WAR IN THE HELLENISTIC WORLD

THE EFFECTS OF HELLENISTIC WARS ON RELIGION
Some Cretans stayed in Egypt and became members of the “Cretan
community” (politeuma ton Kreton), while others returned to their homeland,
bringing with them their experiences of the legendary country and its
gods. The main bearers of the cult of the Egyptian deities in Crete were
mercenaries. In Gortyn, the cult of Isis was introduced by the high-ranking
mercenary Pyroos, who had fought for Ptolemy VI in Cyprus (155/4 BC).
In the same period, another mercenary, Philotas from Epidamnos (Illyria),
who served in the Ptolemaic garrisons in Itanos (Crete), made a dedication
to Zeus Soter and Tyche Protogeneia Aienaos (Isis). It is certain that the
cult of Tyche Protogeneia was not native to Itanos, but introduced by
foreign soldiers – either by Philotas himself or by one of his predecessors. It
seems that Philotas was a man with deep religious feelings, since we know
him also as a dedicant to Isis at Philai a few years later (after 139 BC). There
is hardly a more eloquent testimony for the religious mobility caused by
army service than the dedication to an Egyptian deity by a soldier from
Epidamnos in Crete.
The wide diffusion of the Egyptian cults, especially those of Isis and Sarapis,
was to some extent the result of the soldiers’ mobility, but was also promoted
by the Ptolemaic administration. A nice example of the indirect means by
which the knowledge of foreign cults could reach distant areas is a fresco
found in a room of the sanctuary of Aphrodite at Nymphaion on the north
shore of the Black Sea (ca. 285–245 BC). Among other representations, one
recognizes the detailed image of an Egyptian ship called Isis, possibly the
ship of ambassadors of Ptolemy II. One of the Dioskouroi, patrons of
sailors exactly like Aphrodite and Isis, is represented under the inscription
with the ship’s name (Grac 1987; Höckmann 1999; Vinogradov 1999).
The island of Thera, where Ptolemaic troops served for a long period,
provides important evidence for the complex process of cult transfer through
soldiers. Of particular interest is the introduction of cults which were closely
connected with the Ptolemaic dynasty: the cult of the Egyptian deities,
especially the cult of Sarapis, who was promoted by Ptolemy I; the cult of
Dionysos, the patron of the Ptolemaic dynasty; and the ruler cult. The cult
of the Egyptian deities is attested in numerous dedications from the early
third century onwards (Vidman 1969: 88–91). The earliest was made by a
member of the garrison, Diokles, and by the association of the Basilistai
(early third century), which was devoted to the Ptolemaic dynastic cult (IG
XII.3 443). The sanctuary of the Egyptian deities in Thera was restored by
a former Ptolemaic officer (Artemidoros of Perge, who was granted citizenship
in Thera; see below) on behalf of King Ptolemy III and his deified
ancestors, who were probably worshipped in the same temenos, i.e., sacred
precinct (IG XII.3 464).
Another member of the same garrison – a man from Myndos – made
a dedication there for the well-being of Ptolemy IV and Queen Arsinoe
(IG XII.3 1389). Some soldiers in Thera (and elsewhere) were organized in
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