Kallikrates (Admiral)

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Kallikrates ( Greek  Καλλικράτης ; 3rd century BC), son of Boiskos, was a naval commander of the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt .

Kallikrates came from Samos and reached high offices and dignities at the Ptolemaic court in Alexandria as a "friend" ( philos ) of the siblings Ptolemy II and Arsinoë II . In the fourteenth year of the king's rulership (272/271 BC) he officiated as priest of Alexander and as the first ever as priest of the "sibling goddess". For about 20 years, between 270 and 250 BC. BC, he also served as a naval commander ( nauarchos ) of the Ptolemaic fleet, as can be seen from the inscriptions of his foundations and honors.

While Arsinoë II was still alive († 270 BC), the siblings and Kallikrates received an honor from his hometown of Samos. Around the year 257 BC Chr. He built in Canopus a temple to Isis and Anubis , which documents the readiness of the Greeks, even for ancient Egyptian deities foundations to make. In the same year, by means of a letter from his colleague Zoilos, he reminded the royal treasurer Apollonios of the payment of the collected fleet tax to the Admiralty.

Kallikrates is also known for the erection of a temple on Cape Zephyrion near Alexandria, in which Arsinoë II was venerated as Aphrodite . This temple foundation is documented in a poem by Poseidippus and became one of the most important places of worship in Hellenistic Egypt. He also donated a statue in Olympia for each of the siblings . Kallikrates himself was honored in Delos , Palai-Paphos and Kourion by setting up statues. As a “benefactor” of the city of Olus in Crete , he was made an honorary citizen ( proxenīe ); in this city he had probably been on a diplomatic mission with eight other men mentioned in the Proxenoi list around the time of the Chremonidei War .

literature

  • H. Hoods: Callicrates of Samos. A Contribution to the Study of the Ptolemaic Admiralty. In: Studia Hellenistica. Vol. 18, Leuven, 1970.
  • Guida Bastianini, Claudio Gallazzi (ed.): Posidippo di Pella: Epigrammi (P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309). Milano 2001.
  • Peter Bing: Posidippus and the Admiral: Kallikrates of Samos in the Milan Epigrams. In: Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Studies. Vol. 43, 2003, pp. 243-266.
  • Willy Peremans, Edmond Van't Dack: Prosopographia Ptolemaica . Vol. 6, Löwen 1968, No. 14607.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ EG Turner: The Hibeh Papyri. Part II, London 1955, No. 199 ( P. Hib. II 199 ).
  2. ^ Wilhelm Dittenberger : Orientis Graeci inscriptiones selectae. Volume I, Leipzig 1903, No. 29, 3–4.
  3. ^ Hans-Albert Rupprecht: Collective book of Greek documents from Egypt. Vol. 1, Wiesbaden 1915, No. 429.
  4. ↑ P. Me. I 100 = P. Me. Inv. 3123.
  5. ↑ P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309; see Bastianini & Gallazzi.
  6. ^ Wilhelm Dittenberger: Orientis Graeci inscriptiones selectae. Volume I, Leipzig 1903, No. 26 and 27.
  7. ^ IC I, XXII 4 A, lines 35-42; on this Werner Huss , Egypt in the Hellenistic Period 332–30 BC Chr.Beck , Munich 2001, ISBN 3-406-47154-4 , p. 298.
personal data
SURNAME Kallikrates
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Καλλικράτης
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Fleet commander of the Ptolemies, priest of Alexander
DATE OF BIRTH 3rd century BC Chr.
PLACE OF BIRTH Samos
DATE OF DEATH 3rd century BC Chr.