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NAFKRATIS (Ancient city) EGYPT
Naucratis (Naukratis, Herod. ii. 179; Strab. xvii. p. 801 ; Ptol.
iv. 5. § 9; Callimach. Epigr. 41; Plin. v. 10. s. 11; Steph. B. s. v.: Eth. Naukratites
or Naukratiotes), was originally an emporium for trade, founded by colonists from
Miletus, in the Saitic nome of the Delta. It stood upon the eastern bank of the
Canopic arm of the Nile, which, from the subsequent importance of Naucratis, was
sometimes called the Ostium Naucraticum. (Plin. v. 10. s. 11.) There was, doubtless,
on the same site an older Aegyptian town, the name of which has been lost in that
of the Greek dockyard and haven. Naucratis first attained its civil and commercial
eminence in the reign of Amasis (B.C. 550) who rendered it, as regarded the Greeks,
the Canton of Aegypt. From the date of his reign until the Persian invasion, or
perhaps even the founding of Alexandreia, Naucratis possessed a monopoly of the
Mediterranean commerce, for it was the only Deltaic harbour into which foreign
vessels were permitted to enter; and if accident or stress of weather had driven
them into any other port or mouth of the Nile, they were compelled either to sail
round to Naucratis, or to transmit their cargoes thither in the country boats.
Besides these commercial privileges, the Greeks of Naucratis received from Amasis
many civil and religious immunities. They appointed their own magistrates and
officers for the regulation of their trade, customs, and harbour dues, and were
permitted the free exercise of their religious worship. Besides its docks, wharves,
and other features of an Hellenic city, Naucratis, contained four celebrated temples:
- (1) That of Zeus, founded by colonists from Aegina; (2) of Hera, built by the
Samians in honour of their tutelary goddess; (3) of Apollo, erected by the Milesians;
and (4) the most ancient and sumptuous of them all, the federal temple entitled
the Hellenium, which was the common property of the Ionians of Chios, Teos, Phocaea,
and Clazomenae; of the Dorians of Rhodes, Cnidus, and Halicarnassus; and of the
Aetolians of Mytilene. They also observed the Dionysiac festivals; and were, according
to Athenaeus (xiii. p. 596, xv. p. 676), devout worshippers of Aphrodite.
The two principal manufactures of Naucratis were that of porcelain
and wreathes of flowers. The former received from the silicious matter abounding
in the earth of the neighbourhood a high glaze; and the potteries were important
enough to give names to the Potter's Gate and the Potter's Street, where such
wares were exposed for sale. (Id. xi. p. 480.)
The garlands were, according to Athenaeus (xv. p. 671, seq.), made
of myrtle, or, as was sometimes said, of flowers entwined with the filaments of
the papyrus. Either these garlands must have been artificial, or the makers of
them possessed some secret for preserving the natural flowers, since they were
exported to Italy, and held in high esteem by the Roman ladies. (Boetticher, Sabina,
vol. i. pp. 228, seq.) Athenaeus gives a particular account (iv. pp. 150, seq.)
of the Prytaneian dinners of the Naucratites, as well as of their general disposition
to luxurious living. Some of their feasts appear to have been of the kind called
sumbola, where the city provided a banqueting-room and wine, but the guests brought
their provisions. At wedding entertainments it was forbidden to introduce either
eggs or pastry sweetened with honey. Naucratis was the birthplace of Athenaeus
(iii. p. 73, vii. p. 301); of Julius Pollux, the antiquary and grammarian; and
of certain obscure historians, cited by Athenaeus, e. g. Lyceas, Phylarchus, Psycharmus,
Herostratus, &c. Heliodorus (Aethiop. vi. p. 229) absurdly says that Aristophanes,
the comic poet, was born there. Naucratis, however, was the native city of a person
much more conspicuous in his day than any of the above mentioned, viz., of Cleomenes,
commissioner-general of finances to Alexander the Great, after his conquest of
Aegypt. But neither the city nor Aegypt in general had much reason to be proud
of him; for he was equally oppressive and dishonest in his administration; and
having excited in the Delta a general feeling of discontent against the Macedonians,
he was put to death by Ptolemy Lagus. (Arrian, Exp. Alex. iii. 5, vii. 23; Diodor.
xviii. 14; Pseud. Aristot. Oeconom. ii. 34. s. 40.)
Herodotus probably landed at Naucratis, on his entrance into Aegypt;
but he did not remain there. It was, however, for some time the residence of the
legislator Solon, who there exchanged his Attic oil and honey for Aegyptian millet;
and is said to have taken sundry hints for his code of laws from the statutes
of the Pharaohs. (Plutarch, Solon, 26.)
Naucratis, like so many others of the Deltaic cities, began to decline
after the foundation of Alexandreia. Situated nearly 30 miles from the sea, it
could not compete with the most extensive and commodious haven then in the world;
and with the Macedonian invasion its monopoly of the Mediter-ranean traffic ceased.
Its exact site is unknown, but is supposed to correspond nearly with that of the
modern hamlet of Salhadschar, where considerable heaps of ruin are extant. (Niebuhr,
Travels in Arabia, p. 97.) The coins of Naucratis are of the age of Trajan, and
represent on their obverse a laureated head of the emperor, and on their reverse
the figure of Anubis, or a female holding a spear. (Rasche, Lexic. R. Numar. s.
v.)
This text is from: Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography (1854) (ed. William Smith, LLD). Cited August 2004 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
(Naukratis). A city in the Delta of Egypt, on the eastern bank
of the Canopic branch of the Nile. It was a colony of the Milesians, flourishing
in the reign of Amasis, about B.C. 550, and remained a purely Greek city. It was
the only place in Egypt where Greeks were permitted to settle and trade. Its importance
was lessened after Alexandria was founded. It was the birthplace of Athenaeus
and Iulius Pollux. Important excavations were made here by Mr. Flinders Petrie
in 1885 and 1886, with the result of adding greatly to our knowledge of the Graeco-Egyptian
period. Naucratis possessed a temple to Aphrodite, one to Here, and a smaller
one to Castor and Pollux, besides a very great one, the Panhellenion, the central
religious meeting-place of all the Greeks in Egypt. In the heart of the city stood
the oldest temple of all, dedicated to the Milesian Apollo.
The recent discoveries have added to our knowledge of the relations
of Greece with earlier Egypt, and the writing found here is of great value in
the study of the Greek alphabet. An ancient factory for making Greek imitations
of the Egyptian scarabs is one of the curious things revealed by Mr. Petrie's
researches.
This text is cited Oct 2002 from The Perseus Project URL below, which contains interesting hyperlinks
Total results on 26/6/2001: 61 for Naucratis, 41 for Naukratis.
About 65 km SE of Alexandria on the W or Canopic branch of the Nile, near the modern village of El-Niqrash. After recruiting Greek mercenaries to assist him in driving the Ethiopians from Upper Egypt, Psammetichos I (664-610 B.C.) settled the mercenaries at Daphnai, on the E branch of the Nile and, at the same time, apparently permitted Greek traders from Miletos to form a station at Naukratis (Herod. 2.97 et passim). Under Amasis (570-526 B.C.), the city became the most important commercial town and the trading center with the west. It was the only place where Greeks were allowed to dwell when they were in Egypt for business. The town contained separate quarters for Milesians, Samians, and Aeginetans, each with its sanctuary (for Apollo, for Hera, and for Zeus respectively). Other Greeks shared a concession (temene) which they called the Helleneion. The city continued to flourish through the Saitic period. When Alexander the Great arrived in Egypt (332 B.C.), he was undoubtedly welcomed by the Greeks of Naukratis. On leaving the country six months later, he appointed Kleomenes, a resident of Naukratis, as both financial governor of Egypt and contractor for the building of Alexandria. With the establishment of the Ptolemaic capital in Alexandria, Naukratis ceased to be the only commercial emporium in Egypt. It continued, however, to serve as a transit station for all imported and exported goods. Moreover, Naukratis was then the only city to strike her own coins both in silver and bronze. The first Ptolemies at least did not completely neglect the old city: inscriptions found on the site show that buildings were erected under Ptolemy I Soter and Ptolemy II Philadelphos. The limestone stela (Damanhur Stela), decree of the year 23 of Ptolemy V Epiphanes, with a copy of the hieroglyphic text of the Rosetta Stone, was found here and was probably from the Great Enclosure. During the Roman Conquest, the city steadily declined, and the excavations have yielded nothing that dates after the 2d c. A.D. Although the city continued to appear in travelers' records for some time, even its locality was hard to identify. At the present time, vegetation has covered the whole site. Many of the finds are to be found in the Graeco-Roman Museum in Alexandria.
S. Shenouda, ed.
This text is from: The Princeton encyclopedia of classical sites,
Princeton University Press 1976. Cited Nov 2002 from
Perseus Project URL below, which contains bibliography & interesting hyperlinks.
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