Ptolemy I Soter (“the Savior”) was a Macedonian general and bodyguard of Alexander the Great who later became pharaoh of Egypt, the founding Ptolemaic king. Ptolemy would go on to plot the great designs of Alexandria, which would be the greatest city of the Mediterranean for some time. He would also write an account of Alexander’s military campaigns, but the work is now lost. From 323 to 30 BCE the Ptolemaic dynasty ruled Egypt, ending with the famous Cleopatra VII Philopator (“Father-Loving”).
I will examine Ptolemy’s story and legacy.
Bust of Ptolemy I Soter
Professor Peter Green described Ptolemy as “a conniving, pragmatic old shit […] a monument to the rewards of carefully limited ambitions.” He is right to award such a statement about this Macedonian king, as Ptolemy’s kingdom was the most splendorous and survived the longest until it was annexed by Rome. Ptolemy is often regarded as the wisest and most cunning of the diadochi (“successors”), as the Ptolemaic Kingdom began its golden age under his reign. His lost work about Alexander’s campaigns is the basis for much later ancient writers to work upon, especially Arrian.
Ptolemy was the son of a Macedonian nobleman named Lagus and a Macedonian noblewoman named Arsinoe, however, there were rumors that Ptolemy was actually the the illegitimate son of Philip II of Macedon, making him Alexander’s half-brother. It is uncertain where these rumors originated, so it could possibly be early Ptolemaic propaganda created by Ptolemy. Born circa 367 BCE, Ptolemy was a royal page in the court of Philip II and was an intimate friend of Alexander’s or so we are told. He apparently was tutored by Aristotle in the same class as Alexander and his other companions. Ptolemy served under Alexander from the beginning of the Persian campaign all the way to 323 BCE in Babylon where Alexander died.
In the aftermath of Alexander’s death Ptolemy supported the crowning of Alexander’s half-brother Arrhidaeus, now named Philip III. Ptolemy then requested to govern the province of Egypt, in which the empire’s regent Perdiccas was suspicious of his rival Ptolemy, but nevertheless relented. Ptolemy was granted Egypt, though he had no intention of staying loyal to the Macedonian regency. He intended on making Egypt an independent realm with himself as ruler. In late 323 BCE he arrived in Egypt and had the previous governor Cleomenes executed on account of him being an agent of Perdiccas. Ptolemy made a bid for power and security by offering his hand in marriage to a daughter of Antipater, the current governor of Macedon and Greece. Antipater was happy to take part in this high-stakes plot to undermine Perdiccas, and so sent his daughter Eurydice to Egypt where marriage awaited. Though, Eurydice also brought her cousin and lady-in-waiting Berenice who would rise to prominence in the Ptolemaic court. Ptolemy knew his ambitions would eventually clash with Perdiccas’ authority, and so he started to consolidate his power in Egypt by taking advantage of the large treasury left behind by Cleomenes.
Ptolemy further made advances on his agenda of independence by the minting of coins and its circulation amongst the province of Egypt. These coins bared the face of a deified Alexander, in a head-dress made from the flayed scalp of an elephant. He also attributed the ram horns of Zeus-Amun to Alexander’s profile. This was the first time in western history that a coin displayed an image of a human rather than a god or mythic hero. Though, Alexander was now a god thanks to his own efforts in assuring his mortal divinity and, of course, the future efforts of Ptolemy.
Coin of Ptolemy I Soter depicting the deified Alexander
Ptolemy’s coin of Alexander was symbolic in that it connected a western Greek king to the Asian world, specifically evoking the invasion of India which was one of Alexander’s greatest feats. This coinage also demonstrated to the Egyptians the multiethnic image a ruler could inherit, certainly playing on his new role as governor of Egypt.
In spring of 321 BCE the grand funerary cart that was carrying Alexander’s corpse was stopped by Ptolemy en route to Pella. Ptolemy hijacked Alexander’s body, taking it to his capital Memphis where it would temporarily be stored. This was an act of war and treason in the eyes of Perdiccas, as Alexander’s corpse was the most potent political symbol in the whole world at the moment. Ptolemy’s hijacking was an obvious bid to have him be viewed as Alexander’s true successor, as per Macedonian tradition the new king buried their predecessor. Ptolemy intended on displaying the magnificent corpse of Alexander in the new capital of Alexandria once complete.
This brazen act ignited war between Perdiccas and Ptolemy, and soon all corners of Alexander’s empire were either in rebellion or in league with Perdiccas. Soon Perdiccas marched on Memphis to finish Ptolemy, but this endeavor ended in a fiasco as Perdiccas was forced to retreat for the moment. Later, Perdiccas was stabbed to death by his senior officers – Antigenes, Peithon, and possibly Seleucus. With Perdiccas dead the empire had no formal regent to guard the feeble-minded Philip III and the infant Alexander IV. Soon enough a council was called to meet at Triparadeisus to reallocate the posts and authority of the empire. Ptolemy was offered the position of supreme regent, but he declined as he resolved to make himself independent and successful in Egypt. It was Ptolemy’s father-in-law Antipater who was made supreme regent, and with this alliance made Ptolemy’s security and influence all the stronger.
Ptolemy once again consolidated his power within the walls of Memphis, having added Cyprus and Cyrene to his realm of governance. He would seek to take Jerusalem, using the Jews own religious practices against them, as on the Sabbath Ptolemy entered Jerusalem and experienced no resistance. Eventually the new capital of Alexandria began to fill up with Jewish captives and emigrants, making Alexandria the most vital Jewish center outside of Jerusalem. Ptolemy planned on making Alexandria the greatest city of the Greek world, a labor that would be completed by his son and successor Ptolemy II Philadelphus (“Sibling-Loving”). Ptolemy laid out the blueprint for various monuments and institutions that would make Alexandria the jewel of the Mediterranean. He started construction on the great lighthouse, along with the museum and the famous library. Ptolemy established himself as a patron of letters, arts, and sciences with his constructs and general attitude towards those emigrating to Alexandria.
Ptolemy became the most splendid of rulers, acknowledging his Egyptian subjects while portraying a Greek outlook and respecting both all the same. Eventually, to ensure unity between the Egyptians and Greeks, Ptolemy created a Greco-Egyptian god named Serapis to appease his subjects. Serapis had the characteristics of the Egyptian Osiris and the Apis Bull along with the Greek Zeus and Hades. The cult of Serapis would be one of the lasting institutions of the Ptolemaic dynasty, all the way up to the Roman conquest. It is suspected that during this time Ptolemy began working on his history of Alexander, a work filled with Ptolemaic propaganda yet invaluable as Ptolemy was such a close contemporary of Alexander.
Another institution of the Ptolemaic Kingdom was the cult of Alexander. Harbouring the mummified corpse of Alexander, Ptolemy instigated the worship of the divine Alexander as both a god and the hero founder of Alexandria. Alexander became the state god of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, even outside the confines of Egypt. Circa 290 BCE Ptolemy began construction on the mausoleum of Alexander where his body was displayed, becoming a temple to which many significant figures would later visit to pay their respects, including the Roman Emperor Augustus.
In terms of romantic relationships Ptolemy had several. Ptolemy practiced polygamy like the custom of many Macedonian kings who came before, including Philip II and Alexander. His first notable was an Athenian courtesan named Thais who was infamous for goading Alexander and the Macedonian soldiers into burning down the palace of Persepolis. She had bore Ptolemy three children prior to his rule of Egypt, but was in no way considered his primary consort or even a wife. At the mass marriages in Susa Ptolemy had married the Persian Artacama, though like many of his contemporary Macedonian officers, Ptolemy divorced or rejected Artacama. He would marry Eurydice in 321 BCE, a daughter of Antipater, and she would bear him five children. Though, his primary consort would be Berenice I and she would birth him three children, including his chosen heir.
The years following the Partition of Triparadeisus were tumultuous, as Antipater died in 319 BCE and bequeathed the regency to his lieutenant Polyperchon instead of his hotheaded son Cassander. War ignited between the two and Ptolemy allied himself with Cassander. Having defected to Cassander’s side, Philip III and his wife were executed on the orders of Olympias, Alexander’s mother who supported Polyperchon. By 316 BCE Antigonus Monophthalmus (“the One-Eye”) by and by became the most powerful of the governors of Alexander’s empire, holding domain over most of the Asian territories. This caused immediate alarm to the other governors including Ptolemy. Antigonus managed to oust Seleucus from his seat in Babylon to which Ptolemy received him. Ptolemy made Seleucus his admiral in the ensuing war against Antigonus, and joined the coalition in the effort to tame Antigonus. Ptolemy and Seleucus defeated Demetrius Poliorcetes (“the Besieger”), the son of Antigonus, at the Battle of Gaza (312 BCE) and further entrenched defiance of Antigonus’ ambitions. This victory allowed Ptolemy to reoccupy Syria and Palestine, and he further made attempts to gain territory in Greece, specifically the islands. A peace settlement was reached in 311 BCE, though this would not halt Antigonus and his dreams of empire. In 309 BCE Alexander IV and his mother, Roxane, were killed on the orders of Cassander, the ruling regent of Macedon. With the Argead dynasty extinct there was nothing to hold the governors together in terms of their desires and aggressive nature.
In 306/305 BCE Antigonus and Demetrius proclaimed themselves independent kings of both Greece and Asia. Following their declaration the other diadochi began to style themselves as kings. Lysimachus, Cassander, Seleucus, and even Ptolemy. Ptolemy styled himself as pharaoh, declaring Egypt an independent state once again. Though, Ptolemy had been essentially ruling as an independent king since Alexander’s death. Unusually, Ptolemy did not allow the traditional divine honors to be granted on him, as the office of the pharaoh usually meant. It seems that he was too close to the divine Alexander to consider the offer of godhood, choosing to bask in the glory and legacy of his deceased king.
Bust of Ptolemy I Soter in Egyptian style
War once again resumed and Antigonus sent his son Demetrius to besiege Rhodes for their support of Ptolemy. Demetrius was unsuccessful in his siege thanks to the efforts of Ptolemy and his admirals. The Rhodians were so grateful for Ptolemy’s protection that they bestowed him the epithet of soter (“savior”). The coalition against Antigonus was renewed, and in 301 BCE the Battle of Ipsus took place where Antigonus was killed. Suspiciously, Ptolemy did not take part in the Battle of Ipsus unlike Lysimachus and Seleucus. With Antigonus finally defeated, Ptolemy took control of Syria once again, though the other diadochi had allotted Syria to Seleucus. For hundreds of years after their respective deaths their dynasties would clash over ownership over a region known as Coele-Syria.
Ptolemy and Seleucus’ relationship deteriorated after Ipsus, as Seleucus grew to be the most powerful of the diadochi. Ptolemy sought to confine himself to Egypt and his growing naval empire, and for the rest of his life he ruled Egypt in his strong, prosperous, if somewhat cynical, manner. His intended heir, Ptolemy Ceraunus (“the Thunderbolt”) was repudiated by Ptolemy, and instead he chose his youngest son by Berenice to succeed him, also named Ptolemy. In his remaining years Ptolemy completed his history of Alexander’s campaigns and began to see the finishings upon his great constructs of Alexandria.
Ptolemy named his son, Ptolemy II, as joint-pharaoh, in 285 BCE, and in 283 BCE he died. Ptolemy was posthumously deified by his son, known as “Ptolemy the Savior”.
“Ptolemy I Soter founded the first, the most successful, and the longest lasting of the Hellenistic monarchies. Although he may have lived much of his life in the shadow of Alexander the Great, Ptolemy himself cast a long shadow.”
– Ptolemy of Egypt, Walter M. Ellis
By far the wisest and most cunning of Alexander’s successors, Ptolemy certainly made his mark upon the world with his grand designs for Alexandria, planting the seeds of “the greatest city the Western world had ever seen” along with one of the greatest dynasties. His son and successor, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, would prove to be the greatest Ptolemaic pharaoh, most surely inspired by the actions of his father and the wisdom he demonstrated. Ptolemy reignited the office of the pharaoh and the strength of an independent Egypt, for the Egyptians had long remembered the days of Ramesses II and the power Egypt held. Of the Hellenistic kingdoms, his kingdom survived the longest and was considered the most splendorous of the Hellenistic monarchies.
I go back to the words of Peter Green, describing Ptolemy as “a conniving, pragmatic old shit…” He is not wrong in this assessment, as Ptolemy was conniving and pragmatic in his endeavors, though we admire him for such characteristics. Ptolemy’s actions, from his hijacking of Alexander’s corpse to his assumption of pharaoh, affected in how culture and society developed in the Hellenistic Age, and forever bares the fact that limited ambitions can flower the greatest legacy.
Recommended Reading:
The House of Ptolemy, E.R. Bevan
Ptolemy of Egypt, Walter M. Ellis
Ghost on the Throne, James Romm
Michael's Desk 