Ptolemy I, the Adversary, and Egyptian Royal Literature: “Restoring” a New World Order

This paper explores the ways in which Ptolemy I of Egypt used both Greek and Egyptian literature to combine Alexander’s legacy with key events in the Egyptian past, narrated in literary styles of that past, so that the powerful priests of Egypt could not only understand but also themselves participate in his legitimation as King of Egypt. By acknowledging and investing in Egypt’s cultural superiority in traditionally Egyptian ways Ptolemy signaled to the Egyptian elites that they and their traditions mattered and that there was room in Ptolemy’s system for them.