Pharnabazus(fl. fourth century B.C.E.) Persian satrap
who commanded the Persian invasion of Egypt in 373 B.C.E.
This invasion took place in the reign of NECTANEBO I
(380–362 B.C.E.). Pharnabazus’s troops caused terrible
damage to the Egyptian defenses but were repulsed. He
also quarreled with the commander of the Greek merce-
nary army in his train. The Greeks, battle wise, tried to
consolidate gains made by probing Egyptian weaknesses,
but Pharnabazus overruled such activities, dooming the
Persian cause. The Nile River served as well as a natural
defense, inundating the Delta and destroying the Persian
and Greek camps. The invading army withdrew from the
scene.
Pharos See LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA.
Philae A religious site on an island at ASWAN, called
“the Island in the Time of Ré,” Philae comes from the
Egyptian Paaleq or Pilak, meaning “the End” or “Remote
Place.” Philae’s monuments, threatened by the Aswan
High Dam, are now on Agilquiyya Island. The original
site became active in the Thirtieth Dynasty. NECTANEBO I
(r. 380–362 B.C.E.) erected a hall there as well as a kiosk.
Several prominent temples distinguished Philae in time,
dedicated to ISIS, Harendotus, IMHOTEP, and ARSENUPHIS.
The temple of Isis contains the hall of NECTANEBO II
(r. 360–343 B.C.E.), eastern and western colonnades, a
shrine to Imhotep, a gate from the reign of PTOLEMY II
PHILADELPHUS(285–246 B.C.E.), and a second chapel. Two
pylons are part of the design, as well as a MAMMISI,addi-
tional colonnades, and a quay.
PTOLEMY IV PHILOPATOR(r. 221–205 B.C.E.) and King
ARKAMANIof MEROË, Nubia (modern Sudan), in a rare
joint building program erected a temple dedicated to the
deity Arsenuphis at Philae. Other Ptolemys added
OBELISKS,a HYPOSTYLE HALL, a prenaos, a temple to
HATHOR, and chapels. The last hieroglyphic inscription
dates to 394 C.E., as the Romans added their own struc-
tures or adornments.Philetas of Cos (d. c. 270 B.C.E.)Greek scholar and
Ptolemaic tutor of Alexandria
The Greek scholar STRATO, who was the tutor of the royal
household of PTOLEMY I SOTER(r. 304–284 B.C.E.), invited
Philetas to ALEXANDRIA. There, Philetas founded the Hel-
lenistic school of poetry. He also wrote poetry, a hymn to
Demeter, and a dictionary. Philetas remained in service to
the crown, tutoring PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHUS(r. 285–246
B.C.E.).Philip III Arrhidaeus (d. 316 B.C.E.)Half brother of
Alexander the Great and ruler of Egypt
He reigned from 323 B.C.E. until he was murdered.
PTOLEMY I SOTERserved as Philip III’s satrap in Egypt.
Recorded by contemporaries as somewhat dimwitted,
Philip III built a bark shrine for the god AMUNat KARNAK
in THEBESand put a relief on the walls of the Karnak
complex. Philip III married his half niece, ADEA-EURY-
DICE. He was murdered by OLYMPIAS, the queen mother of
Alexander III the Great. ALEXANDER IV(r. 316–304 B.C.E.)
succeeded him.Phoenicians They were the people from modern Le-
banon, so named by the Greeks, Phoinikes, “the red men.”
The Phoenicians were master traders and navigators, and
they were well known for their inventions, including the
popular porphura,a purple murex dye. They settled in the
cities of Tyre and Sidon around 3000 B.C.E. and quickly
began their trading and artistic crafts. Their alphabet was
established by c. 1000 B.C.E. in the city of Tyre.
By 900 B.C.E., the great Phoenician ships were sailing
to Greece, Egypt, Assyria, and other lands concerned
with the growing trade and commerce. The Phoenicians
sought silver, tin, and copper and reportedly sailed to the
present-day British Isles to visit the copper mines there.
They exported chickens from India before 700 B.C.E.,
introducing them to the West. In 600 B.C.E. the Phoeni-
cians circumnavigated Africa.
The cities of BYBLOS, Sidon, and Tyre were prospering
in Phoenicia before 1000 B.C.E. The Phoenicians also
founded Carthage in modern Tunisia and Goddir, modern
Cadiz, in southern Spain. The Phoenicians were under
the control of Persia’s Cyrus I the Great c. 540 B.C.E. and
became part of the empire of ALEXANDER III THE GREATin
332 B.C.E. From 300 B.C.E. until 150 B.C.E., the nation
was part of the Seleucid empire.
Egypt conducted trade with Phoenicia in the Old
Kingdom (2575–2134 B.C.E.) or perhaps earlier. During
the New Kingdom (1550–1070 B.C.E.), under the impe-
rial policies of the Tuthmossids and Ramessids, Phoenicia306 PharnabazusThe temple of Isis at Philae, now moved to higher ground to
save it from the waters of the Aswan High Dam. (Courtesy
Steve Beikirch.)