Hellenistic Egypt: Monarchy, Society, Economy, Culture

by Jean Bingen

Hellenistic Egypt brings together for the first time the writings of the preeminent historian, papyrologist, and epigraphist Jean Bingen. These essays, first published by Bingen from 1970 to 1999, make a distinctive contribution to the historiography of Hellenistic Egypt, a period in ancient Egypt extending from its conquest by Alexander the Great in 332 B.C. until its annexation as a province of the Roman Empire by Octavian (later Augustus) in 30 B.C., after his defeat of Mark Antony and Cleopatra. Ruled by Ptolemaic kings during this period, Hellenistic Egypt was a sophisticated, rich, and fertile country. Its history is intimately bound up with the history of the Mediterranean as a whole, yet parts of that history remain relatively obscure and open to debate. New evidence, particularly from papyri, emerges frequently and shifts our understanding and interpretation of this significant time. For the last six decades Jean Bingen has been a leading editor and interpreter of such evidence. In particular his work on the Ptolemaic monarchy and economy, which illustrates how the Greeks and Egyptians interacted, has transformed the field and influenced all subsequent work. Historian and classicist Roger Bagnall has selected and introduced Bingen’s most important essays on this topic.

Edinburgh University Press

Genres: History, Egypt

325 pages, Paperback

First published March 25, 2007

Reviews

[Tyler Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

These are obviously good reading for anyone interested in Hellenistic Egypt but this is also valuable for Biblical Studies, especially for those using papyri from this era. Bingen's essays give a good idea of how these documents are used in historical, rather than linguistic, investigations and they provide a picture of the cultural setting which shaped them. In this light, it also makes good background reading for Septuagint Studies.

Really interesting collection of essays by an important scholar which have been translated from French. The collection is organized around a few themes, but the nature of such collections is generally to leave a hunger for a bit more of a unified narrative.

Probably shouldn't be your first read on the subject as some framework is needed so that the various elements have a place to hang. I've not read enough on the topic to give a sense of where Bingen sits in relation to the rest of the field, but a number of the essays challenge previous conclusions.

[Avital]

DT 92 B55 2007