This paper builds upon a recent article from Bernd Schipper by examining the honorary Decree of Canopus for the Ptolemaic royal family from the year 238 BCE. The framing of the calendar reform and the deification of the deceased king’s daughter Berenice are understood to be an intertextual dialogue with the apocalyptic literature of the period. The decree thus becomes a reaction by the Egyptian priests to their own colleagues’ denunciations of the Ptolemies. While the apocalyptic literature, which also has its roots in the priesthood, portrays foreign rule as an epoch of chaos, the priests, with the assistance of the Decree of Canopus, demonstrate that a time of salvation for Egypt begins with Ptolemy III.
(icon) = Open Access (icon) = Subscription Access
Download Full Text(Pages 6–21)