University of Heidelberg

The Change of Identity of the Egyptian Priesthood in Ptolemaic Egypt

Gilles Gorre
 (University Rennes 2 Haute-Bretagne)

During the Ptolemaic period, a sweeping change occurred in the social composition of the priesthood and in its social practices and ideologies. This evolution can be studied through the evolution of the clerical sources: how did the priests present their relationships with the royal authority and how did they present themselves?  Four stages in this evolution may be distinguished. 1) During the first period, (332-270 B.C.), the clerical sources showed a continuity with the dynastic times. The priestly inscriptions were respectful towards the XXXth dynasty kings. Persian rule is mentioned with reservation. The new Macedonian rule was accepted but it was not clearly described as a legitimate Pharaonic authority. Priests presented themselves as servants of gods who granted them their authority over temples and society. 2) Following the setting up of the dynastic cult (270-260 B.C.), new Egyptian priests, totally devoted to the crown, were settled. They worshiped the Ptolemaic kings and queens as Egyptian gods. The traditional Pharaonic shape was maintained in the sources. 3) Between the end of the third and the beginning of the second centuries B.C. new personnel emerged at the head of the temples. It comprised both soldiers and civil servants whose families had no ties with the local religious traditions. Some of them were even Greek and did not have a sacerdotal Egyptian culture. 4) From 125 B.C. to the end of the Ptolemaic era, the temples were headed by royal officials who monopolized all the priestly titles of the temples located in their nomoi. They presented themselves as courtiers and not as priests by their titles and their statues.