How Effective was the Design of Ptolemy's Grand Procession?

If the entire event was considered to be the Ptolemaieia, then it resembled closely what was known to occur in similar events in ancient Greece, notably other Panhellenic events such as the Olympics in Olympia, the Pythian Games in Delphi, the Isthmian Games in Corinth, and the Panathenaeia in Athens. They all incorporated athletics, performing art, at least one procession, and feasts. The difference? This Ptolemaieia appears to have been the most grandiose, although it was the first of what was to be a series of events held every four years so was probably more elaborate. Nevertheless, the design was noteworthy for three reasons.

First, the procession was, from historical records, arguably the longest up to that point in time in physical and temporal length anywhere in the world. Although we do not know for sure the procession’s route, we do know that similar Greek processions usually ended up at the place of worship for the principle god. Logic would dictate that this was the Serapeum in Alexandria which just happened to be right next door to the stadium at that time. We know that the procession went through the stadium because Kallixeinos tells us. The start point would have to be a location that was capable of marshalling the huge numbers of “floats,” animals, slaves, entertainers, and soldiers. Although such a location is not known for sure, it has been suggested that the army was garrisoned just outside the palace grounds in the northeast corner of Alexandria. Because the garrison was probably of substantial size and very secure, it would have been a logical gathering spot. It would also have been logical for Ptolemy to want to show off the grandeur of his city and have the procession pass as many of the city’s features and sites as possible. He would thus have chosen the widest and most impressive boulevards as the route. From this information, I have created a likely route for the procession of about 5 km in blue in the figure below, leading from the army barracks, south along the Boulevard Argeus, west onto Meson Pedion, then south down the Boulevard Serapis to the stadium.

Suggested Route of Grand Procession of Ptolemy II (in blue)

By using the city’s streets in this manner, Ptolemy obtained the maximum exposure possible for the procession.

Second, the extensive use of symbolism in the parade elements and their arrangement in the procession was nothing short of brilliant. Even today, most parades are not designed with such a carefully crafted goal in mind, but are a rather loose accumulation of impressive images with little overall substance. The Grand Procession had its end purpose in mind from the very beginning. Like a staged performance, it began slowly and built to its impressive conclusion with the appearance of statues of Dionysus, Alexander, and Ptolemy I that linked them to Ptolemy II. Whether the famous catafalque of Alexander the Great was part of the Grand Procession is my own educated guess, although others have speculated similarly. The surviving text by Kallixeinos and Athenaeus does not state this at any point. However, simply from the pure logic of the situation, this must surely be a possibility. First, it is known that there are several missing parts (lacuna) of—and several inconsistencies in—the original text, whether parts written by Kallixeinos or parts written by Athenaeus centuries later. Second, the description of the final part of the Grand Procession that includes a statue of Alexander seems almost anti-climactic without something more. That something more would logically be the sarcophagus. Lastly, the appearance of the sarcophagus would be the real proof—and a much more convincing proof than a statue—to legitimize the royal lineage from Alexander down to Ptolemy II.

The last reason for the success of the procession was that Ptolemy pulled out all the stops in exhibiting the achievements of Alexandrian science and arts which, at that time, were the most advanced in the world. In addition, he added surprise and novelty, not unlike what good event designers of today use. For example, the giant mechanical statue of Nysa that independently stood up and poured milk, the cart with a wine press, and the magnificent oversized statues and symbols all attest to the ingenuity of the thinkers in the museion of Alexandria. If there was any unsuccessful attribute of the procession it was one of excess, Ptolemy’s arrogant pride in not knowing when enough gold and possessions were enough.

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References:

• Andronicus, M. (2003). Athletics and Education. In Koursi, M. (Ed.). The Olympic Games in Ancient Greece. Athens: Ekdotike Hellados S.A. pp. 43-79.
• Davis, H.T. (1957). Alexandria, the Golden City: Volume I—The City of the Ptolemies. Evanston, IL: The Principia Press of Illinois, Inc.
• Saunders, N.J. (2006). Alexander's Tomb: The Two-Thousand Year Obsession to Find the Lost Conquerer. Basic Books.
• Thompson, D.J. (1997). Philadelphus’ Procession: Dynastic Power in a Mediterranean Context. In Mooren, L. (Ed.). Politics, Administration and Society in the Hellenistic and Roman World: Proceedings of the International Colloquium, Bertinoro 19-24 July 1997. Leuven: Peeters. Studia Hellenistica; 35. pp. 365-388.

The Grand Procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus: What Was It All About?

Like the reign of Ramesses II centuries earlier, the reign of Ptolemy II (Philadelphos or Philadelphus) was the high point of the three hundred-year long Ptolemaic dynasty. During that time, Alexandria was the richest jewel in their empire. Thanks to the ego of Philadelphos, the Ptolemaieia—but especially the Grand Procession—formed one of the most ostentatious spectacles the world has ever seen.

The details of the procession were taken from an account written by Kallixeinos of Rhodes, presumably as a person present at the Ptolemaieia festival. What was originally written by Kallixeinos was re-recorded from now-lost writings by Athenaeus of Naucratis in Egypt, a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, in the end of the second or beginning of the third century CE, but parts of the original work were missing in Athenaeus. Very little is known about Kallixeinos, including whether he actually lived at the time of the festival. The one reference that has much credibility states that he is from the island of Rhodes and is the son of Megakles and Priest of Athena Lindia. Even this may not prove it was the same person.

Not all scholars agree that the Grand Procession was held at the same time as the Ptolemaieia, or exactly when each was first held. I have taken what seems to be the most prevalent viewpoint, that they were related and held in about February 278 BCE. The League of Islanders stated that the Ptolemaieia was to be equal to an Olympiad.

Ptolemy II was the son of Ptolemy I who was an army general and member of the Royal Bodyguards of Alexander the Great. Ptolemy I established the famous Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt when he broke the power of the Egyptian priests and named himself pharaoh. In order to prove he was legitimate, he linked himself to the deified Alexander, just as pharaohs throughout Egyptian history had taken steps to prove their relationship to gods. However, with Ptolemy II, the link was not there, or at least very weak. At the time of the Ptolemaieia, it had been over 54 years since Alexander had “liberated” the country from the Persians and the memories of his importance were probably fading. The Greeks in Egypt, though numerous, were solely there as conquerors, administrators, and mercenaries with few or no ties to the working population of Egyptians. In fact, Alexandria itself was primarily a Greek city, and a very progressive one. If the Ptolemies were to rule with any credibility, the situation had to be rectified. With the Ptolemaieia, Ptolemy II brought Alexander back into the public consciousness and through his creative staging of the procession, linked himself back to the hero. In other words, the primary reason for the spectacle was strongly political. It legitimized Ptolemy II as a genuine Egyptian pharaoh.

There was, however, another political reason and message to be taken from this event. Between 280 and 279 BCE, Ptolemy II engaged in a short war with another of the diadochis’ successors, Antiochus I, head of the Seleucid Empire that extended as far east as India. Although the exact reason is unknown, it was likely that Ptolemy wanted to protect his interests in Cyprus and Syria. He won the short war, known as the Carian War (also the first part of the First Syrian War) which ended with a truce, as it appears he was surprised and impressed with the power and ability of Antiochus. With this as the backdrop to the Grand Procession and Ptolemaieia, the extended display of military might was no surprise. The message was obviously intended for the other successors of the diadochi, and that message was that the Ptolemies were a dynasty with which they should not trifle.

What was a real mystery, however, was who truly instigated the festival, Ptolemy or his sister Arsinoe II. It is known from existing sources, for example, that Ptolemy II was “a magnificent voluptuary with intellectual and artistic interests….averse from bodily exertions” and that Arsinoe was “a power whose goodwill many men in those days found it wise to conciliate,” she having done away with many “threats” to her or her brother’s power. She apparently came to her brother’s court some time around the Ptolemaieia and married him shortly after it, interestingly enough not long before the start of the Second Syrian War. Knowing that he never led his troops in battle and had no taste for it probably meant that Arsinoe was the one who pulled the strings of state.

More to come next time about the staging of the event.

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References:

• Athenaeus of Naucratis. The deipnosophists, Volume I, Book V. Yonge, C.D. (Ed.). London: Henry G. Bohn. pp. 287-352. Retreived August 12, 2009, from http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/Literature.AthV1.
• Bennett, C. (2008). Arsinoe II. Egyptian Royal Genealogy. Retrieved April 4, 2009 from http://www.geocities.com/christopherjbennett/index.htm.
• Bevan, E.R. (1927). The House of Ptolemy: A History of Egypt Under the Ptolemaic Dynasty. London: Methuen.
• Lendering, J. (April 9, 2007). First Syrian War (Carian War; 280-279). Livius.Org. Retrieved March 16, 2010, from http://www.livius.org/su-sz/syrian_wars/1a_syrian_war.html.
• Rice, E.E. (1983). The Grand Procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 209-210.
• Tarn, W.W. (Nov.1928). Ptolemy II. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 14:3/4. pp. 246-260.

The Grand Procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus: Part Two

Let's imagine the great city of Alexandria spread out in its whitewashed splendour beside the Mediterranean. It's around the middle of February, 278 BCE.

The superbly designed stone avenue, Boulevard Argeus, stretches southward from the royal palace for stadia. Although sixty cubits wide, it is an ethnic stew approaching the full boil of overflowing excitement under a searing mid-day sun: soldiers with clanking swords on nervous horses; dignitaries in chariots; rich, perfumed matrons in curtained palanquins; bearded Jews with strange hats; black-skinned Nubians; haughty Macedonians in multi-hued chitons; native Egyptians in diaphanous white linens; snorting work elephants; carts filled with tantalizing fruit and vegetables; and official delegations rushing to appointments. Seers, touts, and itinerant street people fight for attention. The city’s normal population of about a hundred thousand has swollen to twice that number in a tidal wave of humanity from countries surrounding the entire Mediterranean. It's the day before the beginning of the first Ptolemaieia, a festival to rival the Olympics with days of athletic and artistic contests to be held in the city's magnificent stadium, known as the Lageion, and theater. Alexandria is the only place to be.

Two weeks later, the event is climaxed. VIP guests of King Ptolemy II and his sister Arsinoe II begin filling the stadium well before sunrise. At the same time, the hordes of commoners and visitors begin lining the city's wide, stoa-bordered boulevards to get the best spots for viewing what is supposed to be the most lavish spectacle ever seen. The excitement is palpable and Ptolemy does not disappoint.

Arsinoe II, sister and wife of Ptolemy II

Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II

Just as the sun rises a golden chariot upon which stands a handsome, winged youth representing Eosphorus, the morning star, and holding aloft a torch that glows brilliantly, enters the stadium to a tumultuous roar. After him come official delegations from the competing kingdoms of the diadochi, the theoroi, plus priests and sacrifices to honor all the Greek gods. They first pass beneath the royal box, and bow profusely to Ptolemy before they circle the stadium in a clockwise direction and exit out the porticoes.

Then Silenoi, followers of the god Dionysus, in purple and scarlet himatia run into the stadium to stop the people in the stands from approaching the parade. They are acting as parade "police."

There follow myriads of other representatives and symbols of the god - satyrs holding gilded lamps…people dressed as Nike with golden wings…then more boys in purple tunics…and forty satyrs with gold crowns and painted bodies. Then the god Hermes…then Penteteris, a voluptuous beauty, tall and adorned with quantities of gold. She has a superb dress. In one hand she’s holding a garland of peach blossoms; the other one has a palm branch...more satyrs with garlands of gold ivy leaves. Then actors from the Guild of the Artists of Dionysus...

Now a section of the procession that represents the mythical life of Dionysus - a large wagon with a hundred eighty slaves pulling it by ropes. It holds a tall statue of Dionysus wearing a purple garment. The statue is posed as if pouring wine out of a golden goblet. A canopy shades the entire statue…another statue that represents Nysa, the place in India where Dionysus was nursed. The statue moves with no person applying his hand to it...the wagon holding the statue is drawn by sixty men and in it the tall female statue is in a sitting position, clothed in a gold tunic. She stands up on her own, pours milk out of a golden bottle, and then sits down again. She is crowned with gold ivy leaves and holds a thyrsus. A parasol shades the wagon.

Next come over three hundred slaves pulling a huge cart on which is a gigantic wine press full of grapes. Sixty satyrs trample the grapes, singing a song in praise of the wine press to flute music. The bald and fat, drunken tutor of Dionysus, Silenus, presides over them. The newly-pressed wine runs out from the bottom of the cart, leaving a purple trail in the dirt of the stadium track. Then another wagon even larger than the last with six hundred men drawing it. There’s a sack on it of sewn leopards’ skins that must hold three thousand measures of wine. This cart too allows its contents to escape onto the track…and now more bumbling fools—a hundred twenty satyrs and silenoi, all wearing garlands. They too carry casks of wine, bowls, and gold goblets…then sixteen hundred boys crowned with ivy and vine leaves and clad in knee-length white chitons march smartly through the stadium porticoes. They all carry a variety of gold and silver wine coolers. After them, hundreds more boys enter carrying drinking cups. They run up into the crowded seats and offer the entire audience a draught of sweet Mareotic wine, refilling the cups from the coolers as necessary.

More "floats" with statues and scenes follow - a wagon decorated as the bed chamber of Semelê, the mother of Dionysus and another decorated as a large cave, the cave where Dionysus was raised. Live doves and pigeons fly out of the cave for the people to catch by long threads attached to their legs. The cave also has running fountains of milk and wine...another wagon containing a beautifully painted statue of the god riding on an elephant. Sitting in front of him on the elephant’s neck is a satyr crowned with a golden chaplet...then five troops of asses ridden by crowned silenoi and satyri...

Sarcophagus with Triumph of Dionysus - Marble from the island of Proconnesus, Turkey

Courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerub-baal/2534611388/
 These scenes were depicted in much greater size and with much greater pomp in the Grand Procession, but no artistic renderings exist of the procession.

The next section of the procession is preceded by the singularly unattractive smell of wild animals...twenty-four chariots drawn by four elephants each enter the stadium, clouds of dust surrounding them and covering the spectators on the lower rows of seats...The elephants randomly trumpet, snort and deposit their breakfast on the track, adding to the general stench and mess... then a ridiculous parade of foreign animals pulling chariots ensues—goats, antelopes, buffaloes, ostriches, zebras. Two costumed boys also ride on every animal. Camels carrying spices bring up the rear, but there's much more - huntsmen with thousands of dogs…men carrying trees with birds and beasts of every country…hundreds and hundreds of sheep, Ethiopian oxen, an immense white bear, leopards, panthers, lynxes, caracal, vast numbers of horses, enormous lions, a cameleopard, and a rhinoceros.

A depiction of ancient Alexandria looking southwest along one of the wide boulevards (Meson Pedion)

on which the Grand Procession could have travelled

By now it is well into the afternoon and the procession of symbols, floats, and wealth continues with some politically subtle messages of the time - a cart with a large colorfully painted statue of Dionysus flying to the altar of Rhea, the earth mother, being pursued by his real mother Hera. Priapus, his son, stands by him crowned with gold ivy leaves. The second cart contains exquisitely designed statues of Alexander and Ptolemy I, both crowned with gold. A statue of Arête with a gold crown stands beside Ptolemy. Again, another statue of Priapus is with them, wearing a gold crown of ivy leaves. A fourth statue wearing a golden diadem and representing the city of Corinth also stands beside Ptolemy. The two carts are followed by women in sumptuous dresses, jewelry, and gold crowns. They all hold signs announcing cities in Ionia, Greece, Asia, and islands, all of which were under Persian control before Alexander conquered them.

There follow two chariots with oversize symbols of the cult of Dionysus. The first has a golden thyrsus ninety cubits long and a silver spear sixty cubits long; the second contains a gigantic golden phallus a hundred twenty cubits long wreathed with golden garlands and having on the end a golden star six cubits in circumference. Right after this are three hundred musicians with gold crowns and playing gold kithara enter the stadion. Immediately after, a tremendous dust cloud returns. It precedes the entry of two thousand black sacrificial bulls adorned with gilded horns, gold frontlets, gold crowns in the middle of their foreheads, gold necklaces, and gold breastplates. 

The procession must surely be near the end. A magnificently decorated golden statue of Alexander rolls in, borne on a chariot drawn by lumbering elephants, their snouts constantly swinging. Beside him stand statues of Nike, the companion of Zeus and the winged goddess of victory, and Athena, the goddess of war. An ivory and gold throne for Ptolemy Soter (Ptolemy I) is paraded in by slaves. On it is a crown made of ten thousand gold coins. It is followed by numbers of similar thrones, some of which hold crowns and some golden horns, then an obnoxious display of wealth - hundreds of gifts, items of booty, and seemingly useless icons carried in by slaves or creaking, shiny carts. Most of the items are oversized exaggerations of what they represent.

Then a far-off sound begins, faint at first. It grows to a steady chorus of clanging. Bells. Hundreds of bells. The entire stadion rises with the king and looks eastward to the porticoes. Now lumbering through are sixty-four muscular mules, all with golden crowns, golden bells hanging beside their heads, and collars of precious stones. Behind them creak the gold and iron wheels of their burden. As it passes through the porticoes, it reflects the dying rays of the setting sun flashing through the dust. It’s the treasure of treasures, a magnificent golden carriage. The catafalque of Alexander!


Then a deluge of raucous cheers washes over the stadion. “Alexander, Alexander! Praise the king!” They don’t stop. The top of the carriage is a gold vault covered with precious stones and carved reliefs of Alexander’s campaigns. On each corner is a golden figure of Nike holding a trophy. The roof is ringed with finely-carved goats’ heads, gold rings, festive garland, and large bells. A gold Ionic colonnade supports the vault and two gold lions guard the entrance. Its beauty is almost beyond belief.

What appears to be the end approaches as the first ranks of the infantry march in step into the stadium, all in polished bronze breastplates and helmets. They carry sarissas. In ranks of ten abreast, there are 57,600 of them. The infantry is then followed by 23,200 cavalry, all in polished brass with helmet feathers flying. The whole army takes almost three hours to pass through the stadium. It is a truly impressive and intimidating example of Egypt’s military might. At the end, night has enveloped the Lageion as Hesperus, the evening star, rolls through in his golden chariot. Just as Eosphorus did, he holds aloft a flaming torch to signal that the spectacle has ended.

We'll look at what this all means next time.