it is possible that, in some contexts, the cult was always considered ‘‘foreign.’’ An
anti-Greek propaganda text, composed probably in the second century BC, but
recopied in the Roman period,The Oracle of the Potter(P.GrafG 29787,P.Rain.
G 19813,P.Oxy. 2332; Dunand 1977), stigmatizes the ‘‘city by the sea’’ (Alexandria)
which has ‘‘made gods from new metal’’ (the cult statue of Sarapis was thought to be
made from all sorts of precious metals and stones): since Alexandria has made a divine
image ‘‘that is peculiar to herself,’’ the ancient gods will turn away from her.
Dynastic Cult
In the Alexandrian religious system the cult offered to the royal family occupied a
special place. More even than in the case of Sarapis, it was a reflex of objectives that
were above all political. The first act was the foundation by Ptolemy I of the cult of
Alexander, with an eponymous priest, probably between 305 and 290 BC. Then, in
272 BC, came the foundation of the cult of the Theoi Adelphoi, Ptolemy II and
Arsinoe II, probably associated with that of Alexander. Next, in 270, came the
foundation of a cult especially dedicated to Arsinoe, with an eponymous priestess,
the canephore. From the reign of Ptolemy III, the living kings were regularly
associated with their dead ancestors in a cult that could henceforth be termed
‘‘dynastic,’’ especially since, soon, under Ptolemy V (r. 204–180 BC), the Ptolemy
I–Berenice couple was introduced into the protocol. The cult continued to grow as
new ‘‘king-gods’’ succeeded. The queens were not left behind. New priesthoods were
instituted for Berenice II and then for Arsinoe III. Cleopatra III distinguished herself
in this field by founding, ca. 116 BC, a cult addressed to her under the name
‘‘Cleopatra Philometor Soteria Dikaiosyne Nikephoros,’’ with three priestesses, a
stephane ̄phoros, and apho ̄sphoros(Fraser 1972:1.221). She it was too that instituted
for herself thehieros po ̄los, literally ‘‘Sacred Foal,’’ a sacerdotal or para-sacerdotal
office apparently related to the cult of Demeter. But the institution of thehieros po ̄los
disappeared on the death of Cleopatra III in 102 BC. One could of course relate this
desire to multiply these cults, and therefore the honors rendered to a ruler, to the
rivalries and conflicts of interest at the heart of the Lagid family in the course of
the second century BC, all the while asking oneself about the effectiveness of such
measures.
The dynastic cult is manifestly, in the first instance, a Greek custom. From the end
of the fourth century, the Greeks had arrived in Egypt in great numbers, from all
corners of the Greek world, and they constituted an important but very diverse
group. The cult of the sovereign was probably held to play a unifying role. The
holders of the eponymous priesthoods, in the third century BC, were men and
women drawn from royal entourage, ambassadors, admirals, high functionaries, as
well as their wives or daughters. In the second century BC some kings, such as
Ptolemy IX (r. 116–107, 88–80 BC) or Ptolemy X (r. 107–88 BC) took on this
role themselves. The official initiative could be supported by private initiatives. Cult
associations, basilistai or philobasilistai, often recruited from among soldiers
or veterans, were devoted to the worship of the sovereigns. In Alexandria itself
individuals made dedications to the royal couple, sometimes in association with
various gods, chiefly Sarapis and Isis. They would also build private chapels in their
The Religious System at Alexandria 261