#naukratis

[numinous-archives]

hey, here are some insights about Naukratis for anyone curious

w/ citations below ;)

Naukratis

early Greco-Egyptian relations

Naukratis was located by W. M. Flinders Petrie in 1883

Petrie found a ''great mound'' which he assumed was a fort, but inscriptions and architectural features suggest the enclosure likely housed a temple to Amun-Re of Batet, a localized form of Amun known from other Egyptian sources (Muhs, 1994)

Naukratis was a city and trading post located in the Nile Delta which emerged around the 7th/6th century BCE at the same time of the Egyptian 26th Dynasty (664–525 BC), also known as the Saite Dynasty, but later became a formal settlement under Amasis around 570 BCE

Naukratis was initially a Milesian trading post near Sais on the Canopic Nile, it eventually became a Greek garrison and fortified commercial hub, especially under Psammetichus I (Psamtik) (who reigned around 664-610 BCE) who used Ionian and Carian mercenaries to consolidate power and repel Assyrians

according to: Herodotus, History II.152

Believing he had been mistreated by them, he sought revenge against those who had expelled him. He sent word to the city of Buto, home to Egypt’s most infallible oracle; the oracle responded that he would exact revenge when he saw bronze men coming from the sea. Psamtik didn’t believe at all that bronze men would come to his aid. But soon after, Ionians and Carians, traveling in search of booty, were forced to dock on the coast of Egypt, where they disembarked with their bronze armor; and an Egyptian arrived in the swampy country and brought news to Psamtik (as he had never before seen armored men) that bronze men had arrived from the sea and were foraging in the plain. Psamtik saw this as the fulfillment of the oracle; he befriended Ionians and Carians, promised them great rewards if they joined him, and having won them over, he deposed the eleven kings with these allies and the Egyptians who volunteered.

Naukratis became the only official Greek settlement under Amasis (570–526 B.C.), who centralized Greek commerce there to balance diplomacy with domestic xenophobia (Hanrahan, 1961)

Greek mercenaries also left inscriptions at sites like Abu Simbel, indicating deep involvement in Egyptian military and cultural life [note: under Psamtik II]

Pharaohs like Necho II and Amasis supported Greek religious and cultural institutions (e.g., temple donations, marriages)

Hellenion was a sanctuary built in Naukratis by Greeks from various city-states, serving as a religious center and symbol of pan-Hellenic identity within Egypt

There were also constructed various temples dedicated to deities like Apollo, Hera, and Aphrodite

References

Hanrahan, M. (1961). NAUCRATIS, AND THE RELATIONS BETWEEN GREECE AND EGYPT DURING THE VIIth AND VIth CENTURIES B.C. University Review, 2(5), 46–57.

Muhs, B. (1994). The Great Temenos of Naukratis. Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, 31, 99–113. https://doi.org/10.2307/40000672

Further readings / other sources I've collected [mostly via JSTOR]

Coulson, W. D. E., & Leonard, A. (1979). A Preliminary Survey of the Naukratis Region in the Western Nile Delta. Journal of Field Archaeology, 6(2), 151–168. https://doi.org/10.2307/529361

Demetriou, D. (2012). Naukratis. In Negotiating Identity in the Ancient Mediterranean: The Archaic and Classical Greek Multiethnic Emporia (pp. 105–152). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Petrie, W. M. F. (1885). The Discovery of Naukratis. The Journal of Hellenic Studies, 6, 202–206. https://doi.org/10.2307/623396

Roebuck, C. (1951). The Organization of Naukratis. Classical Philology, 46(4), 212–220.

[theancientwayoflife]

~ Hathoric figure from Naukratis.

Period: Ptolemaic

Date: 4th century B.C.- 1st century B.C.

Place of origin: Africa, Egypt: Lower Egypt, Nile Delta Naukratis, Great Temenos, Great Mound

Medium: Limestone

[romegreeceart]

Greek birds and other animals

* 620-620 BCE

* Sanctuary of Aphrodite, Naukratis

* British Museum

* London, July 2022

[whencyclopedia]

Naukratis

Naukratis (also spelled Naucratis, and known as Nokraji to the ancient Egyptians) was a city in Lower Egypt, located in the Canopic (or western) branch of the Nile delta, which became a powerful trading port between the Egyptians and the rest of the Mediterranean world. It was the first permanent Greek settlement in Egypt, and its name translates to "naval command" from Greek.

Continue reading...

[aboutanancientenquiry]

Naukratis, Late Period Egypt and ancient Greek economy-V

The Greek Economy and Its Market Elements

Astrid Moller

DOI:10.1093/oso/9780198152842.003.0008

The fall of the Mycenaean world marks a deep historical break. Mycenaean society was characterized by a redistributive economy, indicated by accurate book-keeping in its centres. According to Finley, in the following Dark Ages, Greek society was largely determined by reciprocity, thus differing not only from the preceding Mycenaean age but also—fundamentally—from the advanced civilizations of the Near East. Reciprocity can still be found in Herodotus, who records traces of consolidation of social relationships through the exchange of gifts. The friendship between Polykrates of Samos and Pharaoh Amasis, for example, was strengthened by means of gifts and counter-gifts; the alliance between Kroisos and the Spartans came about through the gift of a krater as a reciprocal present for gold. Given the absence of great centres of redistribution for the collection and reallocation of land, labour, and products, Greek society and its economy should be regarded as developing along completely different lines to those of the Near Eastern civilizations. Any attempt at commenting on trade in Archaic Greece seems a risky undertaking in that the results depend wholly on the approach applied and the questions asked. Written sources are rare and difficult to interpret. Archaeological sources, for their part, while extensive and varied, are no easier to explain. Do we have to assume that every sherd of pottery, every ivory fragment, and every oriental seal arrived at its place of discovery through trade—indeed, what precisely do we mean by ‘trade’? My feeling is that it is impossible to find a definition of the term that is both general and really useful; nonetheless, the review of a few attempts aiming at such a definition will serve to indicate at least some possible direction. Polanyi has rightly observed that trade can signify not only the two-way movement of commodities through a market—that is, via supply-and-demand price mechanisms and involving the use of money—but also peaceful, usually two-way movements of objects over a considerable distance directed at acquiring items which are not available on the spot. He uses the word ‘trade’ for every form of exchange, however, making it necessary for us further to determine and define its meaning in each case. Polanyi’s remarks are of great assistance if one is seeking to grasp the variety of exchanges, but not if one wishes to differentiate pre-market-economy trade from other forms of exchange.

Source: https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/oso/9780198152842.001.0001/isbn-9780198152842

[l-egypte]

July 12, 2021 | Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Lately I have been (re)watching Indian Jones movies starring Harrison Ford, and today I watched Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989). In this movie we get a look into Indiana’s youth—and his relationship with his father, Henry Jones, Sr. For example, initially he was not scared of snakes, flicking one away; however, he ends up SUBMERGED in them. (They look to be ribbon snakes, which are not venomous? Still, scary stuff, though.)

One scene that is pretty standard in most (if not all) of the movies is Indiana in the university classroom, teaching some archaeology course. “Next week,” the class will be learning “Egyptology, starting with the excavation of Naukratis by Flinders Petrie in 1885.”

As I did not take Dr. Jones’s course (or any other course) on Egyptology, we are going to Britannica for more information. According to Britannica, “Naukratis, also spelled Naucratis, [is an] ancient Greek settlement in the Nile River delta, on the Canopic (western) branch of the river. An emporion (‘trading station’) with exclusive trading rights in Egypt, Naukratis was the centre of cultural relations between Greece and Egypt in the pre-Hellenistic period. The station was established by Milesians in the 7th century BC, but Greeks from other cities also settled there. It flourished throughout the classical period but declined after Alexander’s conquest of Egypt and the foundation of Alexandria (332). The site of Naukratis was discovered in 1884 by W. M. Flinders Petrie and excavated by Petrie and Ernest Gardner (1884–86) and by D. G. Hogarth (1899, 1903). They uncovered dedications to deities and Greek pottery that threw light on the early history of the Greek alphabet and the commercial activity of various Greek states, especially in the 6th century BC.”

The map below shows where Naukratis is relative to other ancient Egyptian cities (source).

The story in the movie took place elsewhere, that is, not in Egypt. Egypt already got its own Indian Jones movie in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).

On a very unrelated note, near the end of the movie there is a scene (which I will provide no context to) that caught my eye because of four words: “Elsa” and “Let it go.” Elsa does not say “let it go.” Still ... “Let it go, let it go / Can’t hold it back anymore / Let it go, let it go / Turn away ...” More like, let him go.

And later:

[Screenshots of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade]

[waffleshark]

hey hecker

[romegreeceart]

A Greek votive bowl

* Eastern Greece, about 620-600 BCE

* Found in Sanctuary of Aphrodite at Naukratis

* British Museum

London, June 2022