'In the reign of the young king by inheritance from his
Father, Lord of the Diadems, great in glory, pacificator of
Egypt and pious towards the gods, superior over his
adversaries, Restorer of the life of man, Lord of the Periods
of Thirty Years, like Hephaistos the Great, King like the Sun,
the Great King of the Upper and Lower Lands; offspring of the
Gods of the Love of the Father, whom Hephaistos has approved,
to whom the Sun has given Victory; living image of Zeus; Son
of the Sun, Ptolemaios the ever-living, beloved by Phtha; in
the ninth year of Aëtos son of Aëtos, Priest of Alexander and
the Gods Saviours and the Gods Brethren and the Gods
Benefactors and the Gods of the Love of the Father and the
God Manifest for whom thanks be given:'
The Priests who came to his coronation ceremony at Memphis proclaim:
'Seeing that King Ptolemaios ever-living, beloved of Phtha,
God Manifest for whom Thanks be given, born of King Ptolemaios
and Queen Arsinoe, the Gods of the Love of the Father, has
done many benefactions to the Temples and those in them and
all those beneath his rule, being from the beginning God born
of God and Goddess, like Horus son of Isis and Osiris, who
came to the help of his father Osiris (and?) in his benevolent
disposition towards the Gods has consecrated to the temples
revenues of silver and of corn, and has undergone many
expenses in order to lead Egypt into the sunlight and give
peace to the Temples, and has with all his powers shown love
of mankind.'
When the people of Lycopolis revolted, we hear:
'in a short time he took the city by storm and slew all the
Impious who dwelt in it, even as Hermes and Horus, son of Isis
and Osiris, conquered those who of old revolted in the same
regions . . . in return for which the Gods have granted him
Health Victory Power and all other good things, the Kingdom
remaining to him and his sons for time everlasting.'[157:1]
The conclusion which the Priests draw from these facts is that the
young king's titles and honours are insufficient and should be
increased. It is a typical and terribly un-Hellenic document of the
Hellenistic God-man in his appearance as King.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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