Sesostris

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other uses, see Sesostris (disambiguation).
"The great Sesostris", identified in this 19th-century engraving as Ramesses II during the Battle of Kadesh.
Mira, as belonging to Sesostris. Karabel relief
, circa 1350 BC.

Sesostris (Greek: Σέσωστρις) is the name of a legendary king of ancient Egypt who, according to Herodotus, led a military expedition into parts of Europe. Tales of Sesostris are probably based on the life of Senusret I, Senusret III and perhaps other Pharaohs such as Shoshenq I[1] and Ramesses II.[2]

Sesostris' name is also given as Sesoösis or Sesonchosis in other sources.[1]

Account of Herodotus

In Herodotus'

Phasis in Colchis. Herodotus cautioned the reader that much of this story came second hand via Egyptian priests, but also noted that the Colchians were commonly believed to be Egyptian colonists.[3]

Herodotus also relates that when Sesostris defeated an army without much resistance he erected a pillar in their capital with a vulva on it to symbolize the fact that the army fought like women.[4] Pliny the Elder also makes mention of Sesostris, who, he claims, was defeated by Saulaces, a gold-rich king of Colchis.[5]

Herodotus describes Sesostris as the father of the blind king Pheron, who was less warlike than his father.

According to Professor Alan Lloyd 'The core of Herodotus’ narrative is provided by an Egyptian tradition which presented Sesostris as a model of the ideal of kingship. This certainly contained an historical element, but it has been supplemented and contaminated by folklore, nationalist propaganda, and Greek attitudes."[6]

Diodorus Siculus

According to Diodorus Siculus (who calls him Sesoosis) and Strabo, he conquered the whole world, even Scythia and Aethiopia, divided Egypt into administrative districts or nomes, was a great law-giver, and introduced a caste system into Egypt and the worship of Serapis.[7] Diodorus also wrote that "with regard to this king not only are the Greek writers at variance with one another, but also among the Egyptians the priests and the poets who sing his praises give conflicting stories” (1.53).[8]

Modern research

In

Nineteenth Dynasty.[9][7]

The images of Sesostris carved in stone in

stela of conquest that in its expressions recalls the stelae of Sesostris in Herodotus: Sesostris may, therefore, be the highly magnified portrait of this Pharaoh.[7]

Sesostris is also mentioned in the Alexander Romance where Alexander is described as "the new Sesostris, ruler of the world.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4051-3679-2
    . Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  2. ISBN 978-90-04-37084-5
    . Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  3. ^ "For it is plain to see that the Colchians are Egyptians; and what I say, I myself noted before I heard it from others." Herodotus Histories 2.104
  4. ^ Herodotus Histories 2.102
  5. ^ Rackham, Harris, ed. (1938). Pliny Natural History I. Harvard University Press. p. 43.
  6. ISBN 978-0-19-814956-9
    . Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Griffith, Francis Llewellyn (1911). "Sesostris". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 24 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 701.
  8. ISBN 978-90-04-32307-0
    . Retrieved 17 April 2022.
  9. ISBN 978-0-19-521952-4
    , p. 29
  10. Ephesos to Phocaea, the other between Sardis and Smyrna
    ; in each case the carved figure is nearly seven feet high and represents a man with a spear in his right hand and a bow in his left, and the rest of his equipment to match – partly Egyptian, partly Ethiopian." Herodotus II.106
  11. ^ "Hittite Monuments - Karabel".
  12. ^ Aldred, Cyril (1987). The Egyptians (second ed.). Thames and Hudson. p. 130.

Bibliography

  • Herodotus ii. 102-1ll
  • Diodorus Siculus i. 53-59
  • Strabo xv. p. 687
  • Kurt Sethe
    , "Sesostris," in Unters. z. Gesch. u. Altertumskunde Agyptens, tome ii. Hinrichs, Leipzig (1900).
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