Village Life in Ptolemaic Egypt

Kerkeosiris: An Egyptian Village in the Ptolemaic Period by Dorothy J. Crawford

Review by: J. Gwyn Griffiths
The Classical Review, New Series, Vol. 24, No. 2 (Nov., 1974), pp. 249-251
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Classical Association
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THE CLASSICAL REVIEW

249

hold
many of E. Kunze's articles on booty-dedications in the Olympiaberichte
relevant information; more glaringly, chapters i and 12 (and another
passage on the phalanx on p. 31) omit any mention of H. L. Lorimer'sfundamental article in B.S.A. xlii (1947), 76-138. The passage on possible connections between military historyand 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 presentreviewer). 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.
A. M. SNODGRASS

of Edinburgh
University

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.

University Press, I971. Cloth, ?5'25.

was
a small place in the southern
KERKEOSIRIS
Cambridge:

Fayfim with perhaps 1,5oo

inhabitants towards the end of the second century B.c. The papyri, as sometimes happens, provide a big coverage for this small place, thus happily
reversingthe trend of many historicalsources.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 respectssuch a processis well
justified. The little world of the Fayfim peasants thus assumes a wider significance.
Parallels from both Ancient and Modern Egypt are adduced in the study of
various aspects of life on the land, especially of its administrativeordering. The
extent to which Ptolemaic Egypt was carrying on earlier systemsis 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 thereforeinvolved 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. Categoriesof land are carefully analysed. The
exact nature of the 'concessional land' termed y- d'v

remains problematic,

and it is suggested that 'the explanation probablya'iaEL

lies in the translationof an
unknown Egyptian land category' (p. 94). In the meantime a fragment of

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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 searchinglook 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 conclusion is
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 abundance 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 element. Again, it is said of the goddessBubastis (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'sReallexikon,I26, who
makes it clear that it is not another name at all: Bubastisderivesfrom the name
of the town, Per-Bastet, 'the shrine of Bastet', and the only change is the application 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 cemeteriesof 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 traditionallybehind
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. Crawfordmust be commended for her courage in
tackling this task. Without claiming personalcontrol of all the varied linguistic
evidence, she effectively deploys the researchesof Vergote, Ranke and others.
Table xxi ('Inhabitants with Egyptian Names') is a useful compilation with
well-organizedreferencesto the detailed discussions;and the related chapteron
'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 'Horus lives' is preferable.For the name
Onnophris Gardiner's'he who is in a permanentstate 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'sDe 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-

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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
(p. 39),3

Ki/iat
rapxetv
(P. 57), laaocova (p. 87), oavp'4-rat(p. 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 impressivepowers of analysis and
a keen awareness,in studying one restrictedplace and period, of the historical
background and sequel.
University
College,Swansea

J. GWYN GRIFFITHS

THE PUNIC

WARS

T. A. DOREYand D. R. DUDLEY:RomeAgainst 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 understandingof 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
through the whole course of 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 referencesin the text,
and the reader is sufficiently in touch with the critical problems as an introduction. The illustrationsand 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 reviewermay 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 Polybius 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 Carthagejust 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's
own treatment. Here in working through comparisonof 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 historiography had defined three styles of writing, which the Romans learned: first,
the plain narrative in detail; then rhetorical elaboration, both for circumstantial description and for the characterizing of problems and persons in

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