o r l iv ing i m a g e s o f gods .A s such theyhad to g u a r a n t e e thew e l l - b e i n go ft h e i rsub j ec t s an dthe i r w or ld , a ndthey wereeven held responsible for adverse i n c i d e n ts i n c l u d i n g u n c o n t r o l l a b l e e v e n t so f na tu r e such as the absenceo f the f looding of theN i le .

T o t he P t o l e m i e s and theG reek e l it e , Egyp t r ema ined aconqu ered t e r -r i tory , a fact i l l u s t r a t e d b y a n c i e n t h i s t o r i a n s w h o r e c o u n t e d t h a t s h e w a s w o nby the spear . Given th i s background , i t i s not s u r p r i s i n g t h a t the Get ty goldrepresen t s the exc lus ive ly Greek e l em en t s o f P to l emaic soc ie ty .W e m u s t k e e pin m i n d th a t the term Greek refers t o k i n g s w h o w e r e a c tu a l l y o f M a c e d o n i a ndescen t , an dc o n s e q u e n t l yw e c a nexpect to f ind s om e a l l u s i o n st o M a c e d on i ant r ends and m ot i f s i n the i r a r t .

T h e G r e e k a f f in i t ie s o f the A lexan dr i an nob i l i t y a r e em bodied in thego lden S t phan e tha t once decora t ed the ha i r o f an upp er - c l ass l ady [ S E EF I G -U R E S 2a b] . The Stphane was created in the late thi rd or ear ly second cen-tu ry B .C. ,in thedaysof the four thor fifthP to l emy. L ike the i r k ings , m uchof thenobi l i ty o fA lexandr iahadM a c e d on i an ances to rs .They t raced the i r or igins ba ckto Herak les a nd the re fo re u l t imate ly to Z e u s , the f a t h e r o f this m o s t f a m o u shero . I t i s the re fo re no t s u r p r i s i n g to f ind a Herakles k n o t , a symbol o f thisdescen t ,in thecenter of the e l abora te S t phane [ F I G U R E 16].T hi s cen tr a l m ot i ffunc t ions as an apo t ropa ic symbol , toward o ffevil. S uch k n o t sw e r e i m p o r t a n tin many cu l tu r es , i nc lud ing anc ien t Egyp t , where they were fou nd in hiero-glyphics as the a n k h ,t heho ly symbol oflife.T he s u p p o s e d apo t ropa ic power ofkno t s w a s r ecogn iz ed and valued even in the t im e s of the ear l ier Egypt ian

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dyna s t i es , du r i ng t h e pe r iod o f t h e py r a m i d b u i l de r s , t w othousand yea r s be fore the P to lemies . However , s ince theGetty kn ot is ent i re ly in Greek s tyle , i t seems m ore appro-pr ia te to look for i ts Greek conn ota t ion s .

T o free h i m s e l f a n d g a i n a c c e p t a n c e from thegods , He rak le s had to com ple te twe lve l abors , o f wh ich thef i r s t wa ski l l ingtheN e m e a n l io n .T he f e r o ci o u s a n i m a lha da n invu lne rab le h ide , so the he ro had to s t r angle h im andthen use the l ion ' s c l aws to s k i n i t . T h r o u g ho u t h is l i f eHerak les p r i z e dt he h ideas at rophy; hew or e th e sca lponhis head l ike ah e l m e t a n d t ied the f ro n t pa w s of the a n i -m a l ' sh idei n ak n o t u n d e rh isc h i n .F I G U R E 17shows ho wth i s "Herak le s kno t" was t i ed .

Herakle s knots o f ten appea r o n dr in kin g vesse ls ,especially those l inked with th e hero. T he k n o t w as alsoincorpora ted in to wedding ce remonies , whe re the br ide ' sdress w as t ied with these magic knots . T he k n o t w a s b e -l ieved to be e spec ia l lybenef ic i a l fo r w o m e n ' s p r o t e c t io ndur in g ch i ldb i r th and m othe rhood. A s such , i t was a ve ryappropr i a t ee l em e n tfo rpieceso fjewel ry .T hek n o tw a sa lsol i n k ed t o t h e r i se o f t h e G r e e k p a n t h e on . T h e f a the r g od

Figure16Front of Stphane,f igure 2a , showingHerak les knot an ddoub le hingeswith p ins;inlaysmissing f rombezels an d knot.Figure17Schemat i c d raw ing o f aHerak lesknot. D raw ing :Toby Schre iber.

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Figure18Statuette of w o m a nwear i ng a Stphane witha Herak lesknot (detail).From Myrina.50-20B.C.Te r ra -c o t ta . Heightof statuette22.5cm(8% in.). Munich,A n t i k e n s a m m l u n g e n( S L 2 4 6 ) . Pho to :Chr is ta Koppe rm ann .Figure19Beren i k e II w e a r i n ga Stphane witha meda l l ion (de ta i l ) .F r o m R o m a nvilla at Bos c o rea le .FirstcenturyB.C.Wa l l - pa in t i ng . New Yo rk ,T he M e t ro p o l it a nMuseum ofArt, RogersFund,1903(03.14.5).

of the Greeks , Kronos , was be l ieved to have coupled with his s is te r and fellowT i t a n R h eai n as e r pe n t i nef a s h i o n l i k ed i v i ne s na ke s i n t e r t w i n i n gin aH e r a k -l es k n o t a n d thus tohave produced aw h o l e ge ne r a t i ono f gods .

A l though these and s imi la r kno t s were highly valued for the ir m agicalpower , i t w as no tu n t i l thet i m eo fP h i l ipn a n dA l ex a nder the Great tha t Greekj ewelers f i r s tdeveloped a n a r t i s t i c conceptfo r the sac red knot . D espi te appea r -in g qu i te l a te in the h i s tory o f G r e e k j ewelry , the Herakle s knot neve r the le s sd o m i n a t e d thew or l do fH e l l en i s t i cjewel ry .T hee x p l a na t i onfor i ts s u dde n pop -ular i ty is not d i f f icu l t to d i sce rn . T he e ra of A lexande r and the two fo l low ingcentu r ie s , wh ich were domina ted by M a c e don i a n dyna s t ie s , a re reple te withH e r a k l e s i conograp hy. A l though p ieceso fj ewel ryw i t h the Herakle s knot we revery fa sh io nab le in th i s pe r iod , the u se of the m ot i f shou ld not be seen exc lu -sively as ana l lu s ion to theo w n e r 's M acedonian descent. Even though th i scon-nota t ion is likely, the use of these kno t s a lso shows a t r end toward m agica lsym bol i sm in j ewe l ry . T he knot o f the Ge t ty S tpha ne i l lu s t r a te s tha t i t s anc ien town er was com ple te ly aware of the dom ina t ing t r en ds of he r time . I t i s the cen-terpiece of an e labora te headdress , and i t was m e a n t to res t direc t ly above theforehead o f itswearer .A n u m b e ro fsmal l te r ra-cot ta s ta tue t tes show aS t ph a ne

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wi th a Herakle s knot [ F I G U R E 18]. In anothe r v iew of how a S tphane wou ldhave looked when i t was w o r n , F I G U R E 1 9 i l lu s t r a te s the P t o l e m a i c q u e e nBeren iken (r .2 4 5 2 2 2 B . C . )f rom a w a l l - pa i n t i ng i n a R om a nvi l la in Bosco-realet h a tw a s b u r i e d b y th e e r u p t i on o f M ou n t V e s u v iu s in A . D .79 . (Be renike ' sS t p h a n e , however , has a medal l ion and not a Herakles knot in the center .)

Today these headdresses a re m o s t of ten referred to as d i a d e m s (ac rownl ike ornament ) , bu t " s tephane" (headdres s )is the more approp r ia te t e rmfor the pre sent d i scuss ion , for i t does not imply roya l r ank . In an t iqu i ty ad iadem was a ve ry spec ia l i t em tha t w as l inked a lmo s t exc lus ive ly to A lexande rthe Grea t , his successors , and the sphe re o fk i ngs . I t w a s s i m p l ya purple tex-t i le ban d tha t was r a re ly decora ted . O r ig ina l ly , d iadem s were pa r t o f the roya laccou t rem ents of the A chaem enid k ings ; when A lexande r cap tu red the Pe r -s i an E m p i r e ,h e i nc o r po r a t e d s om e o f the i r regal e l e m e n t s i n t o his royal cos-tum e . A ccord ingly , the ban dl ike d iadem , t ied in the ha i r w i th i t s ta s se led endsd a n g l i n g on the neck or f lowing a rou nd the shou lde r s , c ame to symb ol i ze k ing -sh ip . N o m an except the k ing h im se l f cou ld wea r or even touch the d iadem , a si l l u s t ra t ed in a f a m ou s s to r y a b ou t A l e x a nde r and h i s d i a d e m . D u r i n g a b oa texcur s ion i n M e s opo t a m i a th e w i nd s w e p t t h e d i a de m o f f t h e k i ng ' s h ea d a ndcar r ied i t away. A n ord ina ry sa i lor vo lun tee red to r e scue th i s symbol of the k inga nddove in tot hew a t e r.H e w a ssuccessfu l in re t r i ev ingthed i a d e m ,but ino r de rto pro tec t i t, he pu t i t on h i s ow n head , and by so do ing gam bled w i th h i s life.The ac t ion could have sentenced him to death for having profaned the symbolo f k i ngs h i p . Lucki ly he was given a monetary reward ins tead. Because the dia-dem i s asymbol o f royal ty , applyingth e term to the G e t ty p iece m igh t sugges ta royal s t a tus for the anonymous ownera conc lus ion tha t c annot be cor robo-rated in this case.

T he s ty le of He l len i s t i c Herakle s kno ts on jewe l ry changed ove r t ime ,and the re fore the knots prov ide a good chronologica l f ram ewo rk for da t ing . I nthe ea r ly He l len i s t i c pe r iodthe l a te fou r th a n d ear ly th ird centur ies B .C .gold knots w i thou t s tone - in la id bands were m o stc om m o n . T h is i s e x e m p l i f ie dbyth e golden knot o n abrace le tf rom T o u kh e l - Q u a ra m o u s [ F I G U R E 20].D i s-covered in the ru in s of a sm al l sanctua ry in the eas tern p ar t of the N i le D el ta , thebraceletwas pa r t o f a t r ea su re tha t w as bu r ied a roun d250-240B . C . I t w a s d i s -covered whe n adonkey s tepped on an ear thenware vesse l tha t ha d been h idden

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j u s t be low the surfaceof a pa th for m ore than two thousa nd yea r s . Whi le he lp-ing the a n i m a l out of the hole , the lucky Egy pt ian peasan t sudden ly had h ish a n d s full o fanc ien t go ld .

I n cont ra s t to ear lykno t s , the H e r a k le s kno t on the Ge t ty headdressw a s probab ly decora ted in the l e s s u sua l w a y w ith glass pa s te . I t the re forereflects th e f a s h i onofcolor inlaysf rom the second halfof theth i rd centu ry B . C . ,a stylet h a tw o u l d c on t i nu e tod o m i n a te thes u b s e q u e n t c e n t u ry .

A l t h ou gh de c o ra t e d w i t h t h e H e r a k l e s kno t a nd f u r t h e r e labora tedwi th t a s se l s [ F I G U R E 2 i a ] , th e s t e ph a ne ' s m os t s t r i k i ngfea tu re i s thetorch l ikee l e m e n t on each la tera l a rm [ F I G U R E S 2ib-d].M a deo fseve ra l s t r an dso fna r -row, torn sheets o f gold, the po i n t e d t ops of the gold torches depic t f l icker-ing f l ames and smok e . T he e labora te ly ornam ented and segm ented sha f t s o fthe torches r epre sent t igh tly boun d s t a lks o fp l a n t s , s om e o fw hich bu lge .T hetorches a rea lso decora ted w i th lozenge - shaped e lem ents , s cale pa t t e rns , c ross-ha tch ing ,and,d i rec t ly benea th the f l ames , an a r r an gem ent of ivy l eaves . Bothtorches a re borde red above and be low by t iny f lower t endr i l s f rom a c a n t h u scalyxes [ F I G U R E 2 i e ] .

T h e u s e o f t o r c he s w a s w i de s p r e a d a nd no t l i m i t e d t o a ny s pe c i a l c u l t .T o r c h e s a rek n o w n f rom D i o n y si a nfes t iva ls and asa t t r i b u t e so fde i t i e s sucha sD e m e t e r and he rd a u g h t e r , P e r s e p ho n e ,who a re a llc lose ly link edto theu n d e r -wor ld .W eknow o f torches alsoinc onne c t ion w i t h w e dd i ngs . T h is i m p l i e sthattorches had a gene r ic r e l ig ious connota t ion . However , th e extensive use o fto rches by dyn as t i c pr ie s t s in P to lem a ic Egypt is cor robora ted in pa r t i c u la r bythe in t rod uc t ion of a new c la s s of pr ie s t s du r in g the r e ign of K leop a t rain ( 1 1 6 106/105 B.C. ) . S headded aphosphores ( torch bearer) to the a l r eady ext ravagantn u m b e r o f dynas t i c pr ie s t s a nd pr ie s te s se s , wh ich ind ica te sthat torches wereprobab ly u sed in a ve ry w ide r ange of r e l ig ious contex ts . C onseq uent ly thes t e ph a ne ' s e x c e p t i ona l t o r c h m o t i f in a l ll i k e l i ho o d p o i n t s to acu l t ro lefor thea n o n y m o u s o w n e r o f t he j ewe l ry .

T heHerakle sk n o tand the ivy on thetorches m a yeven sugg est adynas -t i c cu l t . Ivy w as a symbol for the org ia s t i c god D ionysos . He rak le s and D ionysoswere the gods th e P t o l e m i e s ha d chosen as the ir divine ances tors . T he prefer-ence for D ionysos i s no t s u rp r i s ing , for in Greek mythology he had conque redInd i a , a fea tpa ra l l e led by the P to lem ies ' chosen hum an ances tor , A lexande r . In

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Figure 2B r a c e l e twithea r l yH e r a k l e sknot. F romTouk h e l -Qua ram ous ,Egypt . Second quar t e ro fthird c e n t u r y B . C .Go ld . Diameter 9.5 cm(33/4 in .). C a i r o ,Th e Egyp t ian Museum(J E38077).Figure 21aTas s e l f rom S tphane,f igure 2a , w i t hc a r n e l i a n s an d beze l fo rpas te or shel l in lays.


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Figure21bSide v i ew of t o r c hon S tphane , fi gu re 2a .

Figure 21cF lame o f app l ied to rchon Stphane, figure2a.


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the eyes of the P t o l e m i e s h i s to r yh a d r e p e a t e d i ts m y t h i c a l p a s t . I nA l e xa n d r iath ec u l t so f thed i v i n e q u e e n s w e r e a l s oo fp r i m e im p o r t a n c e . E a c ho f thef a m o u sq u e e n s h a d h e r o w n p r i e s t h o o d , a n d w e k n o w o f a sp e c i a l c u l t fo r a p r i n c e s s w h odiedat the age ofe ig h t .Weeven k n o wthe n a m e sofm a n yof these p r i e s t e s se s .N o b l e f a m i l i e sv i ed wi th each o the r f o r t hese ho n o redpositions,s o m e o f w h i c hw ere even heldby thec o u r t e s a n sof theP t o le m i e s .One s uch cu l t ex is tedfor oneofthemost f a m o u s c o u r te s a n sofP t o le m yn(r. 2 85 2 4 5 B .C . ) ;she was de i f ieda s a n e m b o d i m e n t o fAphrodite,an d he r cu l ts t i l lp r o s p e r e d m o r e th a n t w o c e n -t u r i e s l a te r , d u r i n gth e t im eo fA u g u s tu s .

G iventhe s y m b o l i s mofH e r a k l e sand D i on y s oson the S t p h a n e ,andin v iew o f t he f i n g e r r i n g s d i scussed be lo w, i t s eems en t i re ly p o ss ib l ethat th ea n o n y m o u s o w n e r o n c e b e l o n g e dto theexclusive c i rc leofd y n as t i c p r i e s t e s se s ,one of thecu l t sof thed i v i n e q u e e n s .

to p i g u r e21dRo l l ou t d r a w i n g ofS tphane, f i gu re 2a .Universi ty o f Trier,A r c h a e o l o g i c a l Institute,Drawing C o l l e c t i o n .Drawing : U l r i k e Den is .Figure 21eB a c k of S tphane ,f igu re 2a , showingl oops fo rc l o s u re .

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T H E G O D O F L O V EA S K I N G O F E G Y P T

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T heP t o l em i e s c on t i nu e d todrawthegods f rom the i r Greek t r ad i t ions in tothe A lexandr ian b lend of cu l tu re s . I t i s no su rp r i se , the re fore , to f ind twot i ny f igu re s of A phro di te ' s son , E ros , the Greek god of love , a s pend ants on oneof theb e a u t i f u l pa i r so fe a r r i ngs [ F I G U R E S 22a-c;S E EA L S O F I G U R E 4].T h e seu n i q u e e a r r i ngs r e p r e se n t ab l e ndo f t w o we l l -know n types: bu l l -head ea r r in gsa nd ea r r ings w i th Eros suspended benea th a decora t ive disk. T he Erotes , w hocar rytorches and f lu tes in the ir han ds , a re shown as babies and therefore be lon gto the He l len i s t i c pe r iod . In the C las s ica l pe r iod (4 80 32 3 B . C . ) E r os w ou l dhave been repre sen ted a s a ha l f -grow n boy w i th long w ings . The w ing ed babygod , the son of the god dess of love and beau ty , was u s ua l ly equ ip ped w i th a bowand arrows. His arrows del ivered a message of love , but a lso the message thatlove could hur t th e r ec ip ien t .A s a m e s s e nge r o f love , Eros w as w ide ly r epre -sented on jewelry; w ear ing th is type of jewe lry m ight rep resent a des ireb o t hf o rlove and for physica l beauty.

In thecaseof the Ge t ty pendants , Eroshasexchanged hisw e a pon for atorch . W e have a l r eady sugges ted tha t th e S t p h a n e w i t h i ts t o r c h m o t i f onc ebe longed to apr ie s te s s l inked w i th acu l tof the d iv ine queen s .A sroyal de i t iesthese queens were meant tor e p r e s e n t theG r e e ka n d E gyp t i a n w o r l d s ,a nd theywere consequent ly iden t i f i ed w i th Greek a n d E gyp t i a n goddes s es .T he Greeksub jec t s of the P t o l e m i e s in m o s t cases equated the queens w i th A phrodi te ,whe reas th e Egypt ians perce ived th e queens as I s i s . T he Egypt ian goddess I s i sw a s a f a r more comp lex de i ty than A phrodi te . A s h e r n a m e ( m e a n i n g " theth rone") sugges t s , she was c lose ly l inked w i th the roya l f a mi ly . A c c o r d ing t o


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Eg y p t i an bel ie fs , I s i sw a s ac tua l l ythe m o t h e r o feve ry p ha ra o h . S in ce themostf a m o u s queen s were rep re sen t ed as A p h r o d it e and I s i s co n cu r ren t l y , the twoq u e e n - g o d d e s s e s b e g a n to bep e rce iveda sm a n i f e s ta t i o n sof as i n g l e d e i ty .

W e c a n e a s i l y i m a g i n e th a t t h i s b l e n d i n go f the d e i t i e s w a s a n ef fo r tt o co mbin e the re l i g io us co n cep t s o f two d i f f e re n t wo r ld s , an d i t was a s t r a t -e g ythat had hug e co n sequ en ces fo r t he i n t e rp re t a t i o n o f i n d iv id ua l g o d s . I nthe l an d o f t he N i l e t he fa lcon g o d H o r u s w a s t h e s o n o f I s i s a n d r u l e r o f E g y p t .A s s o o n a s I s i s m e r g e d w i t h A p h r o d i t e , i t w a s a l m o s t i n e v i t a b l e t h a t A p h r o -dite's s o n , E r o s , w o u l d b eperce ived as the e q u i v a l e n t o f H o r u s , or the d iv in ey o u n g p h a r a o h , a n d o b v i o u s l y h e w o u l d b e l i n k e d to t h e r o y a l h o u s e i n E g y p t .F o l l o w i n g t h i s a r g u m e n t , th e E r o s p e n d a n t s w o u l d b e v e r y a p p r o p r i a t e fo r ad y n as t i c p r i e s t e s s .

T h e t in y E r o t e s a r e c o m b i n e d i n a n e x c e p ti o n a l w a y w i th t h e a n i m a l -h e a d ,o r ,m o r especi f i ca l ly , b u l l - h e a d e a r r i n g s .T heb u l l - h e a d ty p eo fe a r r i n gw a si n t r o d u c e d in thet h i r d c e n t u r yB . C .a n d w a sw i d e l y p r o d u c e d inE g y p tf o rm a n ycen tu r i e s . T he reaso n fo r t h i s r a the r un iqu e b l en d o f the tw o t yp es o f j ew e l ry

Figure 22aEros f rom ea rr ing ,f igure4; he isp o r t r a y e das a baby ca rry ing at o r c h a n d f l u te .Figure 22bRosette d isk frome a r r i n g , f i gu re 4;no te pea r l be tween d iskan dbull head (top).Figure 22cSide v i ew o f bu l l headfrom earring,figure 4;pear l b e t we e nbul l head a n d rose t te .

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c o u l d s i m p l ybe ae s the t i c , wi tho u t any de e p e r m e a n i n g . On the o the r han d ,s i n c ew e h a v e j u s t s u g g e s t edthat the god of love had ac qu i red royal s ta tu s , i t i st e m p t i n g to t ry the s a m e r e a s o n i n gfo r t heb u l l .

I n c o n t r a s t t o G r e e k bel i e f ,E g y p t i an g o d s n e a r l y a lway s had an equ iva -l en t i n t he an im a l w o r ld , w h ich acco un t s f o r the s t r an g e ap p e a ran ce o f m an yE g y p t i a n d e i t i e s ( e .g . , t he man / f a l co n g o dHorus). T he bu l l o f A p i s p l ay ed am a j o r ro lei nE g y p t i a n r e l i g i o n ,a n d t h eE g y p t i a n s a c t u a l l y w o r s h i p e d th e M e m -p h i s g o d i n t he fo rm o f a l i v in g bu l l . T hey even p rep a red exqu i s i t e sa rco p hag i f o rthesea n i m a lgods. WhentheP e r s i a n k i n g C a m b y s e s c a p t u r e d E g y p tin the lates ix th cen tu ry B . C . , he rep o r t ed ly fo rced th e p r i e s t s o fA p is to sacr i f i ce a n d e a tt h e i r l i v i ngbu l l /g o d ; it isd i f f i c u l t to i m a g i n eam o r e o b s c e n e a n d b l a s p he m o u sact , conceivedtoh u m i l ia t ethe Eg y p t i an s .The s tory i l lus t ra testhep lacetheb u l lo ccup i ed in E g y p t i a n b e li e fa n d h i s t o ry .

Li ke o t h e r E g y p t i a n g o d s, A p i s h a d h i s G r e e k e q u i v a l e n t . H e w a sequated w i th the G reek he ro Ep ap ho s . The G reek s be l i eved Ep ap ho swas oneo f t he my th i ca l p ha rao hs o f Eg y p t an d the fo un d e r o f t he p ha rao n i c cap i t a l o fM e m p h i s . A l th o u g h E p a p h o s w a s c o n s i de r e d a t r u e p h a r a o h , li k emost G r e e khe ro es he w as a c tua l l y t he o f f s p r i n g o f a g o d a n d a m o r t a l . T h e g o d Z e u s h a dfa l len i n lo ve w i th t he beau t i f u l m o r t a llo,i ro n i ca l l y a p r i e s te s s o f h i s o w n w i f eH e r a . The eve r - j e a lo us H era was aconstant t h rea t to the y o u n g lo, so Z e u st r a n s f o r m e dlo in to a cow. Hera , no t deceived a t a l l ,forced Z eus t o g ive he r t hecowa n d t h e n h a d t h e a n i m a l c l o se l y w a t c h ed b y A r g o s , th e g i a n t w i t h a h u n d r e dey es . A l tho ug h the m e s s e n g e r god H e r m e s freed the poor c o w , Z e u s did nott r a n s f o r m h e r b a c k i n t o a h u m a n . T h e i n v i d i o u s H e r a t o r tu r e d t h e c o w / w o m a nb y m e a n s o f a re l en t l e s sho r se f ly . D e s p e r a te ,lo f led , f i rs t to the C a u c a s u s a n du l t i m a t e l y t o Eg y p t , w he re she wa s am iab ly g ree t ed by I s i s an d f in a l l y tr an s -f o r m e d b a c k in t o a h u m a n b e i n g . T h emoment she became ab e a u t i f u l w o m a na g a i n , Z e u s r e a p p e a r e d a n d f a t h e r e d E p a p h o s w i t h h e r . I t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g th e nt h a t E p a p h o s m i g h tb e seen a s ab u l l , s in c eh is m o t h e r ha d s p e n t p a r to f h e r l i feas a cow. T his s torymusthave been h ig h ly sy m bo l i c fo r the P to l em ies , f o r t heyh a d a d iv i n e a n c e s t o r i n c o m m o n w i th E p a p h o s .

T h i s f a n c i f u l l eg en do f the b e l e a g u e r e dfugi t ive s e e m e d to rep ea t it s e l fwhen A r s in o n,the w i f eand s i s t e rof P t o l e m yn,fled to E g y p tto escapeher

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second hu sband , a connec t ion repre sented in the por t r a i tof A r s in o n w i t h t h e c ow h o r ns o flo [ F I G U R E 2 3 ] . O fcour se ,the rei s no a rchaeologica l need to id en t i fy theb u l l -head ea r r ings w i th th e A pis bu l l . How ever, a n y educa tedP tolem aic subjec t w ho bel ieved Eros sym bolized divineroyal tycould view the b u l l s i m i l a r l y a n d b o th w ou l d b ea p p r o p r i a t e f o r r e p r e s e n t a t i on o n j ewe l ry .W h a t in o the rpa r t s o f the Greek w or ld wo u ld have been und e rs to od a saconve nt iona l m ot i f , w i th i ts sou rce in Greek m ythology ,w o u l d inEgyp t have been und e rs tood a sroya la n dd i v i ne .

T he remark ab le bu l l /Eros pe nd ants have ye t an-o t h e r u n u s u a l fea tu re t h a t reflects the opu l e nc e of thet i m e . B e ne a t hth e bu l l heads th e g o l d s m i t h h a sde l ica te lyi n c o r p o r a t e d asm a l l pea r lo ne a c h pe nd a n t [ S E E F I G U R E S22b-c].Very rarein P t o l e m a i cj ewelry , pea r l s we re h igh lypr i z ed in the l a te He l len i s t i c pe r iod(ca. 150-30 B .C . ) . O fgrea te s t r enown a re the pea r l sin K l e opa t r avn'se a r r i ngs .T h e q u ee n onc e b et h e r R om a n l ov er M a r k A n t ony t h a t s h ea l one cou l d c ons u m e a m e a l w or t h te n m i l l io n se s te rces .T he ge ne r a l l a u gh e d a t her,b e l ie v i ng t h a t h is be lovedqueen cou ld neve r eat the sum tha t w a s suf f ic ien t to feedth e p o p u l a t io no f asm a l l c ity .A t t h e h e i gh tof the fes t ivi -t iest he se rvant s pre sented K leop a t ra w i tha cup o fv inega r .T he queen th rewone o f her pr ice le s s pea r l s in tothe f l u id ,a n d w h e n i t d i s i n t eg r a t e d , s h e d r a n k th e l i q u i d ; M a rkA n t ony l o s t h isbet.A f t er K l e o p a t r a ' s su ic ide ,t he seconde a r r i n gw as t akena s as po i lof w ar to R o m e , w h e re it deco-ra ted the ear of as

Greek Gold From Hellenistic Egypt

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