Naukratis, Cyrene and Greece
The 'degree' of Naukratis and Cyrene and the influence on the spread of Egyptian culture to Greece
Different Egyptian cults migrated to Greece, with in the fourth century BC Ammon and Isis to Athens. Two places were the most important for the spread of Egyptian culture: the trade settlement Naukratis and the colony Cyrene. Through Herodotus’ Histories, Pindar’s Odes and archaeological findings we know about connections between Egypt and Greece from the seventh century onwards. Which settlement was more important for the spread of Egyptian culture?
Introduction
The first Greeks in Egypt were mercenaries that served under the command of the Egyptian pharaoh, beginning in the seventh century. Archaeological evidence suggests a Greek presence at Naukratis in the Nile delta from the same century, although Herodotus places the founding of Naukratis during the reign of pharaoh Amasis (570-526). Naukratis was the only place in which Greeks could trade with the Egyptians and was, therefore, one of the few places where knowledge of Egyptian culture could come from. The other place was Cyrene, a colony founded during the seventh century as well from the island of Thera. Later, because of the oracle of Delphi, the settlers came from all over Greece. Here the Greeks married with the natives, who honoured the Egyptian gods Ammon and Isis. As the main question of the research I chose: which city was more important for the spread of Egyptian culture to Greece during the seventh until the fourth century BC, Naukratis or Cyrene? I looked at the seventh until the fourth century BC, because this time frame spans from the founding of both cities until the time before the cults of Ammon and Isis were established in Athens.
The first Greeks in Egypt were mercenaries that served under the command of the Egyptian pharaoh, beginning in the seventh century. Archaeological evidence suggests a Greek presence at Naukratis in the Nile delta from the same century, although Herodotus places the founding of Naukratis during the reign of pharaoh Amasis (570-526). Naukratis was the only place in which Greeks could trade with the Egyptians and was, therefore, one of the few places where knowledge of Egyptian culture could come from. The other place was Cyrene, a colony founded during the seventh century as well from the island of Thera. Later, because of the oracle of Delphi, the settlers came from all over Greece. Here the Greeks married with the natives, who honoured the Egyptian gods Ammon and Isis. As the main question of the research I chose: which city was more important for the spread of Egyptian culture to Greece during the seventh until the fourth century BC, Naukratis or Cyrene? I looked at the seventh until the fourth century BC, because this time frame spans from the founding of both cities until the time before the cults of Ammon and Isis were established in Athens.
Central for my research is network theory. How connected were Naukratis and Cyrene with the Greek mainland? The central term is ‘degree’. It is a way to look at the centrality of a place, a ‘node’, in the network. The more ties with the Greek mainland, the more likely it was that the city played an important role in the spread of Egyptian culture. I used archaeological findings, but these are problematic during this period. Not everything has been found or published and, for example, the oldest part of Naukratis is submerged into a lake. Therefore, the archaeological evidence can only give an impression of the connectivity and is supplemented by authors like Herodotus. Most of the archaeologists focus on later periods in Cyrene and Naukratis as well - most of the time the Ptolemaic and Roman era. This was the main problem for mapping the networks of Naukratis and Cyrene based on archaeology.
The degree of Naukratis
Herodotus describes in his second book of his Histories (2.178) the city of Naukratis, more specifically the cities that had build a sanctuary there. Rhodes, Cnidus, Halicarnassus, Phaselis, Chios, Teos, Phocaea, Clazomenae and Mytilene built the great sanctuary the Hellenion. The Aeginetans built a temple for Zeus, as did the Samians for Hera and Milesians for Apollo. There existed a strong connection, a 'strong tie', between these cities and Naukratis, but they were not the only cities involved (figure 2). |
Attic pottery has been found at Naukratis, illustrating a connection between Athens and Naukratis. It is, however, unclear how the early Attic pottery came to Naukratis: by Athenians or other traders? The same goes for Corinthian and Laconian vases. All have been found in great quantities in Egypt from the beginning of the sixth century onwards. East-Greek pottery, however, was the majority of the pottery found. Aegina and Ionian cities in Asia-Minor were probably the most active traders and transported most of the different pottery styles to Naukratis. This does at least show a ‘weak tie’, a less strong and indirect connection, between Naukratis and Attica, Corinth and Laconia. Attic vases were predominantly found during the reign of Amasis, suggesting the growing importance of Athens during the sixth century.
Egyptian ware was found all over the Greek world as well. Small finds are numerous on different Greek sites, for example at Sparta, Argos, Corinth, Attica, Aegina, Rhodes, Samos, Thebes, Thessaly, Thera, Paros, Chios etc.. Egyptian bronze art was also traded. These have been found isolated in Argos, Corinth, Athens, Thessaly, Ephesus, Miletus and Rodes. However, Crete and Samos had more numerous finds. These wares had to come through Naukratis, where all of the Greek trade with Egypt took place. It also shows that the Greeks had interest in more wares from Egypt than just grain. Papyrus and cloth were some of these wares, but also Egyptian art - and therefore culture. It is unclear if this art was actively traded ware or if they were brought back to Greece just because some individuals were interested in them.
It is also unclear how the contact with the native population was at Naukratis. There was a separate Egyptian quarter, but recent excavations by the British Museum imply a more multi-ethnic settlement and more than just interaction through trade based on the origin of pottery (figure 3). These new excavations raises the question: how Greek was Naukratis? The separate quarter for Egyptians is in my opinion evidence that most of the contact between Greeks and Egyptians was solely for trading purposes.
Egyptian ware was found all over the Greek world as well. Small finds are numerous on different Greek sites, for example at Sparta, Argos, Corinth, Attica, Aegina, Rhodes, Samos, Thebes, Thessaly, Thera, Paros, Chios etc.. Egyptian bronze art was also traded. These have been found isolated in Argos, Corinth, Athens, Thessaly, Ephesus, Miletus and Rodes. However, Crete and Samos had more numerous finds. These wares had to come through Naukratis, where all of the Greek trade with Egypt took place. It also shows that the Greeks had interest in more wares from Egypt than just grain. Papyrus and cloth were some of these wares, but also Egyptian art - and therefore culture. It is unclear if this art was actively traded ware or if they were brought back to Greece just because some individuals were interested in them.
It is also unclear how the contact with the native population was at Naukratis. There was a separate Egyptian quarter, but recent excavations by the British Museum imply a more multi-ethnic settlement and more than just interaction through trade based on the origin of pottery (figure 3). These new excavations raises the question: how Greek was Naukratis? The separate quarter for Egyptians is in my opinion evidence that most of the contact between Greeks and Egyptians was solely for trading purposes.
The degree of Cyrene
The second city important for my research is Cyrene. It is difficult for Cyrene to establish where the settlers came from. The island Thera established the colony, but after three generation there was another colonization movement issued by the oracle of Delphi. These new colonist were ‘all the Greeks.’ Most of these settlers were from Corinth, Athens, Laconia, Rhodes and Chios. |
It is clear that from the start Cyrene participated in different Panhellenic Games, like the Pythian games at Delphi and the Panathenaia in Athens. Pindar wrote three Pythian odes for a Cyrenaic participant (odes 4, 5 & 9) and there are two Panathenaic vases found in Cyrene from the sixth century BC, which illustrates the participation in the Panathenaia right from the beginning of this festival.
Greek silver coins are archaeological evidence of a connection with certain cities. Thraco-Macedonian coins predominate until the fifth century. During this period there were also coins found from different cities in Asia-minor, the Aegean, Athens, Corinth and Cyprus. After 500 BC the Athenian coins were dominant, again suggesting the growing importance of Athens. Besides the growing number of coins, 21,85% of all found sherds at the sanctuary of Demeter in Cyrene were Attic. While these findings were at a specific place, it gives an indication of the predominance of Attic pottery at religious sites. The percentage is, for example, smaller at the excavations at the agora.
The colonist that went to Cyrene were all male and this is an important remark. They married native women because of this, which means that the kind of contact in Cyrene with the native culture was different than that in Naukratis – almost only contact for trade in Naukratis versus intermarriage in Cyrene. Women in Cyrene worshiped Ammon and Isis; according to Herodotus they did not eat cow’s flesh because of Isis (4.186) and early coins from Cyrene depict Zeus-Ammon (figure 4). For the spread of Egyptian culture, especially Ammon and Isis, this intermarriage and the making of coins that depict Ammon could have been important.
Grain was the dominant export product. During a grain shortage in Greece, 330-326 BC, there is an inscription which states the different cities that were given grain from Cyrene. This period lies beyond my time frame, but it is noteworthy in my opinion. I think that it is unlikely for Cyrene to give free grain to places that did not have a good connection with Cyrene. It therefore implies an already established network (figure 5).
Greek silver coins are archaeological evidence of a connection with certain cities. Thraco-Macedonian coins predominate until the fifth century. During this period there were also coins found from different cities in Asia-minor, the Aegean, Athens, Corinth and Cyprus. After 500 BC the Athenian coins were dominant, again suggesting the growing importance of Athens. Besides the growing number of coins, 21,85% of all found sherds at the sanctuary of Demeter in Cyrene were Attic. While these findings were at a specific place, it gives an indication of the predominance of Attic pottery at religious sites. The percentage is, for example, smaller at the excavations at the agora.
The colonist that went to Cyrene were all male and this is an important remark. They married native women because of this, which means that the kind of contact in Cyrene with the native culture was different than that in Naukratis – almost only contact for trade in Naukratis versus intermarriage in Cyrene. Women in Cyrene worshiped Ammon and Isis; according to Herodotus they did not eat cow’s flesh because of Isis (4.186) and early coins from Cyrene depict Zeus-Ammon (figure 4). For the spread of Egyptian culture, especially Ammon and Isis, this intermarriage and the making of coins that depict Ammon could have been important.
Grain was the dominant export product. During a grain shortage in Greece, 330-326 BC, there is an inscription which states the different cities that were given grain from Cyrene. This period lies beyond my time frame, but it is noteworthy in my opinion. I think that it is unlikely for Cyrene to give free grain to places that did not have a good connection with Cyrene. It therefore implies an already established network (figure 5).
Conclusions
Cyrene was more important for the spread of Egyptian culture to mainland Greece, because most of the cities that had a connection with Cyrene are from central Greece. Also, archaeological evidence show a growing connection between Cyrene and Athens. Naukratis had more connections with the eastern Greek world. Cyrene had a higher 'degree' with mainland Greece, while Naukratis had a higher 'degree' with the eastern Greek cities.
The function of both cities was different as well, as Naukratis was a trading settlement and Cyrene a colony. Naukratis had, therefore, probably most of its contact with natives only for trading purposes. Cyrenians on the other hand married with native women and had probably more contact with the native culture, including two worshiped Egyptian gods: Ammon and Isis. The different kinds of contact with the native population is, in my opinion, the second argument that Cyrene was more important for the spread of Egyptian culture to mainland Greece than Naukratis. The result of these connections: the establishment of two sanctuaries in Attica for Egyptian gods, one for Ammon and one for Isis during the fourth century BC.
Written by: P.S.
Cyrene was more important for the spread of Egyptian culture to mainland Greece, because most of the cities that had a connection with Cyrene are from central Greece. Also, archaeological evidence show a growing connection between Cyrene and Athens. Naukratis had more connections with the eastern Greek world. Cyrene had a higher 'degree' with mainland Greece, while Naukratis had a higher 'degree' with the eastern Greek cities.
The function of both cities was different as well, as Naukratis was a trading settlement and Cyrene a colony. Naukratis had, therefore, probably most of its contact with natives only for trading purposes. Cyrenians on the other hand married with native women and had probably more contact with the native culture, including two worshiped Egyptian gods: Ammon and Isis. The different kinds of contact with the native population is, in my opinion, the second argument that Cyrene was more important for the spread of Egyptian culture to mainland Greece than Naukratis. The result of these connections: the establishment of two sanctuaries in Attica for Egyptian gods, one for Ammon and one for Isis during the fourth century BC.
Written by: P.S.
Further reading
Austin, Michel. Greece and Egypt in the Archaic Age. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society. Supplement, No. 2. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge Philological Society, 1970.
Barker, Graeme, J. A Lloyd, and Joyce Maire Reynolds. Cyrenaica in Antiquity. Society for Libyan Studies Occasional Papers, 1. Oxford, England: B.A.R, 1985.
Dow, Sterling. “The Egyptian Cults in Athens.” Harvard Theological Review 30, no. 04 (1937): 183–232.
Elrashedy, Faraj Mohmoud. Imports of Post-Archaic Greek Pottery into Cyrenaica : From the End of the Archaic to the Beginning of the Hellenistic Period. Bar International Series, 1022. Oxford, England: Archaeopress, 2002.
Malkin, Irad. A Small Greek World : Networks in the Ancient Mediterranean. Greeks Overseas. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Möller Astrid. Naukratis : Trade in Archaic Greece. Oxford Monographs on Classical Archaeology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Moreno, Alfonso. Feeding the Democracy : The Athenian Grain Supply in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.c. Oxford Classical Monographs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Rutherford, I. 'Network Theory and Theoric Networks', Mediterranean Historical Review 22 (2007), 23-37.
Primary literature
Herodotus, The Persian Wars, Volume I: Books 1-2. Translated by A. D. Godley. Loeb Classical Library 117. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1920
Pindar. Olympian Odes. Pythian Odes. Edited and translated by William H. Race. Loeb Classical Library 56. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.
Sources of the figures
Title page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrene,_Libya
Figure 1: http://www.hellenica.de/Griechenland/Geo/Naukratis.html
Figure 2: The map is made by myself with Palladio.
Figure 3: The British Museum, The material culture of Naukratis. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_research_catalogues/ng/naukratis_greeks_in_egypt/material_culture_of_naukratis.aspx
Figure 4: http://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=983046&AucID=1914&Lot=194&Val=82c0026acd144f6e0962ee5cf62980b1
Figure 5: The map is made by myself with Palladio.
Austin, Michel. Greece and Egypt in the Archaic Age. Proceedings of the Cambridge Philological Society. Supplement, No. 2. Cambridge, Eng.: Cambridge Philological Society, 1970.
Barker, Graeme, J. A Lloyd, and Joyce Maire Reynolds. Cyrenaica in Antiquity. Society for Libyan Studies Occasional Papers, 1. Oxford, England: B.A.R, 1985.
Dow, Sterling. “The Egyptian Cults in Athens.” Harvard Theological Review 30, no. 04 (1937): 183–232.
Elrashedy, Faraj Mohmoud. Imports of Post-Archaic Greek Pottery into Cyrenaica : From the End of the Archaic to the Beginning of the Hellenistic Period. Bar International Series, 1022. Oxford, England: Archaeopress, 2002.
Malkin, Irad. A Small Greek World : Networks in the Ancient Mediterranean. Greeks Overseas. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2011.
Möller Astrid. Naukratis : Trade in Archaic Greece. Oxford Monographs on Classical Archaeology. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
Moreno, Alfonso. Feeding the Democracy : The Athenian Grain Supply in the Fifth and Fourth Centuries B.c. Oxford Classical Monographs. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007.
Rutherford, I. 'Network Theory and Theoric Networks', Mediterranean Historical Review 22 (2007), 23-37.
Primary literature
Herodotus, The Persian Wars, Volume I: Books 1-2. Translated by A. D. Godley. Loeb Classical Library 117. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1920
Pindar. Olympian Odes. Pythian Odes. Edited and translated by William H. Race. Loeb Classical Library 56. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997.
Sources of the figures
Title page: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrene,_Libya
Figure 1: http://www.hellenica.de/Griechenland/Geo/Naukratis.html
Figure 2: The map is made by myself with Palladio.
Figure 3: The British Museum, The material culture of Naukratis. http://www.britishmuseum.org/research/online_research_catalogues/ng/naukratis_greeks_in_egypt/material_culture_of_naukratis.aspx
Figure 4: http://www.coinarchives.com/a/lotviewer.php?LotID=983046&AucID=1914&Lot=194&Val=82c0026acd144f6e0962ee5cf62980b1
Figure 5: The map is made by myself with Palladio.