Day 78 Tuesday 8 September 2026 Cooloongup, WA by Brett Murrell

THE PTOLEMY DYNASTY

Ever heard of the Ptolemy Dynasty. They governed Egypt for over 300 years from 300BC.

Ptolemy 1 Soter was said to be a half brother of Alexander The Great, Macedonians who carved up his conquered territories after his death.

The facade of the temple of Hathor at Dendera: six massive columns carved with the face of Hathor, the wall between them covered in relief and hieroglyphic text. — The temple of Hathor at Dendera, begun under Ptolemy XII.

I have been using AI to compile a summary of their family line and their achievements. Fascinating if you ask me.

The memo is much a tool for me to understand their history as it is a memo to share with others, a summary of facts that help to inspire others to get interested in our History.

Engraved reconstruction of the Pharos of Alexandria: a tall square tower on a walled courtyard, an octagonal stage above it, then a cylindrical lantern crowned by a statue. — The Pharos as reconstructed by Hermann Thiersch in 1909. Public domain.

Time (Kali to the Hindus, the destroyer — which is fitting) has a way of removing the knowledge of the past, AI is at least helping to recompile the remaining sources so we can at least begin to understand what came before US.

https://moralsmark.com/memo-the-ptolemies

Early photograph of a relief on the south exterior wall at Dendera: two crowned figures making offerings, carved at several times life size, a man standing at the foot of the wall for scale. — Cleopatra VII and her son Ptolemy XV on the south exterior wall at Dendera. The largest surviving image of either of them.

Background added here, not part of the post as published.

The memo gives the dynasty as 323–30 BC — nineteen rulers across 293 years, from Ptolemy taking Egypt after Alexander died to Octavian having the last of them killed. On the paternity: Pausanias and Curtius both record the tradition that Ptolemy was a son of Philip II, but both write four centuries later and give it as what is said; no contemporary source carries it, and Ptolemy styled himself son of Lagus throughout.

Both keys to the Egyptian script are Ptolemaic tax documents — the Rosetta Stone, a routine decree of tax remissions, and the Philae obelisk, a provincial temple asking to be let off a bill. Neither was meant to matter.

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