Decree of Canopus

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Decree of Canopus
MaterialGranodiorite
Size7 feet 4 inches in height
WritingEgyptian hieroglyphs, demotic, and Koine Greek script
Created238 BC
Discovered1866
Tanis, Egypt
Discovered byKarl Richard Lepsius
Present locationEgyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt

The Decree of Canopus is a trilingual inscription in three scripts, which dates from the

Ptolemy III Euergetes; Queen Berenice, his wife; and Princess Berenice.[1]

Ancient Copies of the Decree

In 1866, Karl Richard Lepsius discovered at Tanis the first copy of this Decree (this copy was originally known as the 'Şân Stele'). Another copy was found in 1881 by Gaston Maspero at Kom el-Hisn in the western Nile Delta. Later on, some other fragmentary copies were found.

In March 2004, while excavating at Bubastis, the German-Egyptian 'Tell Basta Project' archaeologists discovered yet another well preserved copy of the Decree.[2]

Importance for the decipherment of hieroglyphs

This is the second earliest of the series of

Ptolemaic Decrees. Having a greater number of different hieroglyphs
than the Rosetta Stone, the Canopus Stone has proved crucial in deciphering them. There are four such decrees:

  1. The Decree of Alexandria from 243 BC;
  2. The Decree of Canopus of Ptolemy III in 238 BC;
  3. The
    Ptolemy IV
    in 218 BC;
  4. The
    Ptolemy V
    in 196 BC.

Contents of the inscription

The inscription touches on subjects such as military campaigns, famine relief, Egyptian religion and governmental organization in

Apis and Mnevis cults, which enjoyed huge success in the Macedonian – Egyptian world, and the return of divine statues which had been carried off by Cambyses. It extols the king's success in quelling insurgencies of native Egyptians, operations referred to as 'keeping the peace.' It reminds the reader that during a year of low inundation, the government had remitted taxes and imported grain from abroad. It inaugurates a solar calendar with 365¼ days per year (the most accurate in the ancient world). It declares the deceased princess Berenike a goddess and creates a cult for her, with women, men, ceremonies, and special 'bread-cakes'. Lastly it orders the decree to be incised in stone or bronze in both hieroglyphs and Greek, and to be publicly displayed in the temples.[3]

The Decree of Canopus attested the existence of the ancient city of

Ptolemy I.[4]

Calendar reform

The civil

Sothis advances to another day in every 4 years, so that attaching the beginning of the year to the heliacal rising of the star Sirius would keep the calendar synchronized with the seasons.[6]

This Ptolemaic calendar reform failed, but was finally officially implemented in Egypt by

Alexandrian calendar,[7] with a sixth epagomenal day occurring for the first time on 29 August 22 BC.[8] Julius Caesar had earlier implemented a 365+1⁄4 day year in Rome in 45 BC as part of the Julian calendar
.

Gallery

  • the Decree of Canopus, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
    the Decree of Canopus, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
  • top portion of the Decree of Canopus, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
    top portion of the Decree of Canopus, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
  • middle portion of the Decree of Canopus, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
    middle portion of the Decree of Canopus, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
  • bottom portion of the Decree of Canopus, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt
    bottom portion of the Decree of Canopus, on display at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt

See also

  • Ptolemaic Decrees
  • Ptolemy IV
  • Ptolemy II
  • Ptolemy V

References

  1. ISBN 1-4021-7101-3
    , p. 295
  2. ^ Tietze, Christian; Lange, Eva R.; Hallof, Klaus (2005). "Ein neues Exemplar des Kanopus-Dekrets aus Bubastis." Archiv für Papyrusforschung und verwandte Gebiete 51, 1, pp. 1–29.
  3. ^ "Egyptian Texts: Canopus Decree". attalus.org. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  4. ^ PDF file Research by Franck Goddio
  5. ^ "Egyptian to Julian conversion: Canopic reform analysis". www.instonebrewer.com. Retrieved 2023-04-27.
  6. ^ Pfeiffer 2015, pp. 79–80 and 85–86.
  7. ISBN 0-87169-214-7
    , p. 47
  8. ^ Chris Bennett, Egyptian Civil Calendar and table note 372

Sources

External links
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