Toward a Translocal Elite Culture in the Ptolemaic Empire
Toward a Translocal Elite Culture in the Ptolemaic Empire
This chapter challenges the widespread view that Ptolemaic rulers generally interacted with Egyptian and Hellenized subjects in distinct languages. Already the first Ptolemaic kings orchestrated transcultural moments which brought together different ethnic groups. This is visible in the introduction of a cult of queen Arsinoe II, who was revered as benefactor for “all mankind,” and in the creation of a new cultural memory of Persian invaders as common enemies of Greek and Egyptian populationsEfforts to create a translocal elite intensified in the mid-third century as illustrated by the trilingual decrees issued by Egyptian priests. Such practices of assimilation created a translocal elite culture whose participants defined themselves not through their ethnicity but through their association with the royal court.
Keywords: Ptolemaic, translocal, local elites, Egyptian priests, Arsinoe II, Cultural Memory, Egyptian inscriptions
Oxford Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs , and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us .
