ESTABLISHMENT OF GREEK SETTLEMENTS IN EGYPT: AN EXAMINATION OF THE DUAL ROLE OF ANCIENT GREEK SETTLEMENTS IN EGYPT AS REVEALED BY GREEK HISTORIOGRAPHY

Abstract

Greece and Egypt developed as ancient civilizations in Europe and Africa respectively, and influenced many societies, for several centuries. They maintained long-term foreign relations irrespective of the geographical distance between the two continents. There is ample archaeological and literary evidence to support the permanent Greek presence in several areas of Egypt whose origins are dated back to the 8th and 7th century BCE. The research mainly adopted a historical method to analyze these literary sources and an eclectic method under qualitative research methodology to extract the findings from the secondary sources. Further investigations reveal that the Greek settlements in ancient Egypt could be categorized into two distinct groups, each serving unique purposes in complex ancient relations between the Greeks and the Egyptians. Greek literary references solidify the theories developed around the origin, purpose, and nature of these Greek settlements in Egypt. The objective of the research is to examine the dual nature of these settlements revealed through literature, focusing on the distinct roles and contributions served by each community. Herodotus, the 5th-century Greek historian, identified the initial Greek settlements in Egypt as compensation gifts offered by the Egyptian kings to Greek mercenary soldiers who fought in Egypt. Modern research has proven how lands were given as wages for the service done by the mercenary armies in foreign lands. This could be seen as a measure of retaining the loyalty of the mercenary soldiers to the foreign king and compensating them for access to their long-term service. Later settlements like Naukratis, Canopus, and Heracleion acted as port cities that facilitated continuous trade between Greece and Egypt. The study further revealed how these settlements played a dual role in Egypt and how they facilitated cultural exchange between the Greeks and Egyptians.