8/10/2019 Village life in Ptolemaic Egypt.pdf
1/4
Village Life in Ptolemaic Egypt
Kerkeosiris: An Egyptian Village in the Ptolemaic Period by Dorothy J. CrawfordReview by: J. Gwyn GriffithsThe Classical Review, New Series, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Nov., 1974), pp. 249-251Published by: Cambridge University Presson behalf of The Classical AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/708814.
Accessed: 30/08/2013 07:28
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at.http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of
content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms
of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].
.
Cambridge University Pressand The Classical Associationare collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve
and extend access to The Classical Review.
http://www.jstor.org
This content downloaded from 83.212.12.3 on Fri, 30 Aug 2013 07:28:57 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cuphttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=classicalhttp://www.jstor.org/stable/708814?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/stable/708814?origin=JSTOR-pdfhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=classicalhttp://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=cup8/10/2019 Village life in Ptolemaic Egypt.pdf
2/4
THE CLASSICAL REVIEW
249
many
of E. Kunze's articles on
booty-dedications
in
the
Olympiaberichte
old
relevant
information;
more
glaringly, chapters
i and
12
(and
another
passage
on
the
phalanx
on
p.
31)
omit
any
mention of H. L.
Lorimer'sfunda-
mental article in B.S.A. xlii (1947), 76-138. The passage on possibleconnec-
tions
between
military history
and the issue of
coinage
on
pp.
13-I4
might
have
mentioned
R. M.
Cook's
paper
in
Historia
vii
(1958), 257-62.
On
p.
147
it
is
stated
that 'We are not told how
many
examples
are
preserved'
(sc.
of the
hoplite
shield,
and
by
the
present reviewer).
True;
but
if
the
implication
is
that
there
may
not be
enough
evidence to
generalize
about
dimensions,
it would
have been
fairer to
acknowledge
that
in
my
text
and notes
I
referred to over
seventy
examples
and
fragments altogether.
But
I
would not
wish
in
any
way
to
detract
from
the
quality
of
this
book,
which to
an
unusual
degree
combines
exacting
attention
to
detail with
a
genuine
grasp
of
the
whole historical
perspective.
University
f
Edinburgh
A. M.
SNODGRASS
VILLAGE LIFE IN PTOLEMAIC EGYPT
DOROTHY
J.
CRAWFORD: Kerkeosiris:An
Egyptian
Village
in
the
Ptolemaic
Period.
(Cambridge
Classical
Studies.) Pp.
xv+239;
3
pls., I map.
Cambridge:
University
Press,
I971.
Cloth,
?5'25.
KERKEOSIRIS
was
a small place in the southern
Fayfim
with perhaps
1,5oo
inhabitants towards the
end of the second
century
B.c.
The
papyri,
as
some-
times
happens, provide
a
big
coverage
for this small
place,
thus
happily
reversing
the trend
of
many
historical sources.
Dr.
Crawford,
as
a
result,
is
able
to
conduct an
elaborate
survey
of
the
social,
economic,
and
religious
life
of
the
people.
She
successfully
emulates
Rostovtzeff's
study
of
the
Zenon
archive,
and whereas she
is
duly
cautious about
projecting
the
system
as a
possible
norm for the whole
of Ptolemaic
Egypt,
in
several
respects
such a
process
s
well
justified.
The little
world
of
the
Fayfim
peasants
thus assumes a
wider
signifi-
cance.
Parallelsfrom both Ancient and Modern
Egypt
are adduced in the
study
of
various
aspects
of life on
the
land,
especially
of
its
administrative
ordering.
The
extent to which
Ptolemaic
Egypt
was
carrying
on earlier
systems
is
naturally
a
question
that
often
recurs,
and
in
connection
with the
land
survey
wise
use is
made
of the Wilbour
Papyrus;
it
is
pointed
out
(p.
6)
that 'there
are
many
parallels
between
the
two
texts
of
this
papyrus
and
its
Ptolemaic
successorsand
it
forms a
clear
example
of the
way
in
which the Greek
conquerors
of
Egypt
took
over
the
existing
administration of the
country.'
(For
'Greek'
read
'Macedonian'.)
Lands
belonging
to the
temples figure prominently
in
the
Wilbour
Papyrus,
and
temple
scribes were therefore
nvolved
in
mensuration
and
administration,
a fact which
agrees
with the
emphasis
placed
by
Aristotle
on the
priestly
contribution
to
the rise
of
geometry
in
Egypt.
This could well
have been
mentioned
in
the discussionon
p.
7;
compare
my
own comments in
C.R.
ii
(=
lxvi)
[1952],
10-11.
Categories
of land
are
carefully analysed.
The
exact nature
of
the
'concessional
land'
termed
y-
d'v
a'iaEL
remains
problematic,
and
it is
suggested
that 'the
explanation probably
lies in
the
translation of
an
unknown
Egyptian
land
category'
(p.
94).
In the meantime a
fragment
of
This content downloaded from 83.212.12.3 on Fri, 30 Aug 201307:28:57 AMAll use subject toJSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/10/2019 Village life in Ptolemaic Egypt.pdf
3/4
250
THE
CLASSICAL REVIEW
papyrus
has
emerged
from
Saqqaral
which
contains
a
further
instance of the
Greek
phrase,
without,
it
seems,
providing
new
light.
After
a
searching
look
at
'Food
and
Population'
it is
concluded
(p. 130)
that the
villagers
of
Kerkeosiris
'take their place among the lesser fed of the ancient world'. This conclusionis
based
on the
figures
for wheat and
it is
wisely
qualified
afterwards
by
the
suggestion
that wheat was
supplemented
by
other
foods,
especially
lentils
and
beans.
A
parallel
from modern
Egypt
would
have
been
apposite
here. One has
heard
it
said
more
than once
in
Cairo
that
Egypt
would
long
since have
experienced
a
Communist revolution were
it
not for the
never-failing
abund-
ance
of beans.
The section on
'Sacred
Land,
Cults
and
Temples'
begins
rather
shakily.
Animal
worship,
it is
said
(p.
86),
was
'in
its
origins
a
form of fetish
worship',
but
this involves some violence to normal
usage
since fetishism
is
applied
to
inanimate objects. If an image of an animal can become a fetish, that does not
explain
the
Egyptian
cults,
for
the
living
animals were
also,
and doubtless
primarily, worshipped.
The
statement
that
'deities would be
represented
in
human form
with
animal
heads'
is
not
always
valid;
the
Apis
bull,
for
instance,
has
a
purely
animal
form,
and the
crocodile-god
Sebek
or
Souchos,
who
was
much
venerated
in
the
Fayim,
sometimes
appears
without
any
human
ele-
ment.
Again,
it
is
said
of
the
goddess
Bubastis
(pp.
88
f.)
that
'as
the chief
deity
of
Boubastis
in
the Delta
she
is
most
probably
the cat-headed
goddess
Bastet
under another
name.' Reference
is
here made to Bonnet's
Reallexikon,
26,
who
makes
it
clear
that
it is
not
another
name
at
all:
Bubastis
derives
from
the name
of the town, Per-Bastet,'the shrine of Bastet',and the only change is the appli-
cation of
the
town's
name
to
the
goddess.
Nor
is
there
the
slightest
doubt
as to
the identification.
I hasten to add
that the
substantive
exposition
of
religious
themes
in
this
chapter
is
scarcely
affected
by
such criticisms.
Sacred crocodiles
abounded
in the cemeteries
of the
Fayim
and
these,
it
is
justly suggested,
were
'dedications
rather
than
objects
of
worship'.
More difficult is the definition of
'dedicated
land'.
It is
shown
that a
special royal
grant
was
traditionally
behind
this
category,
and
the
convincing
suggestion
is made
that
'Euergetes
II
may
have
hoped
to win further
support
in this
area of the
Fayfim
both
by
settling
Egyptian
soldiers
and
by
encouraging
the
local
gods.'
A host of
proper
names occur in these
documents,
and when
critically
examined
they
can
reveal
a
good
deal about
the ethnic
origins
of the
people
concerned;
those
which
are
theophoric
also
give
an
indication
of the
relative
popularity
of
the
gods.
Dr. Crawford
must be commended for her
courage
in
tackling
this
task. Without
claiming
personal
control
of
all the
varied
linguistic
evidence,
she
effectively
deploys
the
researches
of
Vergote,
Ranke and others.
Table
xxi
('Inhabitants
with
Egyptian
Names')
is a
useful
compilation
with
well-organized
references o
the detailed
discussions;
and the
related
chapter
on
'Nomenclature'
is a
judicious
conspectus.
If there is a
weakness,
it
is a
too
unswerving
adherence
to
Vergote's
views.
The
latter,
for
instance,
explains
Cheuris
as
'may
Horus
live';
Ranke's 'Horuslives' is
preferable.
For the name
Onnophris
Gardiner's
he
who
is in
a
permanent
state
ofwell-being'
is
accepted,
but with
a reminder
that
Euergetes
is
used
as
an
equivalent.
I
have
argued
that
both
the
Egyptian
and
the Greek evidence
points
to
the
meaning
'he
who
is
consistently
beneficent': see
my
Plutarch's
De Iside et
Osiride,
460
f.
There
are a few minor irritations
such as the
scrappy
mode of reference
to
x
Cf.
J.E.A.
lix
(I973),
153,
no.
59-
This content downloaded from 83.212.12.3 on Fri, 30 Aug 201307:28:57 AMAll use subject toJSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp8/10/2019 Village life in Ptolemaic Egypt.pdf
4/4
THE CLASSICAL
REVIEW
251
articles in
journals
and the odd forms
given
to
Egyptian
names
(e.g.
'Ramses
V'
and
'Anoubis').
On
p.
7
n.
I
'Fisher' should be
'Fischer' and on
p.
42
'Boubastos'should end in '-is'.
Wrong
accents
occur in
Ki/iat
(p.
39),
rapxetv
(P. 57),
laaocova
(p. 87), oavp'4-ratp. 95). The relative importance of the Greek
and
Egyptian
cultures is well
presented,
and
it is
recognized
that
in
matters
relating
to
the
land and
its
administration
as
well
as to
religion
it was
the
Egyptian
tradition that
prevailed.
(It
would be
instructive,
at the
same
time,
to know
how
'the
two
cultures' are
represented
in
the
stone
from
Tebtunis
figured
in
the
frontispiece.)
The
book shows
impressive
powers
of
analysis
and
a
keen
awareness,
n
studying
one restricted
place
and
period,
of the
historical
background
and
sequel.
Universityollege,
wansea
J.
GWYN
GRIFFITHS
THE
PUNIC
WARS
T. A.
DOREY
and
D. R.
DUDLEY:
Rome
Against
Carthage.
Pp.
xviii+
205;
i3
plates,
i i
maps.
London:
Secker
Warburg,
I971.
Cloth
?2-75-
THIS
book
is
the
best
thing
in a
long
time to
encourage
the
reading
of
Polybius
and
aid the
understanding
of
Livy's
Third
Decade. It
gives
a
dramatic
account
of the
Punic
Wars in
the
light
of
modern
scholarship,
as
if
the
ancient
writers
had
reappeared
to revise
their
narrative.
The
text runs
continuously,
including
comment
as
it
moves
along,
and the
reader is
carried
by
a
lucid
and
vivid
style
throughthe whole courseof events. The authorsknow their subject-matterand
the
historical
criticism
of
it,
and
they
control their
presentation.
It
provides
perspective
and
heightens
the
effect
of
the
important
events.
Where
one
may
require
information on
controversial
points,
there are
brief
notes: on
the
sources,
the rival
policies
of Rome
and
Carthage,
Hannibal's
march over
the
Alps,
and the
military
operations
of the
Second
Punic
War
in
Italy,
Spain,
Sicily
and
Greece,
and
Africa. Take
these
notes
with the
references
n
the
text,
and the
reader
is
sufficiently
in
touch with
the
critical
problems
as an
intro-
duction. The
illustrations
and
the
clever
maps
add
to the
general
impression.
In
particular,
the
description
of the
Third
Punic
War,
as
was
called
for,
is
brilliantly written.
Recommending
this
work
highly
for its
purpose
the
reviewer
may
test first
its
history
and
then
its
literary
character. The
historical
account
rests
upon
the
information
available in
the
mid
second
century
B.c.,
soundly
based
in
Poly-
bius
even
for the
earlier
events but
susceptible
to
his
comments;
any
discussion
of the
causes of
the
Second Punic
War,
as
Gelzer
showed,
is
affected
by
the
Roman
view of
Carthage just
before the
Third
Punic
War.
The
authors
give
as
fair a
balanced statement
as
the
evidence
allows. As
regards
Livy's
account
we
have
to
allow for
literary
elaboration
(e.g.
under the
hand
of
Coelius
Antipater,
with
additions
from the
later
Roman
Annalists), along
with
Livy'sown treatment.Here in
working
through
comparison
of
Livy
with
Polybius
the
authors
have
used their
good
judgement,
and their
account
will
hold its
place
in
historical
reconstruction.
On the
literary
side
we turn
to
Livy's
Third
Decade.
Hellenistic
historio-
graphy
had
defined
three
styles
of
writing,
which
the
Romans
learned:
first,
the
plain
narrative in
detail;
then
rhetorical
elaboration,
both for
circum-
stantial
description
and
for
the
characterizing
of
problems
and
persons
in
This content downloaded from 83.212.12.3 on Fri, 30 Aug 201307:28:57 AMAll use subject toJSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jspTop Related