Book Review: Die Hieroglyphischen Ahnenreihen der Ptolemäischen Könige. Ein Vergleich Mit den Titeln der Eponymen Priester in den Demotischen und Griechischen Papyri

Abstract

otherwise, with his fellow kings, Pyrrhos, Antigonos Gonatas and the Seleucids (especially in the Syrian Wars). Here we see the aspirations of the family extending well beyond Egypt, not only in Ptolemy Keraunos' brief occupation of Macedon, but in HuB's revival of the enigmatic Ptolemy the Son as the intended beneficiary of the Chremonidean War and the overthrow of Antigonos Gonatas (HuB opts for a son of Arsinoe II and Lysimachos, adopted by Ptolemy II). The fullness of the treatment of foreign affairs only serves to highlight the relative brevity of what follows. The complexity of royal family life is well brought out, but matters concerning the economy and administration are hastily dealt with; the reclamation of the Fayum, cleruchic settlement, apomoira and the socalled Revenue Laws are all treated in a fairly cursory fashion. The Zenon archive is present in the footnotes but the only Zenon mentioned in the index is from Kition. Yet not only was Ptolemy II overseeing a more fully developed and consolidated system of control in Egypt but his reign, at least the latter part, is well-served for papyrus. This book is likely to be used for reference rather then read straight through. In the light of this, HuB's decision to renumber the later Ptolemies is unfortunate. The present numbering has existed since 1938 when W. Otto and H. Bengston installed Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator for a brief (and perhaps unjustifiable) reign in 145 Be. This short-lived Ptolemy has now been deleted by HuB under the influence of the arguments of M. Chauveau, and all subsequent Ptolemies drop back one, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II becoming Ptolemy VII Euergetes II, and so on (for Chauveau's arguments see 'Un ete 145', BIFAO 90 (1990), 135-68). This discarding of the conventional numbering system may lead to confusion amongst those using the volume for clarification about one or other Ptolemy-after all the prime purpose of such numbering systems is to aid identification. The problem is exacerbated by an index that omits the royal epithets which could at least have acted as some form of check on confusion. As a resource for studying the history of the Egypt's rulers in the Hellenistic period this volume will be invaluable with its comprehensive and up-to-date review of arguments, bibliography and evidence. HuB may be relatively conventional in approach but his history is a statement of the vitality of Ptolemaic scholarship. There will continue to be new evidence and fresh approaches, and HuB wisely quotes Mahaffy's words 'finality is not to be expected'.