Tikhonov V. A., candidate of historical Sciences, Moscow


Abstract

The image of the eagle with a trident attacking triera "ISIS", referring to 2nd floor. 3 BC, found in Nymphaion (Crimea, Russia) illustrates the events of the 2nd Syrian war, when the Cimmerian Bosporus was an Egyptian ally in the conflict between Egypt and Pontus.


Keywords

The Cimmerian Bosporus, Pontos, Nymphaeum, Triera "ISIS", 2nd Syrian war, the Ptolemaic Egypt, Hellenistic.


Abbreviations and bibliography

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2. Grach – Grach N. L. Discovery of a new historical source in the Nymphaeum // Vestnik of ancient history. – 1984. – 1. – P. 81-88.
3. Kiselnikov – Kiselnikov A. B. The Ship "ISIS" from Nymphaeum // Collection of conference center "Sociosphere". – 2015. – 15. – P. 195-198.
4. Ladynin – Ladynin I. A. Once more about rings "Ptolemaic" type of Northern Black Sea: Possible interpretations in the light of the foreign policy of Hellenistic Egypt in the 3rd century BC // Antiquities of Bospor. – 2007. – 11. – P. 235-252.
5. Litvinenko, Litvinenko Yu. N. Ptolemaic Egypt and the Northern Black Sea in the 3rd century BC: To the question about contacts // the Bulletin of ancient history. – 1991. – 1. – P. 12-26.
6. Neverov – Neverov O. Y. Group of Hellenistic bronze rings in the Hermitage collection // Vestnik of ancient history. – 1974. – 1. – P. 106-115.
7. Saprykin 1996 –Saprykin S. Yu. The Pontic Kingdom. – M., 1996.
8. Saprykin 2009 – Saprykin S. Yu. Religion and cults of the Hellenistic and Roman Pont of time. – M.; Tula, 2009.
9. Sokolov – Sokolova O. Yu. Bust of ISIS from Nymphaeum // Bosporan phenomenon. – SPb., 1998. – P. 39-40.
10. Tokhtasiev – Tokhtasiev S. R. A political history of the Bosporus 3 BC // Antiquities of Bospor. – 2006. – 10. – P. 416-428.
11. Treister – Treister M. Yu. Bosporus and Egypt in the 3 century B. C. // Vestnik of ancient history. – 1985. – 1. – P. 126-139.
12. Finogenova. – Finogenova S. A Group of Hellenistic bronze rings from the collection of the Pushkin’ State Museum of fine arts. – 2001. – 2. – P. 164-167.
13. Chernenko – Chernenko V. G. Rings with their portraits of Ptolemaic type from Tanais // 8th international archaeological conference of students and graduate students "Problems of archaeology of Eastern Europe". – Rostov-on-don, 2013. – S. 126-129.
14. Yailenko – Yaylenko V. P. Women, Aphrodite and the priestess spartacides in new Bosporan inscriptions // The Woman in the ancient world. – M., 1995. – S. 204-272.
15. Basch – Basch L. L Isis de Ptolemee II Philadelphe // Le musee imaginaire de la marine antique. – Athens, 1987. – P. 493.
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19. Stephani Byzantii – Stephani Byzantii Ethnicorum. – B., 1849.


In the early 1980s during the excavation of the ancient Greek city of Nymphaeum (the territory of modern Kerch in the Crimea) has been found the picture of the ancient warship - cleaning block, which is read the name of the ship - "ISIS" (rook). On Board the ship nearer the stern hung the shields of the so-called Galata type ("fureus", that is "the door"). On top of the ship was attacked by a large bird similar to the eagle with a Trident in its claws, aimed at the ship. Around this large image of the mid-3rd century BC many short Greek inscriptions and very schematics of ships. The find is already much discussed, however, to explain why "ISIS" attacks eagle with a Trident, no one has (Berzin; Kiselnikov; Tokhtasyev; Yailenko; Basch; Hockmann. Graffiti; Hockmann. Naval).

The eagle and the Trident of the ancient Greeks as symbols of the God Zeus. On the Cimmerian Bosporus, which includes the Nymphaeum, officially if Zeus and was revered, it is very little. The main gods of the Bosporan Kingdom - Apollo and Aphrodite. If you search the state in the vicinity of the Nymphaeum, where Zeus was the chief official of God, we quickly can determine that Pontus could symbolically denoted in the figure with "ISIS" image of eagle with a Trident. The veneration of local Pontic Cappadocia for the thunder God, which was in the Hellenistic times identified with the Greek Zeus, goes back to the days of the Hittite Empire (2nd Millennium BC) (Saprykin 2009).

Figure "ISIS" with an eagle and a trident - a symbolic image of the war, the Egyptian Navy (ISIS - Egyptian goddess) against the Pontic Kingdom. In the ancient Greek author of the 6th century Stephen Byzantine in the dictionary under the word "Ancyra" is the story that during the war of Egypt with Pontus under king Mithridates and his Pontic heir ariobarzanes the allies captured the Galatians nor the Pontic coast of the anchors of the Egyptian ships and in honor of this event, one of the main cities of Galatia was supposedly named "Ancyra" (now Ankara in Turkey), the "anchor" (Stephani Byzantii; Saprykin 1996).

About the Foundation of Ancyra Stefan made a mistake - in the historical sources Ankira mentioned before coming here Galatians (they came to this area in the early 3rd century BC), but the episode with the attack of the allies of the Pontic Galatians to the Parking lot Egyptian fleet in the southern black sea coast fits into the events of the 2nd Syrian war, when the Egyptian fleet entered the Black sea (Grainger).

It is to these same events of the war and is, most likely, nymphaion image of ISIS" with an eagle. If this big picture was in one of the Bosporan cities, as participated in these events, the Bosporus? Most likely the Egyptian squadron during the war at sea came to the Bosporus whether trying to attract the Bosporus to joint action against Ponta, whether is long enough using the Nymphaeum as its advanced naval base.

Because on the Bosporus about that time (2 floor. 3 century BC) found during excavations of rings depicting Egyptian kings and Queens Ptolemy (Ladynin; Litvinenko; Neverov; Treister; Finogenova; Chernenko), the busts of the Egyptian monarchs (Sokolov), there is evidence of the papyri on the Bosporan Embassy in Egypt (Litvinenko; Treister), it is likely that the Bosporus or participated in the 2nd Syrian war on the side of Egypt or supported in this war to friendly neutrality of Egypt.

That's the interpretation of the eagle with a Trident on nymphaion image screening "ISIS" can be considered the most likely.