Images

"Tolomeo Filadelfo nella biblioteca di Alessandria", or "Ptolemy Philadelphus founds the Library of Alexandria", is an oil painting from 1813 by Italian artist Vincenzo Camuccini (1771-1844 CE). The painting portrays the Greco-Macedonian...

This massive gold coin weighing approximately 27.7-8 grams was known as an octadrachm (equivalent in worth to 8 drachmae). Under the Ptolemies, mints in cities like Alexandria and Ptolemais produced ever larger denominations in gold, silver...

These early 3rd-century BCE bronze statues from Alexandria, Egypt, portray the royal Ptolemaic couple Ptolemy II Philadelphus ("The Sibling-Loving") and Arsinoe II Philadelphus. Ptolemy II is wearing the scalp of an elephant, possibly symbolic...

Gem intaglio mounted on gold and framed by glass, emeralds and garnets. The draped and sceptred figure is thought to be a Ptolemaic queen. In her right arm, she bears the cornucopia of Aphrodite or Isis-Aphrodite. Egyptian, 1st century BCE...

This pottery jar was a storage vessel for funerary offerings and is thought to have once held some type of beef broth. On its surface, a beautiful floral pattern is painted. The jar was found in a Ptolemaic era tomb near Thebes, Egypt. The...

This marble statue of a dwarf was sculpted around 332-150 BCE and is believed to have originated in Alexandria, Egypt. The dancing figure may have held cultic associations as dwarves were linked to Greek religious practice and were often...

This fragment came from a wine jug (referred to as "oinochoai") that was used for pouring libations during festivals of the Ptolemaic dynastic cult. This particular jug was crafted around 246-221 BCE. Berenike II is portrayed on this fragment...

This fragment of blue faience glass came from a kind of libation vessel known as "oinochoai" which were used in festivals honouring the deified Ptolemaic queens. The figure portrayed is Arsinöe II who wears her hair in the "melon-coiffure"...

This limestone statue dates to 278-270 BCE and was found in the Memphite region of Egypt. Thought to portray the Ptolemaic queen Arsinöe II, the piece is an obvious callback to earlier Egyptian artistic motifs in an attempt to legitimize...

The greatest temple in Saba – known as Mahram Bilqis, near the capital of Ma'rib, in modern-day Yemen – was dedicated to Almakah and was revered as a sacred site in the region long after the Sabean Kingdom itself was gone.