We fhall now proceed to the hiftory of thefe princes' reigns, where we shall have occafion to examine which of the various tables we have exhibited deserves the prefer ence. pro extraction. Ptolemy, the first of the Macedonian race who reigned Ptolemy in Egypt after Alexander the Great, was, according to Soter's Arrian, a native of Eordæa, a fmall place in the vince of Mygdonia in Macedon, and called Lagides, or the fon of Lagus, but commonly believed to be the fon of king Philip; that prince, as Curtius, and Paufanias inform us, having given Arfinoe, the daughter of Meleager, and mother of Ptolemy, in marriage, while fhe was with child by him, to Lagus, a Macedonian of a mean defcent. Lagus, unwilling to acknowlege another man's child, when his wife was delivered, expofed the new-born infant, according to the barbarous cuftoms of thofe times, to be devoured by wild beafts, or to perifh with famine. But an eagle, fays Suidas, touched with that compaffion which found no room in the breast of Lagus, performed with wonderful care and affiduity all the duties of a fond parent, fhelter ing the helpless infant with his wings against the incle mency of the weather, and nourishing it with the blood of his prey instead of milk. Lagus being greatly affected with this miraculous adventure, which, no doubt, was invented and divulged for that end, looked upon it as an infallible prognoftic of fome extraordinary preferment and good fortune, acknowleged the child for his fon, and as fuch brought him up with great care. As for Ptolemy himself, he feems to have preferred the name of Lagides, or the fon of Lagus, to all other appellations, fince he tranfmitted it with his own to all his defcendants, who from him are called Ptolemæi Lagides, or the Ptolemies defcended from Lagus. But whatever was Ptolemy's defcent, all the ancients, who write of those times, give him a moft extraordinary character. He was one of the chief favourites of Alexander, who repofed in him the greatest truft, and relied entirely on his wifdom, conduct, and courage, in the execution of his most important projects; for he attended him in all his expeditions, and in most of them distinguished himself in a very eminent manner. He was no lefs dear to the foldiers than to the king, being at the fame time the prince's favourite, and the darling of the army. At the fiege of Harmatelia, among the q Arrian. lib. i. in Atticis. Quint. Curt. lib. iv. t Suidas in voce Lagus. S 3 • Paufan. Brachmans, Favoured by Alexan der, and the army. beloved by Appointed governor of Egypt. Peoples Alexandria. Brachmans, he had the misfortune to be wounded with a poisoned arrow, and muft have died of his wound, had not Providence intervened in a very extraordinary manner, after all human remedies had proved unsuccessful (A). After the death of Alexander he was appointed governor of Egypt, Lybia, and that part of Arabia which bor ders upon Egypt. Thefe provinces he held to his death, and tranfmitted them with many new acquifitions as an hereditary kingdom to his defcendents. As we have already given a particular account of his wars with Perdiccas, Antigonus, and Demetrius, we fhall only obferve in this place, that he is commonly distinguished from the other Ptolemies his fucceffors by the furname of Soter, or Saviour, which was firft given him by the Rhodians, in confideration of his friendly offices towards them, while their metropolis was befieged by Demetrius Poliorcetes. Ptolemy, upon his first being appointed governor of Egypt, chofe the city of Alexandria for the ufual place of his refidence, as did likewife the other kings who fucceeded him; by which means that city become one of the most wealthy and populous of the whole world. Ptolemy granted great privileges to all who fettled there, whether Greeks, Jews, or Egyptians; an indulgence which drew fuch crowds of new inhabitants out of Judæa, that their quarter was one of the largeft in the place (B). All the (A) For while Alexander was one night regreting the lofs which he had reafon to apprehend of fo great a commander, he fell asleep, and had fcarce fhut his eyes, when a dragon, if Diodorus is to be credited (2), appeared to him in a dream, carrying a plant in his mouth, acquainted him with the nature and virtue of that vegetable, fhewed him the place where it grew, and inftructed him in what manner he fhould apply it to Ptolemy's wound. The vifion no fooner difappeared, than Alexander awaking, went to the place which the dragon had pointed ancients out to him, found the plant, and having applied it to the wound, as he had been direct, ed, cured it in a fhort time, and restored Ptolemy in perfect health to the army, who looked upon his death as the greatest misfortune that could befal them. Strabo, who fpeaks of this adventure as happening in the country of the Orites, fays, that Alexander learned the remedy of the natives; and that either he or his flatterers reported that it had been revealed him by the gods (3). (B) For the use of thefe, as they came by degrees to forget their own language, was made (2) Diodor. Sicul. lib. xvii. p. 617. (3) Strab. lib. xiv, that ancients fpeak of Alexandria as the next in beauty, wealth, and extent, to Rome". 2044. Ante Chr. 304. Aumes the title of king. 2063. Ante Chr. 285. Though Ptolemy had, from the time he was firft vefted Yr. of Fl. with the government of Egypt, exercifed the regal authority, yet he did not affume the title of king till he faw himself firmly fettled in his new kingdom, after the retreat of Antigonus and Demetrius, who had attempted, without fuccefs, to invade Egypt, that is, nineteen years after the death of Alexander (C). From this time Soter reigned twenty years, agreeable to Ptolemy's canon; and thefe, with the nineteen afcribed by that writer to Philip and Alexander Ægus, make up the thirty-nine, which authors commonly allow Ptolemy Soter to have reigned alone. For, in the thirtieth year of his reign, being eighty Yr. of Fl. and upwards, he placed Ptolemy Philadelphus, one of his fons, by Berenice, on the throne, declaring him his partner in the empire, and fucceffor to the crown after his death. He had feveral fons by his other wives, and among thefe Ptolemy Ceraunus, or the Thunderer, who being the fon of Eurydice, the daughter of Antipater, and the eldest of the male iffue, looked upon the crown as his birthright after his father's demife. But Berenice, who went into Egypt merely as a companion to Eurydice, when fhe first married Ptolemy, fo charmed that prince with her beauty, that he likewife married her, and in all affairs of importance was entirely governed by her advice. The crafty princess, taking advantage of the afcendant she had gained over her husband, prevailed upon him to settle the crown upon her iffue, and exclude Ceraunus, to whom, according to the order of fucceffion, it belonged. To prevent, therefore the wars which might enfue after his death between the two brothers, he refolved to place the crown on the head of Philadelphus during his own life, and make him his affociate in the adminiftration. Ce u Vide Diod Sic. lib. xvii. Strab. lib. xvii. Marcellin. lib. xxii. Hegefip. lib. iv. cap. 27. that Greek verfion of the facred books, which has fince been called the Septuagint. (C) From this time Ptolemy, in his chronological canon, begins to reckon the years of his reign, having hitherto computed by thofe of Philip and Alexander Ægus, though the latter had been killed five years S. 4 raunus, Makes his Jon Phil adelphus partner in the empire. The image of Serapis conveyed to Alexandria. raunus, therefore, quitting the court, retired to Lyfima, chus, whofe fon, Agathocles, had married Lyfandra, the fifter of Ceraunus, both by father and mother. After the death of Agathocles, he fled to the court of Seleucus, who received him in the most obliging manner, for which he was afterwards repaid with ingratitude w (D). W In the first year of Ptolemy Philadelphus's reign, the image of Serapis was brought out of Pontus to Alexandria. Of this deity we have the following account from Tacitus, Plutarch, and Clement of Alexandria 2. While Ptolemy, the first of that name, was employed in fortifying Alexandria with walls, and adorning it with temples and other ftately buildings, there appeared to him, in his fleep, a young man of extraordinary beauty, of a stature more than human, admonishing him to dif patch into Pontus fome of his moft trufty friends to bring from thence his ftatue: he affured him, that the city and kingdom which entertained it, fhould prove happy, glorious, and powerful. The young man, having thus fpoke, difappeared, mounting up into heaven in a blaze of fire. Ptolemy, ftruck with the miraculous apparition, discovered his vifion to the Egyptian priefts, whofe profeffion it was to be skilled in things of this nature. But as they appeared to be quite ignorant of Pontus, and all foreign countries, he had recourfe to one Timotheus, an Athenian, of the race of Eumolpides, who at that time had the administration of facred things in Alexandria. From him he learned, that in Pontus there was a city called Sinope, and not far from it a temple, greatly reforted to by the w Paufan. in Atticis. Juftin. lib. xvi. cap. 2. Diogen. Laert. in Demet, Phaler. Theocrit. Idyll. Appian. in Syriac. 128. x Tacit. Hiftor. lib. iv. cap. 83, 84. y Plutarch. de Ifide & Ofiride. z Clem. Alexandrin. in Protreptic. (D) In this year, which was the first of the hundred and twenty-fourth Olympiad, the fortieth of Ptolemy Soter's reign, and the firft of Ptolemy Philadelphus, was finished the famous watch-tower in the ifland of Pharos, oppofite Alexandria, which had been be gun by Ptolemy Soter fome years before. It is commonly I called the Tower of Pharos, and was counted by the an cients among the wonders of the world. It was a large fquare ftructure of white mar ble, on the top of which fires were kept conftantly burning for the direction of failors. Pharos was originally an island about feven furlongs diftant from the continent, to which it was afterwards joined by a caufeway, feven furlongs in length. natives, natives, and confecrated to the Infernal Jupiter, near whofe ftatue ftood that of a woman, commonly believed to be Proferpine. But Ptolemy, in the mean time, applying his mind to other things, entirely neglected the heavenly admonition, till the fame vifion appearing to him in a more terrible manner, threatened him and his kingdom with certain deftruction, if he neglected to put in execution the directions which he had before received. Thus alarmed, he forthwith dispatched ambassadors, with rich prefents, to Scydrothemis, who then reigned in Sinope, to try whether they could prevail upon him to part with the image. They were ordered to take Delphos in their way, and to confult the oracle of the Pythian Apollo: there they received an answer from the god void of ambiguity, importing, "That they fhould proceed, and carry home with them the image of his father, but leave behind that of his fifter." Upon their arrival at Sinope they acquainted Scydrothemis with their errand, and, at the fame time, prefented to him rich gifts in their mafter's name. The king accepted the prefents, and was inclined to comply with their requeft; but deterred from following his inclination by the menaces of the people, who oppofed the removal of the ftatue. In this negociation three years were spent, Ptolemy sparing no intreaties nor charges, but fending fucceffively new ambaffadors loaded with fresh fents both for the king and his favourites. However, Scydrothemis continued till irrefolute and wavering, till he was warned by a dreadful spectre, which appeared to him in the night, no longer to retard what the deity had determined. Having, therefore, affembled the people, he acquainted them with the injunctions of the god, with his own vifion, and with that of Ptolemy, and affured them, that, unless they readily complied with the orders of heaven, they would expose themselves to many dreadful calamities. His fpeech made no impreffion on the minds of the populace; they envied Egypt fuch a bleffing, and furrounding the temple in a tumultuous manner, threatened to put any man to death who fhould offer to remove their god. In confequence of this obftinacy the god, as fome authors write, of his own motion, and without help, conveyed himself into the ambaffadors' fhip, which lay close to the fhore; and the veffel, traverfing an immense tract of fea, arrived, in three days, at Alexandria. Other writers tell us, that the inhabitants of Sinope, being reduced to great ftraits by a famine, which made a dreadful havock in the city, confented, at laft, to part with their pre god |