THE EGYPTIAN FOUNDATIONS OF GNOSTIC THOUGHT

development, albeit one refracted down onto lower social levels as it were, is to be
found in the magical texts which first appear in Coptic, Demotic, and Greek shortly
after this period in the first century C.E.. 27
The early partial yet systematic transcription of a spoken Egyptian dialect into
Greek characters, which is clearly demonstrated by the graffiti at Abydos from the
second and first centuries B.C.E., would have gained great impetus from these social
conditions, for the motivation and wherewithal is now present for the transcription of
Egyptian thought into a more universal form, precisely the modus operandi then in
effect in the Ptolemaic libraries in Alexandria.
I would therefore target a specific Ptolemaic period which was especially
conducive, politically, for the systematic development of Coptic from 164 B.C.E.
onwards, the approximate time when Greeks were first joining the Egyptian
priesthood in significant numbers. The level of Egyptianisation among the Greeks
reached new heights in the first century B.C.E., and we are drawn to the reign of
Egypt’s last Greek ruler, Cleopatra VII, for the requisite decisiveness of character to
be found amongst the litany of weak rulers who immediately preceded her. She alone,
of all the Lagids, attempted to manifest a Graeco-Egyptian fusion beyond mere
political expediency, and she alone of all the Ptolemaic rulers learned the Egyptian
language (an incredible achievement!) and in this she perfectly symbolises the
seduction of the Greek mind by Egyptian religiosity. Indeed, Cleopatra presented
herself as “the new Isis”. 28
We can speculate that her own study of Egyptian was
effected through the employment of Greek characters. If this be the case she would
have likely been zealous to have all upper echelons in the state learn Egyptian and the
Coptic script would have greatly facilitated this task. The link between Alexandria
and Memphis was at its strongest at this time, and we recall that the son of the
bilingual high-priest Petubastis was in office during Cleopatra’s reign. This
hypothesis however cannot be proved. It is enough to note that the required
development time for the degree of systematisation apparent in the Coptic magical
texts of the first century C.E. encompasses her 21-year reign (51-30 B.C.E.).
before our era, of an active intercommunication between a Greek cultural milieu and the
exclusive group which practised the sciences and magic sacred to the native Egyptians,”
(139-40). This cross-fertilisation occurred, we can assume, as a result of the tolerant
relations that existed at the top between Ptolemaic king and Egyptian ethnarch. See
Crawford, “Ptolemy, Ptah and Apis in Hellenistic Memphis”, 40: “The relationship between
Alexandria and Memphis, between monarch and high priest appears to be one of equal
respect.” The discussion here centres upon the first century B.C.E..
27
We must constantly bear in mind, as I will note at various points in this discussion, the acute
problem of negative evidence: not one original text has been bequeathed to us from the
greater Gnostic teachers of Alexandria in the early first and second centuries, ergo we
cannot say with certainty in what proportion they wrote in Coptic, Greek, and Demotic.
Likewise, the wholesale destruction of “pagan” texts in the Christian era also does not allow
us to place too great an emphasis upon the magical texts as being sole manifestations of the
evolution of Coptic in the first century.
28
Witt, Isis in the Graeco-Roman World, 147. This is not to idealise Cleopatra’s motives, for
certainly the political expediency of appearing decisively Egyptian looms large in the
Ptolemaic claim to chthonic legitimacy at this time. However, her ability to learn the
language is quite striking and I see no reason to doubt a sincere commitment on her part
towards Egyptian religion and cultural identity.