The Ptolemaic Basileus and the Roman Emperor Slaying the Enemies of Egypt : The sm3 sbi/hftyw/h3swt/Stt Ritual Scene in Context
Abstract
In the years following the almost complete occupation of Ptolemaic Egypt by the Seleucid kingdom in 168 BC, a seemingly new type of scene starts to appear recurrently on the walls of traditional Egyptian temples. The king is in most of these instances portrayed set to ritually spear with a harpoon one to four enemies in front of a male deity.
The title of the ritual refers to slaying a foe or a foreign land or region, specifically Asia. Using for the most part traditional imagery and language, its portrayal clearly shows a link with the pharaonic past and the continuation of long-standing practices, while concomitantly introducing a new manner in which to depict the slaying of a human opponent - by spear -inspired by a Greek-Macedonian motif.
The act expresses the annihilation of the forces of chaos, while it proclaims the foreign sovereign to be the rightful heir to the throne, who defends Egypt and Maat from the outside world, full of chaos and disorder. In its execution, the Ptolemaic basileus and Roman emperor unmistakeably follow into the footsteps of the traditional pharaoh.