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More from Ptolemy-XII
From Timaeus of Alexandria's 'Great History of the Egyptian Ptolemies' (200AD?)
It was in the year of Caesoninus & Gabinius' consulship that covetous eyes in all directions fixed their gaze upon Egypt, the last and most illustrious of Alexander's lands. To the East, a reemergent Persia viewed the realm of the Ptolemies with the ancient ambitions of its Achaemenid predecessor, amassing a great force that faced the Sinai deserts. The Nubians, deep upstream of the Nile, sensed weakness in their northern neighbours and had made claims upon the mountainous expanses of Upper Egypt. And all the while, the endless appetite of the Roman Republic stretched ever further eastward from Carthage - how long would it be before an ambitious general would seek a triumph for Alexandria's capture?
Ptolemy had done much to improve his armies, but it remained led by vain and jealous generals, unable to find consensus in which threat to concentrate arms. Thus it was left to the will of the gods - the Pharaoh along with his army and a great host ventured not to the frontier but deep into the western desert to the great oasis of Siwa, in search of audience with the office of the great Oracle with whom Alexander's pharonic title had been confirmed some three hundred years previously. At the Temple of Zeus-Ammon, offerings of incense and gold were presented in gilt ox-carts, and the Pharaoh himself beseeched the Oracle on hands and knees for the knowledge of which threat to the Egyptian realm was the most grave. For three days and nights the Pharaoh and his host waited outside the temple precinct as consultations were conducted in the strictest secrecy. On the third day, Ptolemy alone was summoned to the Temple sanctuary, where the Oracle communicated the reply of the gods:
"Woe to the serpent! A hyena stalks his tail, an eagle hovers over his back, and a lion snarls in his face! He sees without blinking - can he not behold the greatest threat right there, before his eyes? If he cannot not sink his fangs into what is closest to him, he shall surely be rent apart by tooth and talon!"
The Pharaoh took this to mean that he should strike first against the lion of Persia, who indeed had already struck out across the desert in a dash for Alexandria, left vulnerable to seizure by the expedition to Siwa. His army returned northward at a blistering speed, catching the parched and desert-stunned column of Persians by surprise deep in the rocky expanse of Sinai. The ambush scored a crushing victory for the Egyptian army, ending Persia's ambitions of conquest in a single stroke as the shattered remnants of their forces routed back East. But it would prove to be a grave error for Ptolemy, as he had grown complacent and failed to interpret the Oracle's words.
The threat which was closest to him would prove to be no army at all, but the chronic poison of envy and avarice which had plagued the Egyptian royal family for centuries. Now it had festered within the souls of the Pharaoh's own sisters, Arsinoe and Cleopatra, who had long resented Ptolemy's title and eccentricities, and coveted the throne and wealth of Egypt for themselves. So it was that they greeted their brother upon his return to Alexandria following his victory against Persia, praising his defense of the realm with their words while harbouring wicked intentions in their hearts. The royal sisters waited until Ptolemy and his guards were within the walls of the palace, deep in council on the next course of action in their campaign, before springing their trap. At a command, doors were barred and trecherous swords in the hands of bribed soldiers were turned upon them. Many in Ptolemy's retinue were treacherously slain in the chaos, and the Pharaoh himself nearly met his end but for the fortuitous presence of a hidden passage in his chambers that led to the Great Harbour.
The Pharaoh and his few surviving loyal followers took to the sea, venturing north to unsuccessfully seek exile from a number of Greek states before reluctantly turning westward and petitioning the looming specter of Rome. Ptolemy would spend four years in the Eternal City persistently seeking support from the Senate to reclaim his title; all the while Egypt fractured between the royal sisters, their lust for power soon stoking the fires of distrust and paranoia, turning the siblings against one another just as they had against their brother. In time Ptolemy would reclaim the throne of Egypt under the patronage of Pompey the Great, but in a condition so weakened and so indebted to Roman aid that it would not survive long after the Pharaoh himself. Hence the Oracle's warning proved itself, and the serpentine length of the Nile was in time seized between the teeth of the Nubian hyena in the South and the talons of the Aquila in the North.
An awesome commission from
drawing_sofa! Zeus-Ammon is often associated with the ram and so 
AnarchyReigns lent Julius' likeness for the Oracle.
It was in the year of Caesoninus & Gabinius' consulship that covetous eyes in all directions fixed their gaze upon Egypt, the last and most illustrious of Alexander's lands. To the East, a reemergent Persia viewed the realm of the Ptolemies with the ancient ambitions of its Achaemenid predecessor, amassing a great force that faced the Sinai deserts. The Nubians, deep upstream of the Nile, sensed weakness in their northern neighbours and had made claims upon the mountainous expanses of Upper Egypt. And all the while, the endless appetite of the Roman Republic stretched ever further eastward from Carthage - how long would it be before an ambitious general would seek a triumph for Alexandria's capture?
Ptolemy had done much to improve his armies, but it remained led by vain and jealous generals, unable to find consensus in which threat to concentrate arms. Thus it was left to the will of the gods - the Pharaoh along with his army and a great host ventured not to the frontier but deep into the western desert to the great oasis of Siwa, in search of audience with the office of the great Oracle with whom Alexander's pharonic title had been confirmed some three hundred years previously. At the Temple of Zeus-Ammon, offerings of incense and gold were presented in gilt ox-carts, and the Pharaoh himself beseeched the Oracle on hands and knees for the knowledge of which threat to the Egyptian realm was the most grave. For three days and nights the Pharaoh and his host waited outside the temple precinct as consultations were conducted in the strictest secrecy. On the third day, Ptolemy alone was summoned to the Temple sanctuary, where the Oracle communicated the reply of the gods:
"Woe to the serpent! A hyena stalks his tail, an eagle hovers over his back, and a lion snarls in his face! He sees without blinking - can he not behold the greatest threat right there, before his eyes? If he cannot not sink his fangs into what is closest to him, he shall surely be rent apart by tooth and talon!"
The Pharaoh took this to mean that he should strike first against the lion of Persia, who indeed had already struck out across the desert in a dash for Alexandria, left vulnerable to seizure by the expedition to Siwa. His army returned northward at a blistering speed, catching the parched and desert-stunned column of Persians by surprise deep in the rocky expanse of Sinai. The ambush scored a crushing victory for the Egyptian army, ending Persia's ambitions of conquest in a single stroke as the shattered remnants of their forces routed back East. But it would prove to be a grave error for Ptolemy, as he had grown complacent and failed to interpret the Oracle's words.
The threat which was closest to him would prove to be no army at all, but the chronic poison of envy and avarice which had plagued the Egyptian royal family for centuries. Now it had festered within the souls of the Pharaoh's own sisters, Arsinoe and Cleopatra, who had long resented Ptolemy's title and eccentricities, and coveted the throne and wealth of Egypt for themselves. So it was that they greeted their brother upon his return to Alexandria following his victory against Persia, praising his defense of the realm with their words while harbouring wicked intentions in their hearts. The royal sisters waited until Ptolemy and his guards were within the walls of the palace, deep in council on the next course of action in their campaign, before springing their trap. At a command, doors were barred and trecherous swords in the hands of bribed soldiers were turned upon them. Many in Ptolemy's retinue were treacherously slain in the chaos, and the Pharaoh himself nearly met his end but for the fortuitous presence of a hidden passage in his chambers that led to the Great Harbour.
The Pharaoh and his few surviving loyal followers took to the sea, venturing north to unsuccessfully seek exile from a number of Greek states before reluctantly turning westward and petitioning the looming specter of Rome. Ptolemy would spend four years in the Eternal City persistently seeking support from the Senate to reclaim his title; all the while Egypt fractured between the royal sisters, their lust for power soon stoking the fires of distrust and paranoia, turning the siblings against one another just as they had against their brother. In time Ptolemy would reclaim the throne of Egypt under the patronage of Pompey the Great, but in a condition so weakened and so indebted to Roman aid that it would not survive long after the Pharaoh himself. Hence the Oracle's warning proved itself, and the serpentine length of the Nile was in time seized between the teeth of the Nubian hyena in the South and the talons of the Aquila in the North.
An awesome commission from
drawing_sofa! Zeus-Ammon is often associated with the ram and so AnarchyReigns lent Julius' likeness for the Oracle.
Category Artwork (Digital) / Portraits
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 640px
File Size 261.7 kB
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