Anaïs Michel, membre de l'EFA, participe à la Celtic Conference in Classics au cours de laquelle elle donnera une communication intitulée Arsinoe Philadelphus: the Cypriot epigraphic evidence of a Hellenistic queen’s cult.Political, religious and cultural aspects of a Ptolemaic cult outside Egypt, jeudi 27 juin à 14.30.
Résumé de la communication:
Arsinoe Philadelphus: the Cypriot epigraphic evidence of a Hellenistic queen’s cult.Political, religious and cultural aspects of a Ptolemaic cult outside Egypt
Many scholars have already emphasized the historical importance of Arsinoe II, daughter of Ptolemy Soter, sister and wife of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Established by Philadelphus’ religious policy as a founding figure of the Ptolemaic ideology (Hazzard 2000), the queen’s political, religious and ideological agency remains to a great extent blurred by the loss of direct sources.
However, the widespread and numerous epigraphic testimonies regarding the personal cult of the queen after her death – and sometimes long after her death – make tangible the great concern invested by the Ptolemies into the symbolic power of the goddess Philadelphus. On the other hand, the reasonably large success of Arsinoe’s cult tends to show the peculiar ability of the newborn goddess, be it a fully Ptolemaic creation, to be embedded in local, traditional religious landscapes. This assessment exceeds the mere Alexandrian and – to a certain extent – Egyptian context.
Cyprus plays an important role in the almost three hundred years of Ptolemaic history. The island is closely integrated into the empire and constitutes with few other territories (Cyrenaica and to a certain extent the Koile Syria) the core of Ptolemaic power. The military, economic and political status of Cyprus tends to make it the “pearl of the Ptolemaic possessions” (Mooren 1977). But Cyprus also supplies the most distinctive evidences of the worship of the queen Philadelphus outside Egypt. Cypriot inscriptions are of the highest importance for the history of the Ptolemaic dynasty and offer an unparalleled observatory for the study of Ptolemaic policy, documenting in addition the evolution of the dynastic history and ideology. My paper will contextualize the Cypriot documentation concerning Arsinoe Philadelphus’ cult and explore a regional aspect of this widespread political, religious and cultural phenomenon.
However, the widespread and numerous epigraphic testimonies regarding the personal cult of the queen after her death – and sometimes long after her death – make tangible the great concern invested by the Ptolemies into the symbolic power of the goddess Philadelphus. On the other hand, the reasonably large success of Arsinoe’s cult tends to show the peculiar ability of the newborn goddess, be it a fully Ptolemaic creation, to be embedded in local, traditional religious landscapes. This assessment exceeds the mere Alexandrian and – to a certain extent – Egyptian context.
Cyprus plays an important role in the almost three hundred years of Ptolemaic history. The island is closely integrated into the empire and constitutes with few other territories (Cyrenaica and to a certain extent the Koile Syria) the core of Ptolemaic power. The military, economic and political status of Cyprus tends to make it the “pearl of the Ptolemaic possessions” (Mooren 1977). But Cyprus also supplies the most distinctive evidences of the worship of the queen Philadelphus outside Egypt. Cypriot inscriptions are of the highest importance for the history of the Ptolemaic dynasty and offer an unparalleled observatory for the study of Ptolemaic policy, documenting in addition the evolution of the dynastic history and ideology. My paper will contextualize the Cypriot documentation concerning Arsinoe Philadelphus’ cult and explore a regional aspect of this widespread political, religious and cultural phenomenon.