The Ptolemaic Sea Empire

Abstract

In 1982, archaeologists of the State Hermitage Museum excavated a sanctuary at the site of Nymphaion on the eastern shore of the Crimea. The sanctuary had been in use from ca. 325 bce until its sudden abandonment around 250 bce.1 An inscription found in situ associates the site with Aphrodite and Apollo, and with a powerful local dynasty, the Spartokids.2 Built upon a rocky promontory overlooking the Kimmerian Bosporos near the port of Pantikapaion (the seat of the Spartokids), the sanctuary clearly was linked to the sea. Most remarkable among the remains were two polychrome plastered walls covered with graffiti depicting more than 80 ships-both war galleys and cargo vessels under sail-of varying size and quality, as well as images of animals and people. The most likely interpretation of the ship images is that they were connected to votive offerings made to Aphrodite (or Apollo) in return for safe voyages.3 Most noticeable among the graffiti is a detailed, ca. 1.15 m. wide drawing of a warship, dated by the excavators to ca. 275-250, and inscribed on its prow with the name "Isis" (ΙΣΙΣ).4 The ship is commonly