The Rays of the Ptolemies, in Revue Numismatique 2012

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La Revue numismatique se réserve le droit de refuser toute publicité sans avoir à fournir de motif à sa décision. Panagiotis P. iossif, Catharine C. lorber* The Rays of the Ptolemies** Summary − The article offers new insight into the radiate portraits of Ptolemy III and V and the corresponding radiate cornuacopiae on the reverse of their coins. Through a complex and detailed analysis of different motifs, attributes and papyrological sources; through comparisons with inscriptions (Canopus and Memphis decrees) and with Ptolemy’s II Grand Procession, the authors conclude that these coins (mnaieia and fractions with the portrait of Ptolemy III; mnaieia with that of Ptolemy V) are part of an iconographic program representing the beneicence of the Ptolemaic kings under two related aspects: First, their role as guarantors of abundance and perpetual regeneration (by observing details as the alternate form of rays on the radiate crowns or the lotus lower on the basis of the reverse radiate cornucopiae positioning the solarised king as the source of the perpetual cycle of renewal, a kind of Master of Time). Second, the defense of Egypt and the divine order by ighting foreign wars, in particular the Syrian Wars (the disputed area of Syria and Phoenicia becomes therefore a central scope in this interpretation), materialised through military symbols (the aegis in the case of Ptolemy III and the spear head on the coins of Ptolemy V). Both of these aspects pertain to the solar, Horian nature of the kings and to their maintenance of Maat, which embodied the vital force of the sun, the life of the country, and the balance of the cosmos. Keywords – Ptolemy III Euergetes, Ptolemy V Epiphanes, radiate crown, Horus, Maat, doriktetos chora. Résumé − L’article offre un nouvel aperçu des portraits radiés de Ptolémée III et V et des cornes d’abondance correspondantes sur le revers de ces mêmes monnaies. À travers une analyse complexe et détaillée des différents motifs, des attributs et des sources papyrologiques ; à travers une série de comparaisons avec des inscriptions (les décrets de Canope et de Memphis) et avec la Grande Procession de Ptolémée II, les auteurs arrivent à la conclusion que ces monnaies (des mnaieia et des fractions avec le portrait de Ptolémée III ; des mnaieia avec l’image de Ptolémée V) font partie d’un programme iconographique, qui représente la bienfaisance des rois lagides sous deux aspects différents : primo, leur rôle en tant que garants de l’abondance et de la régénération perpétuelle (ceci est fait à travers la mise en avant des détails tels que l’alternance de la forme de rayons sur les couronnes radiées ou la leur de lotus ornant la base de la corne d’abondance sur le revers des monnaies, qui positionne le roi « solaire » comme la source du cycle perpétuel de renouvellement, une sorte de maître du Temps) ; secundo, la défense de l’Égypte et de l’ordre divin par une série de batailles menées lors des guerres ayant lieu en-dehors de l’Égypte, en particulier les dites guerres de Syrie (la zone contestée de la Syrie et Phénicie revêt * Belgian School at Athens, Anagnostopoulou 79, GR-10671, Athens, Greece. Mail: [email protected] / American Numismatic Society, Fellow, 5450 Fenwood Avenue, Woodland Hills, CA 91367, USA. Mail: [email protected]. ** We would like to thank Gaëlle Tallet for discussing with us the question of radiate crowns in Egypt, for reading an earlier draft of this paper, and for offering us important insights; Andreas Blasius for reading and commenting on an earlier draft; Silvia Barbantani for sending us her article on spear-won land; Haim Gitler for providing images for igure 15; Chris Bennett for discussions on the Egyptian calendar; and the anonymous reader. We are solely responsible for any errors remaining. RN 2012, p. 197-224 198 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER ainsi une portée centrale dans cette interprétation), matérialisée par des symboles militaires (l’égide dans le cas de Ptolémée III et la pointe de lance sur les monnaies de Ptolémée V). Ces deux aspects ont trait à la nature solaire et Horienne des rois et du maintien de la Maât, qui incarne la force vitale du soleil, la vie du pays et l’équilibre du cosmos. Mots clés – Ptolémée III Euergète, Ptolémée V Épiphane, couronne radiée, Horus, Maât, doriktetos chora. Introduction on Ptolemaic gold coinage two kings were depicted with rays emanating from their diadems. Ptolemy III Euergetes (246-222) was portrayed posthumously, radiate and wearing the aegis like a chlamys, with a trident ornamented with a lotus bud or blossom propped over his shoulder; this portrait type appears on mnaieia and fractions issued by his son and heir, Ptolemy IV Philopator (222-205) (igure 1)1. Ptolemy V Epiphanes (205-180) was portrayed on mnaieia during his lifetime, radiate, wearing the chlamys, and usually also with a spear over his shoulder (igures 2-3)2. A third king, Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (145116), imitated elements of the iconography of the irst Ptolemy Euergetes on his Cypriote silver coinage: Paphian tetradrachms of 139/8 and Paphian didrachms of the following year show him radiate and wearing the aegis like a chlamys (igure 4)3. 1. svoronos 1904-1908, nos 1117-1119, 1132-1134, 1184. A die study in the unpublished mémoire of van driessChe 1987 will be superseded by a new die study now in preparation by Catharine Lorber and Julien olivier, which will also allow for quantiication of these coins. 2. Without spear: Christie’s sale, London, 9 october 1984, lot 304. With spear: svoronos 19041908, nos 1254, 1257. 3. Tetradrachm: Leu 36, 7-8 May 1985, lot 220, noted by smith 1988, p. 94, no 4. Didrachm: svoronos 1904-1908, no 1507. The focus of this article is numismatic but for reasons of completeness we also considered the radiate representations of the Ptolemies in different media, including gems, seals and ceramics. The examples are very rare and concern late Ptolemies almost exclusively. We cite ive radiate representations of Ptolemaic kings on seals: one from Paphos (Kyrieleis 1996, p. 318-319, pl. 57.4) and four from Edfu now in the Royal ontario Museum (RoM), Toronto: (1) RoM 906.12.67 = milne 1916, no 64 (8 or 10 rays emanating from the head of a late Ptolemy wearing kausia and the aegis like a chlamys); (2) RoM 906.12.69 = milne 1916, no 66 = Kyrieleis 1975, p. 66, pl. 54.5 = bergmann 1998, pl. 9.7 (tentatively identiied as Ptolemy IX Soter II, wearing the aegis like a chlamys, having 6 or 7 rays emanating from the head, and a lotus blossom over the forehead); (3) RoM 906.12.70 = milne 1916, no 67 = svenson 1995, no 270 = bergmann 1998, pl. 9.6 (7 or 8 rays emanating from the head of this portrait of a late Ptolemy, with lotus blossom over the forehead, wearing aegis like a chlamys); (4) milne 1916, no 161 = Kyrieleis 1975, pl. 54.9 = svenson 1995, no 271 = bergmann 1998, pl. 9.8 (portrait of an unidentiied Ptolemy wearing radiate crown with indeterminate number of rays and chlamys or aegis). Plantzos catalogued two gems with radiate portraits of Ptolemies: plantzos 1999, no 10 (4 rays emanating from the head of Ptolemy VIII wearing a chlamys; no diadem is visible) and no 11 (again, Ptolemy VIII wearing chlamys but the number of rays cannot be determined). The plastic bottom of a bowl from Berlin depicts a bust, probably of Ptolemy I, in a 3/4 facing position with his head decorated with a radiate crown composed of numerous rays, RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 199 Figure 1 - Gold mnaieion of Ptolemy IV, depicting the deiied Ptolemy III (Svoronos 1117) (Photograph: Catharine Lorber). Figure 2 - Gold mnaieion of Ptolemy V, dated year 6 (Christie’s sale, 9 october 1984, lot 304). Figure 3 - Gold mnaieion of Ptolemy V (Svoronos 1254) (Leu 36, 7-8 May 1985, lot 217). Figure 4 - Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy VIII (Leu 36, May 1985, lot 220) (Photograph: Frank Kovacs). more than 20 (Kyrieleis 1975, p. 9, pl. 7.4 = svenson 1995, no 269 = bergmann 1998, pl. 9.1). If this is indeed a depiction of Ptolemy I and not of Helios, it is the only radiate depiction of the founder of the dynasty. The rarity of the radiate portraits of the Ptolemies is evident in their limited numbers in the above survey and also in their complete absence from one of the most important archives containing Ptolemaic seals: that of the Aetolian Kallipolis (pantos 1985). It may be signiicant that the rays are usually associated with a chlamys or the aegis worn in the fashion of a chlamys. Radiate portraits are also quite rare on seals depicting the Seleucids coming from the archive of Seleucia on the Tigris: only two seals (Se 30 and 31) probably depicting Seleucus IV in his role as hereditary prince; messina 2001 and invernizzi 2004, p. 42-43. For a discussion of the radiate portraits of the Seleucids on different media (with also discussion of the Seleucian seal), see iossif, lorber 2009a, p. 26 and passim and iossif, lorber 2009b, p. 132 and passim. RN 2012, p. 197-224 200 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER These types have inspired considerable commentary, especially the image of Ptolemy III with his multiple divine attributes. Most authors have interpreted these attributes as the symbols of Greek gods, namely Helios, Poseidon, and Zeus, and some have attempted to explain their conjunction, either as aspects of the king’s divinity, as expressions of his sovereignty, or as allusions to his foreign policy4. The mixing of attributes of different deities had Ptolemaic precedents in the image of the deiied Alexander on the tetradrachms of early Hellenistic Egypt and in the posthumous coin portraits of Arsinoe Philadelphus. Earlier precedents for such composite images are lacking from the Greek tradition but are common in Egyptian art5. H. Kyrieleis consequently proposed that interpretations of Euergetes’ iconography should be sought in Egyptian concepts6. only a few interpretations have been laid out in detail. Drawing attention to the lotus inial on the central prong of the trident, W. Huß submitted that the image presents Ptolemy III as an avatar of Sarapis in his aspect as god of good order and salvation7. A. Alföldi proposed that the radiate crown served to identify the late king with Aion, a universal god of fertility, wealth, and renewal who would restore the Golden Age, and whose mysteries were celebrated at the Alexandrian court8. C. Lorber argued that in Ptolemaic royal portraits the aegis should evoke Horus, the protector of Egypt and god of kingship, who was incarnate in each living king, as well as Amun, the Egyptian counterpart of Zeus; the rays express the solar aspect of Amun-Ra and especially Horus, and the lotus alludes to the close association of both gods with osiris9. Lorber even ventured to suggest that the trident was an interpretatio graeca of the harpoon of Horus, the weapon he used to defeat the rebellious forces of Seth and a cult object in the temple of Horus at Edfu. She cited the foundation of that temple by Ptolemy III as additional support for a Horian interpretation of the portrait10. Alternating rays in Ptolemaic portraits and in Egyptian tradition Some scholars have observed a peculiar feature of the radiate crown. Charles Seltman described the image of Ptolemy III, in his view a divine image combining Helios, Ammon and Zeus, as having a “crown made of alternating rays and twisted horns11”. R. R. R. Smith also noted the detail of the alternating 4. JenKins 1972, p. 40; davis, Kraay 1973, caption to ig. 23-24; Kyrieleis 1973, p. 219, 221; 1975, p. 28-29; 1986, p. 60, 62; mørKholm 1991, p. 109; svenson 1995, p. 71-73; fleisCher 1996, p. 38; bergmann 1998, p. 60; Johnson 1999. 5. grimm 1978, p. 103, 108; stewart 1993, p. 233; hölbl 2001, p. 93. 6. Kyrieleis 1975, p. 148-149. 7. huss 1976. 8. alföldi 1977. 9. lorber 2011, p. 316-325. 10. hölbl 2001, p. 87; Kurth 2004, p. 49. 11. seltman 1933, p. 243. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 201 rays12. on well preserved mnaieia it is possible to see that the rays are differentiated: every second ray is ornamented, and for the most part these ornamented rays are slightly shorter than the smooth ones. In the portrait of the deiied Ptolemy III, the ornamentation is a row of pellets. In the portraits of Ptolemy V, the ornament on the alternating rays is sometimes a row of pellets and sometimes a spiral, depending on the issue. The rarity and inferior preservation of the Paphian portraits of Ptolemy VIII do not permit us to determine whether he, too, employed the decorative scheme of alternating rays.13 A pattern of alternating rays is a standard theme in Egyptian funerary art of Dynasty XXI, especially in mythological papyri belonging to the priests of Amum at Thebes. The papyrus of Amon-Em-Saf in the Louvre shows a darkened solar disk in the solar barque, sitting atop the sign for the lower sky, i.e. the sky of the Netherworld; from the underside of the sky sign emerges the head of the solar hawk, shedding alternating beams on the inert body of osiris (igure 5)14. Figure 5 - Scene from papyrus of Amon-Em-Saf, Louvre. (Piankoff, Mythological Papyri, ig. 50). 12. smith 1988, p. 42. 13. This uncertainty, together with the different metal, reverse type, and mint, persuades us that the portrait of Ptolemy VIII requires a separate interpretation. 14. pianKoff 1957, p. 62, ig. 50. RN 2012, p. 197-224 202 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER These alternating beams comprise rows of dashes between rows composed of solar disks and ive-rayed stars, some of which combine to form ankh (life) signs. The darkened solar disk represents the setting sun as it descends below the horizon into the Netherworld. The juxtaposition of the two scenes equates darkness and night with death and alludes to the nightly union of the sun with the corpse of osiris, which not only revived osiris but renewed the sun for its morning rising as Ra-Harakhty (Ra-Horus of the Horizon)15. Scenes such as this relect the belief that the whole cosmos entered a state of death with the setting of the sun and was revived or even recreated by the light of the rising sun16. These beliefs remained powerful under the Ptolemies, so much so that temples built during the Ptolemaic period invariably invested their deities with solar and creative aspects and invariably included osirian themes as well17. In the papyrus of Khonsu-Rep, the enthronement of Harakhty (Horus of the Horizon) takes place on the barque above the scene of the falcon head, alternating rays, and recumbent osiris (igure 6)18. Harakhty represented both the setting and the rising sun, thus the circuit of Ra and the cycle of death and rebirth. An interior decoration of the sarcophagus of Hent-Tawy, in the Metropolitan Museum, shows the head of the solar hawk emitting alternating rays – in this case rows of dashes separated by rows of ive-pointed stars – upon the dead osiris while the barque carries the squatting Harsiese (Horus, son of Isis), thumb in mouth, silhouetted against a solar disk, sheltered by a winged solar disk and greeted by a baboon (Thot) holding an ankh (igure 7)19. The imagery links the life-giving rays not only to the resurrection of osiris but also to the birth of Horus who is represented under two aspects, as the child and heir of osiris, and as a solar deity20. A cofin in the Turin Museum shows yet another version of this scene, in which the solar barque is occupied by Khepri, the scarab of the sun at dawn, lifting a large solar disk (igure 8)21. In this case the rays emanating from the head of the solar hawk are not of the alternating type, but are composed of dashes only. This example demonstrates that a pattern of alternating rays was not essential to convey the mystery of solar regeneration, though ornamented rays surely enriched the symbolic expression. 15. QuirKe 2001, p. 41-52; taylor 2001, p. 28-29; o’Connor 2009, p. 39. 16. finnestad 1997, p. 203-213. 17. finnestad 1997, p. 213-216. 18. pianKoff 1957, p. 65, ig. 53; also pl. 11. 19. pianKoff 1957, p. 63, ig. 51. 20. In her commentary on this scene N. rambova (in pianKoff 1957, p. 64) refers to this igure as the solar child, presumably referring to the demiurge of the Hermopolitan cosmogony. The solar child is normally depicted as emerging from a lotus blossom. 21. pianKoff 1957, p. 64, ig. 52. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 203 Figure 6 - Scene from papyrus of Khonsu-Rep (Piankoff, Mythological Papyri, ig. 53). Figure 7 - Scene from cofin of Hent-Tawy, Metropolitan Museum (Piankoff, Mythological Papyri, ig. 51). RN 2012, p. 197-224 204 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER Figure 8 - Scene from cofin in Turin Museum (Piankoff, Mythological Papyri, ig. 52). Scene 6 of the papyrus of Pa-di-Amon lacks the solar barque. The head of the solar hawk descends from the sky of the Netherworld to shed alternating rays on the corpse of osiris, while atop the sky sign rests a djed pillar representing the backbone of osiris, anthropomorphized with his eyes, plumes-and-disk headdress, and crook and lail so as to represent the resurrected god (igure 9)22. The djed pillar, signifying eternal stability, symbolizes the everlastingness of the components of the cosmos and its dependence “on eternal recurrence (nebeh), the divinely inspired, repeated renewals of those components,” cosmic processes which were guaranteed and protected by Horus23. Early funerary texts were revived in the Late Period and continued to be used in the Ptolemaic period24. We know of no depiction of alternating rays in an Egyptian context after the Third Intermediate Period. Nevertheless, in light of the strongly antiquarian character of Egyptian religion in the third century, we suspect that the alternating rays of the coin portraits of Ptolemy III and V 22. pianKoff 1957, p. 60, ig. 47; also pl. 10. 23. o’Connor 2009, p. 39. 24. taylor 2001, p. 199. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 205 Figure 9 - Scene 6 of the papyrus of Pa-Di-Amon (Piankoff, Mythological Papyri, ig. 47). derived from Egyptian sources. We are convinced that the rays conveyed fundamental Egyptian concepts, concepts also implicit in other elements of the coin types. In such a reading, the alternating rays not only expressed the solar quality of the kings’ divinity and their identiication with Horus, Ra, and Ra-Harakhty but also associated them explicitly with the regenerative power of the sun in its various divine manifestations. The imagery implicated both kings in the eternal cosmic cycle of death and regeneration, in which the annual cycle of vegetation in Egypt was mysteriously linked to the nightly rebirth of the sun25. In the case of Ptolemy III the alternating rays also alluded to his own resurrection and immortality, to his eternal life as an osiris-Ptolemy, strongly underlined by the rejuvenated portrait of the king depicted in the lower of his youth 25. Cauville 1987, especially p. 68-72, 93; bonhême, forgeau 1988, p. 116-118, 126-130. The perpetuation of these cycles was dependent on rituals performed by the king or by his delegates, the priesthood, see bonhême, forgeau 1988, p. 126-130, 132-135, 144-155; QuirKe 2001, p. 52-64; tallet 2010, p. 409. RN 2012, p. 197-224 206 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER and not as a mature ruler in his ifties (or even older).26 In the largest and most important emission of mnaieia with his radiate portrait (Svoronos 1117, marked with the control letters DI), the radiate crown is invariably composed of fourteen rays. The number fourteen was strongly associated with osiris in the Ptolemaic period. According to the irst-century B.C. Papyrus Jumilhac and to an inscription in the temple of Hathor at Denderah, the corpse of osiris was cut into fourteen pieces by his murderer, Seth27. The number fourteen also corresponded to the days of the waxing or waning of the moon, itself a symbol of rejuvenation, and identiied with osiris since the old Kingdom28 The fourteen alternating rays of Ptolemy III may thus imply the moon as well as the sun, enhancing the king’s cosmic importance and relating him to the measurement of time. This can hardly fail to recall the calendrical reform promulgated in the Canopus Decree of 238, in which Ptolemy Euergetes explicitly claimed the power to regulate the seasons and the passage of the years, representing himself as a Master of Time and as guarantor of the universal order29. The lotus blossom ornamenting the central prong of the trident is another symbol of osiris, but it also interacts signiicantly with the radiate crown. The Egyptian blue lotus sinks under water every night and rises again every morning, so that its daily cycle was regarded as a double of the daily cycle of the sun30. In the cosmogony attributed to Hermopolis, very popular in the Late Period, the genesis of the world was visualized as the emergence of a lotus from the primordial waters (nun) and the appearance of a solar demiurge among its petals, in the form of a child whose brilliant gaze brought forth the gods and the rest of creation31. The morning of creation was called the First Time, implying that the world was created anew every morning with the rising of the sun32. In New Kingdom funerary contexts various deceased pharaohs were represented as the solar child, i.e., the demiurge33 and a similar identiication is probably 26. The dates of birth and death of the king are disputed. For his birth, we generally accept a date between 285 and 275. Following the Canopus Decree (OGIS 56), the oficial date of his birth was Dios 5 (no precision of the year). As for his death, it is to be dated sometime between 222 and 221 B.C. For a long discussion of the controversy surrounding these dates and updated bibliography, see the website: www.tyndalehouse.com s.v. “Ptolemy III.” 27. budge 1911, p. 386; vandier 1951, p. 136-137; cf. plutarCh, Mor., De Iside et Osiride, 12.18. In contrast, other Egyptian texts give 16 pieces (budge 1911, p. 386-388); diodorus siCulus, 1.21.2 gives 26 pieces; and the temple of Edfu 42, one for each nome of Egypt, cf. Cauville 1983, p. 32. 28. Cauville 1983, p. 170-171, 189-190; o’Connor 2009, p. 39. 29. OGIS 56, ll. 40-46; bernand 1970, p. 32-37. The deiied king already appears as Master of Time in the earliest document relating to royal cult, the ithyphallic hymn for Demetrius Poliorcetes, see Chaniotis 2011, p. 161-166. 30. sauneron, yoyotte 1959, p. 39; tallet 2010, p. 407. 31. sauneron, yoyotte 1959, p. 51-62; tallet 2010, p. 401. 32. sauneron, yoyotte 1959, p. 77-78; tallet 2010, p. 408. 33. tallet 2010, p. 410, n. 43. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 207 intended for the resurrected Ptolemy III, whose chubby face is quite childlike. In the Ptolemaic period ritual offerings of the lotus blossom served to assimilate the king to the demiurge and to renew his royal power so that he could guarantee the daily regeneration of the world, the annual inundation of Egypt, the order of the cosmos, and the promise of another life in the hereafter34. As for Ptolemy V, his solar nature was the very essence of his identity as a divine pharaoh. When the Egyptian priests met in synod at Memphis in 196 and decreed the creation of his cult statue and a shrine to house it, to be kept in the sanctuary of every temple of Egypt and displayed at every great festival, they prescribed that the shrine should be decorated with hieroglyphs meaning “The king who has illumined Upper and Lower Egypt35.” Several scholars have proposed that the radiate portraits of the Ptolemies inspired the Seleucid king Antiochus IV to imitate their example (igure 10)36. We can now point out that he did not appropriate the Ptolemaic radiate crown in all its details. In the radiate portraits of Antiochus IV, all the rays are smooth, they emanate from the king’s head rather than from his diadem, and the number of rays is greatly reduced; the usual number is six, but seven or more are occasionally encountered on his western coinages, and ive on his eastern coinages. Figure 10 - Bronze coin of Antiochus IV (SC 1411) (Photograph: Arthur Houghton). on the semantic level, the borrowing was relatively supericial, appropriating the most obvious implications of the rays – epiphany, implied assimilation to a solar deity – but in no way calling up the speciically Egyptian themes of the Horus King, the First Time, solar regeneration, the eternal cycle of life and 34. tallet 2010, p. 409-411. In the Ptolemaic period the regeneration of the king and his assimilation to the demiurge were also assured by local festivals celebrating the birth of the local infant god. 35. simpson 1996, p. 266-271. The priests also authorized private persons to keep replicas of the shrine in their homes. 36. bergmann 1998, p. 56, 58, 61-66, also considering the possibility of Persian inluences; blasius 2006. The present authors have suggested that Antiochus IV drew on Mesopotamian and Iranian religious traditions, at least insofar as celestial imagery occurs on his eastern coinages, see iossif, lorber 2009b, p. 139-142. RN 2012, p. 197-224 208 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER death, and the king’s role in the cosmic order37. The attachment of the Ptolemaic rays to the diadem indicates that all these themes pertained to the kingship per se, not to the individual king as a person, whereas the emanation of rays from the head of Antiochus IV may imply his personal epiphany. The rays of the cornucopiae The themes of solar regeneration and perpetual renewal are repeated in the reverse type of the mnaieia of Ptolemy III and Ptolemy V. In both cases it is a cornucopiae bound with a royal diadem that loops above the top of the horn, where it emanates smooth (but never alternating) rays38. In Greek myth the cornucopiae was the horn of the she-goat Amaltheia, nurse of the infant Zeus, and it was endowed with the gift of perpetual replenishment39. The cornucopiae was an attribute of various gods but was appropriated by the Ptolemies as a royal attribute, as expressed by the diadem that is invariably tied around it40. Its irst known appearance in a Ptolemaic context was in the Grand Procession of Ptolemy II, where a golden horn of Amaltheia (χρυσοῦν Ἀμαλθείας κέρας) was carried by Eniautos, the personiication of the year41. In this early display of Ptolemaic royal ideology prosperity was related to time, a linkage that appears especially signiicant under Ptolemy III. But before its association with Ptolemy III, the cornucopiae was an attribute of two Ptolemaic queens. It served as the reverse type of coins of Arsinoe Philadelphus (igure 11), in the form of the δίκερας or double cornucopiae, devised by Ptolemy II to convey the idea 37. A possible exception is the Egyptianizing bronze coinage of Antiochus IV (houghton, lorber, hoover 2008, nos 1412-1415; blasius 2006), which associates the king’s radiate portrait with images of Sarapis and Isis. 38. The same iconographic pattern of a large, almost circular nimbus is to be observed on Apulian vases: in the irst case, a lekythos from the Richmond, Virginia Museum of Art (bergmann 1998, pl. 6.7), Eos and Cephalus are represented riding a quadriga and both igures are encircled by a single radiate nimbus having the same shape as the radiate crown decorating the Ptolemaic cornucopiae. The second case is a loutrophoros from Geneva (bergmann 1998, pl. 6.8), where Poseidon and Amphithea are also depicted riding a quadriga and their bodies are enclosed in an almost circular frame created by the radiate nimbus. bergmann 1998, p. 42-46 interprets these radiate nimbi as materializations of the divine epiphany. The fact that the attribute appears under this form and shape in particular contexts (couples, quadriga, and fast movement) shows that a simple epiphany is not a satisfying explanation. In both representations, the presence of winged Nike shows that a victorious and triumphal explanation should be considered. 39. hyginus, De Astronomia, 2.3; bemmann 1992, p. 17-19. 40. bemmann 1992, especially p. 82-106 (discussing the cornucopiae as a Ptolemaic symbol); parente 2002, p. 268; von reden 2007, p. 53-54. 41. athenaios, 198a. on the Grand Procession of Ptolemy II, see riCe 1983. hazzard 2000, p. 60-75 emphasized the temporal symbolism of the procession, arguing that the igure of Eniautos and the personiications of other units of time that accompanied him announced the introduction of a new era honoring Ptolemy I, whose purpose was to ix the celebration of the Ptolemaieia to coincide with the achronychal rising of the star Ptolemaios (Canopus). RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 209 Figure 11 - Silver decadrachm of Arsinoe Philadelphus (Svoronos 496) (Photograph: Andrew Daneman). that it exceeded the horn of Amaltheia in its abundance42. The cornucopiae also served in its standard, single form as the reverse type of Berenice II (igure 12), where its distinguishing feature was an ear of grain among the contents, symbolizing the queen’s assimilation to Demeter and her Egyptian counterpart Isis43. Figure 12 - Silver Attic-weight dodecadrachm of Berenice II (Svoronos 988) (Photograph: Andrew Daneman). 42. athenaios, 11.497b-c; plantzos 1991/1992, p. 124-125. The doubling of the cornucopiae has often been related to the sibling marriage of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II or to the joint godlike power of the royal couple, see thompson 1973, p. 33 (with earlier literature); riCe 1983, p. 202208; bemmann 1992, p. 88-89; ager 2005, p. 24; müller 2009, p. 373-374. Contra: plantzos 1991/1992, p. 125-126. 43. brunelle 1976, p. 32-33; pantos 1987. For the identiication of Demeter with Isis, see herodotus, 2.59. on the belief that the mysteries of Demeter were introduced to Greece from Egypt, see diodorus siCulus, 1.14.4; 5.5.2 RN 2012, p. 197-224 210 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER The rays crowning the cornucopiae were an innovation added by Ptolemy IV when he wished to create a distinctive form of the cornucopiae for his late father, thereby laying a masculine claim to what had formerly been, in the context of Lagid royal iconography, a feminine symbol. Even without the decoration of alternate rays, the repetition of the king’s radiate diadem, tied around the horn, clearly marked the cornucopiae as another of his royal attributes. The effect was to enrich the meaning of the device: besides evoking worldly abundance, which in Egypt was bound up with the Nile inundation, and chthonic deities with their promise of eternal life, the cornucopiae now implicated Egyptian concepts of the sun and solar deities as the source of life, regeneration, and rebirth, and it further identiied the solarized king as the source of this perpetual cycle of replenishment. It is conventional wisdom that there was a separate and speciic form of the cornucopiae for each member of the Lagid dynasty. But Ptolemy V adopted the radiate cornucopiae of his grandfather unchanged, even retaining the grain ear that had been introduced for the iconography of Berenice II and transmitted to the cornucopiae of her husband. This observation suggests that the dynamic was not only a program of designing a different cornucopiae for each member of the dynasty, but also a process of illing out and perfecting the image (even though the earlier versions retained their associations with Arsinoe Philadelphus and Berenice II on their posthumous coinages). The golden cornucopiae carried by the igure of Eniautos in the Grand Procession of Ptolemy II was an early clue that for the Ptolemies the concepts of abundance and cyclical time were inseparable. A secondary meaning of the word Ἐνιαυτός was cyclical time and the Eniautos Daimon personiied the recurring cycles of nature44. The other temporal personiications, of Penteteris (Πεντετηρίς) and of the Seasons ( Ὥραι), were even more strongly cyclical in character. The pompe began with the personiication of the Morning Star (Ἑωσφόρος) and ended with that of the Evening Star ( Ἕσπερος), coinciding with the rising of the actual stars. The celebration of the dynasty (and its display of abundance) was thus bracketed by astral symbols, placing the rulers in a cosmic context and perhaps even implying that the king could regulate the stars. Such pretensions were made explicit in the Canopus Decree. It established a great annual festival of the Theoi Euergetai opening on the day of the rising of the star Isis (Sothis), which was considered the beginning of the solar New year and coincided with the harvest and the beginning of the Nile inundation45. The calendrical reform promulgated in the same decree was intended to adjust the Egyptian civil calendar to the solar calendar so as to ix these correlations in perpetuity, and it did so by adding a sixth epagomenal day, sacred to the 44. riCe 1983, p. 50. 45. OGIS 56, ll. 33-40; bernand 1970, ll. 26-32. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 211 Theoi Euergetai, to be celebrated every fourth year46. The irst of these measures associated the sovereigns with the Nile inundation and by implication made them guarantors of Egypt’s agricultural abundance47. The second represented them as divine governors of the procession of the seasons and the order of the cosmos, while assuring their cyclical reappearance as patrons of the perfected calendar. The assimilation of the king to the solar demiurge is also recalled on the reverse of these mnaieia by a small detail, the lotus lower adorning the basis of the cornucopiae, already present on the earliest δίκερας of Arsinoe Philadelphus. The cornucopiae seems to spring from the lotus like the solar child himself, presenting a strong image related to the birth of the cosmos. The presence of the lotus and the radiate diadem on both obverse and reverse of the mnaieia for Ptolemy III assures us of the interrelation between these two symbols even as it reinforces the dialogue between the obverse and reverse imagery48. The military aspect of the portraits The portraits of Ptolemy III and Ptolemy V share a further, signiicant symbolic aspect in addition to their radiate crowns: both are military portraits on coinages related to military campaigns. This aspect is less conspicuous in the portrait of Ptolemy III, but it is nevertheless implicit in the way he wears the aegis, in the manner of a Macedonian military chlamys49. The aegis worn in the manner of a chlamys is the particular distinguishing characteristic of the Alexander Aigiochos, an Egyptian statue type that has been convincingly identiied as the cult statue of Alexander in his role as the principal god of the Ptolemaic dynastic cult50. The attribute thus serves to place Ptolemy III in relation to Alexander, especially in his aspect as conqueror of the orient, an achievement allegedly replicated by Ptolemy III in the irst stages of the Third Syrian War51. This association was highly signiicant because the mnaieia 46. OGIS 56, ll. 40-46; bernand 1970, ll. 32-37. on the religious and ideological implications of the calendrical reform, see legras 2004, p. 196-199; hauben 2011, p. 366-374 and passim. 47. hölbl 2001, p. 108. 48. There is also an obverse-reverse dialogue in the coins of Arsinoe Philadelphus, established by the lotus scepter and the lotus ornament at the base of the cornucopiae. In this case explicit solar symbols are lacking, unless the ram’s horn curling about the queen’s ear is construed as associating her with Amun-Ra. 49. on the Macedonian and military signiicance of the chlamys, see lorber, iossif forthcoming (with earlier literature). 50. Kleiner 1950-1951, p. 214-215; stewart 1993, p. 243, 247; lorber 2011, p. 312-315. The latter two authors reject the common assumption that the Alexander Aigiochos statue type represents the cult statue of Alexander as ktistes of Alexandria, based in large part on the wide dispersion of replicas throughout Egypt. For the most recent corpus of the replicas, see parlasCa 2004. 51. OGIS 54. RN 2012, p. 197-224 212 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER representing the third Ptolemy in this fashion were issued at the time of the Fourth Syrian War, so that Euergetes’ victories appeared as inspiration and model for the victory at Raphia52. The implicit identiication of Ptolemy III with Alexander also resonates in the context of Egyptian royal ideology. Because each king was an incarnation of Horus, the royal heir and god of legitimate kingship, in some sense every king was a replica of each of his predecessors53. But Horus had another aspect as defender of Egypt. This was an aspect especially exempliied by Alexander, whose Egyptian “Great Name” began with the title Ḥr mkj Kmt (Horus who defends Egypt)54, and whose Persian campaign was conceived by the Egyptian priesthood as a punitive expedition on behalf of Egypt55. The synod of priests at Canopus similarly interpreted the punitive campaign of Ptolemy III against the Seleucid kingdom as a defensive war that beneited Egypt56. The military aspects of the portraits of Ptolemy V seem more straightforward. on his mnaieia, he appears radiate, wearing the military chlamys, and (with one exception) with a spear resting on his shoulder. Many scholars have placed these coins in the context of the Fifth Syrian War57 and we shall demonstrate below that they can be dated even more precisely. The Fifth Syrian War was also the context for the portrait tetradrachms of Ptolemy V, which show him diademed and wearing the chlamys (igure 13)58. on both tetradrachms and mnaieia the diadem is often adorned with a grain ear, implying an association or assimilation with Triptolemus and his Egyptian equivalent Harpocrates59. Figure 13 - Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy V (Svoronos 1300) (Photograph: Andrew Daneman). 52. Kyrieleis 1973, p. 221, n. 29; bergmann 1998, p. 60-61. 53. bell 1985, p. 256-257; bonhême, forgeau 1988, p. 63; sChäfer 2007, p. 66-67; pfeiffer 2008, p. 24-26. 54. abd-el-raziQ 1984. 55. sChäfer 2007, p. 59-60, 68-69. 56. OGIS 56, ll. 10-14; bernand 1970, ll. 7-11. 57. svoronos 1904-1908, Vol. I, cols. tm´–tmg´, tmz´–tmq´; Vol. IV, cols. 257-260, 263-265; Kyrieleis 1973, p. 218-220; mørKholm 1983, p. 247; bergmann 1998, p. 59. Contra: mørKholm 1991, p. 110. 58. mørKholm 1979. 59. Kyrieleis 1973, p. 243-246; mørKholm 1979, p. 208; huss 2001, p. 534-535. The identiication of Ptolemy V with Harpocrates is also expressed in statuary, see huss 2006. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 213 The Decree of Memphis emphasized Ptolemy’s status as Horus King, comparing his punishment of the Egyptian rebels who revolted against his father to the vindication of osiris by Horus, and ordering the erection in every temple of his statue as a military victor, to be called “Ptolemy the avenger of Egypt60.” The unique mnaieion depicting the radiate Ptolemy V without a spear (igure 2) bears the regnal date LV (year 6), equivalent to 200/199, that is, the year after the defeat at Panion, when Lagid forces were nearly driven from Syria and Phoenicia. The mnaieia showing the young king radiate and with the spear over his shoulder (igure 3) almost certainly belong to the following year, regnal year 7. The mnaieia are linked iconographically, through the spear and the two stars lanking the cornucopiae on the reverse, to a special issue of tetradrachms with the unique reverse type of a winged thunderbolt, lanked by two stars, a spear head, and a monogram (igure 14)61. These tetradrachms are the only precious metal coins of Ptolemy V to bear his cult epithet Epiphanes. They, in turn, are linked to a rare issue of Tyrian bronzes that feature the epiklesis and the spear head on the obverse, and a club bound with a royal diadem on the reverse (igure 15)62. The tetradrachm and bronze can be dated quite narrowly. Egyptian texts indicate that Ptolemy assumed the demotic version of his epithet, pȜ nṯr ntj pr (the god who appears), between 10 January/8 February 199 and 11 December 199/9 January 198 and W. Huß opined that it was introduced at the beginning of his seventh regnal year (199/8).63 Tyre passed to the Seleucids sometime in the course of 198 and began to issue bronze coins in the name of Antiochus III in S.E. 115 (198/197)64. Figure 14 - Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy V (Svoronos 1249) (Photograph: Andrew Daneman). 60. OGIS 90, ll. 38-39; simpson 1996, p. 262-263, 266-267. 61. svoronos 1904-1908, no 1249. 62. svoronos 1904-1908, no 1046; Israel Museum inv. 8658 (where the details are clear); lorber 2006. 63. huss 2001, p. 529. 64. Bronzes of S.E. 115 are well attested. houghton, spaer 1998, no 662 allegedly bears the date S.E. 114, but this reading is doubtful. RN 2012, p. 197-224 214 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER Figure 15 - Bronze coin of Ptolemy V, Tyre mint (IM 8658; Svoronos 1046) (Photograph: Haim Gitler). The enrichment of the royal portrait with a spear in a resting position can only symbolize victory. This portrait type seems incongruous for the year 199/8 in light of our knowledge that the entire Syro-Phoenician province would soon be lost. But that is hindsight and we must assume that the government of Ptolemy V still hoped for a reversal of fortune. At least one other element in this complex of coinage also suggests the hope of victory: the winged thunderbolt of the Epiphanes tetradrachm combines the thunderbolt of Zeus with the wings of Nike, evoking Zeus Nicephorus. The appeal is to the ultimate divine progenitor and protector of the Lagid house, which claimed descent through two sons of Zeus, Heracles and Dionysus.65 From an Egyptian point of view, the struggle between the Ptolemies and the Seleucids for the dominion over Phoenicia and Syria was not a simple affair of conquering a buffer-zone or controlling critical resources; it also possessed a religious dimension, since the area was divinely granted to the Greek pharaohs. In the temple of Edfu, in the First Sokarian Chamber, osiris says to Ptolemy IV, “I grant that Egypt will be faithful to your majesty and that the land of the Asiatics will be your slave”; in the Mesenit Horus says to him, “I give you Phoenicia with its tribute” and Isis says, “I give you Asia with its offerings”; in the Chapel of the Throne of the Gods the same grants are repeated by Isis and Nephthys66. The dificult circumstances after Panion correlate with a reorientation in the dynastic iconography of Ptolemy V. In the earlier stages of the Fifth Syrian War he had struck coins portraying his two parents, the victors at Raphia, alongside his own portrait issues (igures 16-17)67. Even though the unexpected victory of the Theoi Philopatores over Antiochus III would seem to be a model of the 65. OGIS 54. 66. Cauville 1987, p. 19, 65, 66, 77 (English translation from Cauville’s French translation of the hieroglyphic texts). 67. mørKholm 1979, p. 203. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES Figure 16 - Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy V, depicting Ptolemy IV (Svoronos 1273) (Photograph: Andrew Daneman). 215 Figure 17 - Gold mnaieion of Ptolemy V, depicting Arsinoe III (Svoronos 1269). miracle needed in 199/8, the portraits of Ptolemy IV and Arsinoe III do not occur in the complex of coinage datable after Panion. The mnaieia of years 6 and 7 depict Ptolemy V with attributes of Ptolemy III, showing that the young king now identiied himself with his grandfather, a great warrior who enjoyed notable success against the Seleucid kingdom68. In addition the irst Ptolemy was given prominence in the victory coinage. Associated with the Epiphanes tetradrachms are mnaieia of the Theoi Adelphoi type, showing the spear head behind the bust of Ptolemy I and sometimes a thunderbolt on the diadem of Ptolemy II (igure 18), and tetradrachms of the standard Ptolemaic type, with the portrait of the dynastic founder and an eagle on thunderbolt reverse, furnished with the spear head and monogram in the ield beside the eagle (igure 19)69. Here again we ind an association of the spear head with symbols of Zeus. Apparently the ifth Ptolemy now conided the success of his war effort to Ptolemy Soter, the founder of the dynasty, a savior god, a protégé, descendant, and intimate of Zeus70. yet another tetradrachm of the Soter/eagle type is linked to the coinage of year 7 by the presence of two stars on the reverse, lanking the eagle (igure 20)71. The general military context of the year 7 coinage, and especially the association of the stars with the winged thunderbolt on the Epiphanes tetradrachm, encourages us to interpret the stars as symbols of two more sons of Zeus, the Dioscuri, savior gods who were believed to appear on the battleield at moments of crisis72. 68. Kyrieleis 1973, p. 219; bergmann 1998, p. 59-60. 69. svoronos 1904-1908, nos 1247-1248, 1250. 70. suda, s.v. “Λάγος” theoCritus, Id. 17, ll. 16-17; mowat 1893, p. 30-31; Koenen 1993, p. 44-45. 71. svoronos 1904-1908, no 1255. 72. Cf. hazzard 1995, where the two stars are interpreted as comets announcing the king’s divinity, one of which appeared at his birth and the other at his accession. RN 2012, p. 197-224 216 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER Figure 18 - Gold mnaieion of Ptolemy V, depicting Ptolemy I, Berenice I, Ptolemy II, and Arsinoe II (Svoronos 1247) (Scan from Svoronos). Figure 19 - Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy V, depicting Ptolemy I (Svoronos 1250) (Photograph: Silvia Hurter). Figure 20 - Silver tetradrachm of Ptolemy V, depicting Ptolemy I (Svoronos 1255) (Scan from Svoronos). The spear and spear head on these coins are appropriate to the mercenaries who were their likely recipients, and to the mercenary generals on whom the regime to Ptolemy V largely depended73. But there is more to say about their symbolism. The spear head (αἰχμή) was the most essential part of the spear. It cannot be coincidence that since Homer, αἰχμήτης became a synonym for warrior and many epithets derived from this root are used to designate Achilles and 73. Kyrieleis 1973, p. 216-217, 220. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 217 Agamemnon. Alexandrian poetry made pointed use of this Homeric diction: Ptolemy I is addressed as αἰχμητ Πτολεμαίῳ in Theocritus, Id. 17.57; Lagos, his father, is also a renowned spearman, δορικλειτο̑ιο Λαάγου, in SH 922; Philadelphus is also praised, like his father, as αἰχμητὰ Πτολεμα̑ιε in Theocritus, Id. 17.56 and as skilled with the spear (ἐπιστάμενος δόρυ πάλλειν) in Theocritus, Id.17.103.74 one of the exhibits in the Grand Procession of Ptolemy II was a gigantic silver spear (λόγχη ἀργυρά), 90 feet in length, following personiications of the Greek cities of Asia and the islands that had been liberated by Alexander from Persian rule. This association indicates that for the Ptolemies the spear was a symbol of just war. S. Barbantani edited an epigram to Neoptolemus at Tlos, with dedication of a statue of this strategos who gained his glory through the spear, and she also collected epigrams of Ptolemaic generals and soldiers where the spear and especially the αἰχμή are particularly praised75. Her article illustrates the importance of the spear as a symbol of military virtue and also the importance of spear-won land in the mentality of the Ptolemies and their court. In the numismatic iconography of Ptolemy V, both the spear and the spear head must allude to the fundamental Hellenistic concept of δορίκτητος χώρα, spear-won territory76. Early in his tenure as satrap, Ptolemy I defended Egypt against the invasion of Perdiccas. Afterward, at the conference at Triparadisus, Antipater reinstated Ptolemy in Egypt on that ground that it was οἱονεὶ δορίκτητον (as if spear-won) and Ptolemy possessed his territory as ὡσανεὶ τινα δορίκτητον.77 Following the battle of Salamis Ptolemy repelled the attempted invasion of Antigonus and Demetrius and then he himself regarded the land as spear-won territory (καὶ νομίσας δορίκτητον ἔχειν τὴν χώραν)78. In general, however, δορίκτητος χώρα concerned lands outside the legal realm of a king, disputed areas that had been conquered or needed to be reconquered. Theocritus, Idyll 17 makes a clear distinction between Egypt and the possessions of the Lagids outside Egypt and this practice is also followed by Polybius 5.34.2-9: ἀρχή for Egypt and various terms (κυριέοντες, δεσπίζοντες, ἐφήδρευον, πράγμασι) for possessions outside Egypt79. The legal status of these territories was sharply debated in the negotiations preceding the battle of Raphia, where two opposing theses were defended, and where the Ptolemaic ambassadors insisted on the conquest of the territories made by Ptolemy I in 74. Even Arsinoe II was praised as holding a pointed spear in her hand and a hollow shield on her arm (poseidippus, Ep. 36.5-6 A-B). The inspiration for this image must be the Lysippean statue of Alexander-Achilles Aichmephoros, see stewart 1993, p. 78-86, 162 n. 19; barbantani 2007, p. 102-108 (with complete bibliography). 75. barbantani 2007. 76. mehl 1980-1981, especially p. 196-205 on the Syrian Wars; smith 1994; barbantani 2001, p. 53-54 n. 204; barbantani 2007 (with extended discussion and bibliography). 77. diodorus siCulus, 18.39.5, 18.43.1. 78. diodorus siCulus, 20.76.7. 79. barbantani 2007, p. 67. RN 2012, p. 197-224 218 PANAGIoTIS P. IoSSIF / CATHARINE C. LoRBER Asia, outside Egypt: τὰς ἐπὶ Πτολεμαίου τοῦ Λάγου κτήσεις80. Thus the spear and spear head on the coins of Ptolemy V can only apply to Syro-Phoenicia and not to the rebellions in Upper and Lower Egypt, since these regions were Egypt81. This is conirmed by the association of the spear head with Ptolemy I, who conquered Syria and Phoenicia twice before permanently adding it to his kingdom in 302/1. With respect to Egypt itself, he played the role of the Horus King by defending the Two Lands from foreign invasion, not by suppressing rebellion. on the basis for possession of Syria and Phoenicia Greek and Egyptian thought were not congruent. The Greek concept of δορίκτητος χώρα implied that the personal valor of the king was a legal basis for territorial claims. But in Egyptian ideology, as indicated above, Syria and Phoenicia belonged to Egypt by divine right. The grants of the gods imply that the signiicance of SyroPhoenicia went beyond its economic and strategic importance; its submission to Egypt was a part of the cosmic order ordained by the gods, the Maat, which the king was bound to maintain and protect. This background provides a link between the king’s mastery of the cosmos – a part of the symbolism of the rays – and the speciic military contexts of the radiate portraits. The military character of the radiate portraits of Ptolemy III and Ptolemy V seems dissonant with respect to the symbolism of solar regeneration and of plenitude. But there was no real contradiction. on the human plane the concept of Maat summed up the Egyptian king’s responsibility to guarantee all factors favorable to economic prosperity, including peace; his victory over enemies was a necessary precondition for abundance82. It is no surprise that in the Canopus Decree the Egyptian priests praise Ptolemy III for maintaining the country in peace (Εἰρήνη) by ighting in its defense against foreign nations and rulers83. The priests of Sais went even farther, praising at great length the courage, military skill and even battle lust of Ptolemy II as preconditions for happiness in Egypt: “…master of the khepesh (scimitar) who grasps the shield […], who cuts off the heads of his enemies until there is no head left among his opponents, courageous when he enters among the host, his eyes red with blood, who causes his enemies to die, who seizes the cudgel, whose heart is joyous […]. He who protects the Saite nome […], who appeases the heart of the gods of the sky […], who ixes the laws like the Lord of Hermopolis, who takes care 80. polybius, 5.67. It comes as no surprise that the Seleucid ambassadors claimed ancestral rights based on the treaty established after the battle of Ipsus between Cassander, Lysimachus and Seleucus. 81. The deduction corrects and supersedes the interpretations of lorber 2011, p. 325-329, where the iconography of the mnaieia is associated with the suppression of revolts in Egypt and with Horus’ special role in quelling rebellion. 82. grimal 1986, p. 229-270; menu 1999, p. 354-355. 83. OGIS 56, ll. 11-12; bernand 1970, p. 8-9. RN 2012, p. 197-224 THE RAyS oF THE PToLEMIES 219 of the entire country84”. There is also a relation between war and peace in the Greek ideology of kingship. The Hellenistic king appears not only as a victorious general but also as the bearer of peace85. A state of peace is surely implied by the cornuacopiae on our coins, but peace may also be involved more directly in the symbolism. In the Peace of Aristophanes (v. 520), the goddess Eirene is called Πότνια βοτρυόδωρος, the one offering grapes. The grapes hanging from the rim of the cornuacopiae may evoke Eirene as well as Dionysus. Si vis pacem, para bellum. We conclude that the radiate portraits of Ptolemy III and V and their corresponding radiate cornuacopiae represent their beneicence under two related aspects, their defense of Egypt and the divine order by ighting foreign wars and their guarantee of abundance and perpetual regeneration. Both of these aspects pertain to their solar, Horian nature and to their maintenance of Maat, which embodied the vital force of the sun, the life of the country, and the balance of the cosmos86. In the case of Ptolemy III, at least, and perhaps for Ptolemy V as well, the association of rays and a lotus evokes the king’s assimilation to the solar demiurge whence he acquired the power to renew creation every morning at the rising of the sun. 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