Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Welcome to today's videocast.
Do you remember last time how we talked about
the Rosetta stone?
And how it was a decree declaring....
the priests' support of Ptolemy V?
Well, today I'd like to delve into
a little more of the history
of that time period.
And examine a relatively unknown artifact,
with a very interesting message.
Now as you'll remember,
the Ptolemys were the rulers of
ancient Egypt's final dynasty.
And they were Greeks.
This dynasty began with Ptolemy I,
who established one of the first museums known.
The great library of Alexandria.
And ended with Cleopatra,
who was the last ruler before the Romans took over.
Again, the Ptolemies were Greek rulers in Egypt.
Our subject, Ptolemy V.
He ruled for 23 years,
starting when he was five years old
in 204 BC.
His reign began after his parents were both murdered.
The affairs amongst this family and the royal ministers
was very bloody.
These people were Byzantine
before the Byzantines.
For much of his reign
Egypt was plagued with native rebellions.
In fact, secessionists in Upper Egypt
established their own line of Pharaohs.
And for over twenty years
the rebellion persisted
mainly under the Pharaoh Ankhmachis.
This is not surprising considering the Ptolemaic dynasty
was centered in Alexandria on the coast.
And while there were hundreds and thousands of Greeks
in the north of Egypt.
It is likely those numbers decreased
significantly outside the capital.
The Rosetta stone is actually evidence that the priesthood
supported Ptolemy V against the rebels
and they were rewarded for their loyalty.
This uprising was crushed around 185-183 B.C.
Final peace terms were agreed upon
between the last rebels and the king.
Now the king accepted the terms,
but he broke faith and ended up killing
the leaders of the resistance in a very cruel manner.
That leads us to the item that we will inspect today.
While the Rosetta stone was a very public declaration,
this item reveals the very personal feelings
that Ptolemy V held toward the rebels.
As you can see, the vessel is decorated with hieroglyphs.
This is significant, because...
as we know from the Rosetta stone,
Demotic, which was widely used,
was not employed in deference to the older hieroglyphic text
which was much more burdensome to apply.
I love hieroglyphs.
They're very beautiful.
And so often this medium expresses the deepest
and most important feelings from that ancient era.
I'll let you judge this piece for yourselves.
Note the cartouche, which indicates royalty.
Here it says:
Pet-wa-le-mus, ever living, beloved of Ptah.
Very similar language to that of the Rosetta stone.
Here he declares all rebels,
those mentioned earlier,
as vessels of stools and waste.
Whose stench, honking and vapors offend Anubis.
Right.
The god of mummification.
The stench has got to be pretty strong
to offend someone who works with corpses.
To go further he describes them as
extrusions of brown cobra.
'Thus declares the Lord of Upper and Lower Egypt,
that all such vessels are dedicated to the rebels,
who will eat the contents thereof for all eternity.'
So there we have it,
The royal chamber pot.
Its external beauty belies the vindictive message,
and the base usage.
A fascinating piece
from the Ptolemaic dynasty,
highlighting a shadier aspect
of human nature that we still observe today.
Thanks for joining us.
We'll see you next time.