Corpus of Inscriptions of Ptolemaic Egypt

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This project will create a corpus of up-to-date editions of the Greek, bilingual and trilingual inscriptions on stone from Ptolemaic Egypt (323-30 BCE), numbering almost 400 items, based on material collected and annotated by the late Peter Fraser FBA (1918-2007), who was the leading authority of the 20th century in the field of hellenistic epigraphy in Egypt and the wider context. The editions will include introductory material, commentaries, translations and digital images and will be made available both in book form and an on-line version. Fraser collected little material after the mid-1970s and his manuscript therefore needs extensive revision and updating. Furthermore, a significant number of inscriptions published since the mid-1970s need to be added, and editions with translations of the Egyptian sections of bilingual and trilingual texts need to be provided in order to provide a uniquely accurate representation and explanation of the original state, character and meaning of the monumental texts. From the takeover of Egypt by Ptolemy after Alexander the Great died in 323 BCE, until the deaths of Cleopatra and Antony in 30 BCE, government and administration was conducted almost entirely in Greek, which became the predominant language. Both in the public and private spheres, epigraphic inscriptions on stone were central to Greek culture, commemoration and communication, and the Ptolemies brought this tradition with them into the newly formed hellenistic monarchy. Among hellenistic kingdoms, Egypt is unique, however, in that epigraphy in its indigenous language survived alongside the politically dominant Greek mode of communication. The project will make available for the first time a full corpus of scholarly editions, which will replace older publications and other partial collections which are organised by specific local region of provenance and therefore do not offer a full conspectus of the Greek epigraphy of the Ptolemaic period. This is important for several reasons. The new corpus will give proper weight to the importance of public and private documentation on stone, which, in Egypt, has tended to be overshadowed by the preponderance of documents on papyrus. It will illustrate the ways in which this mode of public pronouncement and display became important in what was originally a language culture 'alien' to the Greeks, not merely in 'Greek cities' (Alexandria, Ptolemais, Naukratis) but also in indigenous Egyptian towns. Fraser's work between 1950 and the mid-1970s recognised the importance of this material and provided the basis for understanding and exploiting it. Bringing it to completion will afford a deeper understanding of Ptolemaic Egypt and maximise the achievement of a great scholar.