This book explores the rise of the concept of dynastic continuity in the
Ptolemaic kingdom from political, cultural and sociological
perspectives, focusing on the first century of Macedonian rule in Egypt,
from Alexander's conquest to the early years of Ptolemy III. A
chronological and thematic discussion leads the reader from the success
of charismatic leadership in the age of the Diadochs to the
establishment of a more durable system of the practice and
representation of power during the third century. The analysis focuses
on actors involved in the processes of negotiation of Ptolemaic power as
well as on the way they interacted by adapting ideological themes to
different media and socio-cultural contexts. The main topics discussed
include: the interaction between royal and non-royal initiatives in the
representation of legitimacy and dynastic continuity; royal apparatus
and its reception in mass events; the relations between human power and
the divine; the combination of historical events and mythic patterns for
the creation of an intentional history of the new dynasty; the
historical development of the tradition concerning Alexander and the
first Ptolemies, with a focus on the survival and reconfiguration of
ideological themes in post-Ptolemaic Alexandria.