Ptolemaic Egypt · 305-196 BC

Ptolemaic Egypt: Greek kings as pharaohs

For nearly three centuries a Macedonian family ruled Egypt, wearing the double crown in temples and speaking Greek at court. Students explore how two cultures shared one kingdom, from the temples of Edfu to the Rosetta Stone, carved in three scripts in 196 BC.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
12–15
On the map
3 steps, 305 BC to 196 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

For nearly three centuries a Macedonian family ruled Egypt, wearing the double crown in temples and speaking Greek at court. Students explore how two cultures shared one kingdom, from the temples of Edfu to the Rosetta Stone, carved in three scripts in 196 BC.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain how the Ptolemies presented themselves to Greeks and to Egyptians.
  • Locate Alexandria, Memphis, Edfu and Rosetta and say what each tells us about the kingdom.
  • Describe the Rosetta Stone and why it was written in three scripts.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

305 BC

A pharaoh from Macedon

Open the map in 305 BC, the year Ptolemy I took the title of king. Turn on Historical Events (Political) and find "Founding of Ptolemaic Egypt". The Ptolemies were crowned by Egyptian priests at Memphis but lived in Greek Alexandria. Turn on the Cities layer and find both.

Open this view on the map
b

217 BC

A kingdom beyond Egypt

Jump to 217 BC and zoom out. The Ptolemies also held Cyprus, Cyrene and the coast of Syria. That year Ptolemy IV beat the Seleucids at Raphia near Gaza, using Egyptian soldiers for the first time. Find "Battle of Raphia" in Historical Events (Battles). What might those soldiers ask for next?

Open this view on the map
c

196 BC

The stone with three scripts

Go to 196 BC and zoom in on the Nile Delta. Find "Rosetta Stone Carved" in Historical Events (Cultural). The stone records a decree of priests honoring the boy king Ptolemy V in hieroglyphs, in everyday Egyptian (Demotic) and in Greek. Why would one text need three scripts?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. The Ptolemies built temples at Edfu, Dendera and Philae in pure Egyptian style, with themselves carved as pharaohs making offerings. Why would Greek kings spend fortunes on a religion that was not their own?
  2. In Alexandria the Ptolemies were Greek kings; in Memphis they were pharaohs. Can a ruler be two things at once without being false?
  3. After Egyptian soldiers helped win at Raphia in 217 BC, southern Egypt rebelled for twenty years under native pharaohs. What is the link between fighting for a state and demanding a share in it?
  4. The Rosetta Stone's Greek text let Champollion crack the hieroglyphs in 1822. Why does it take a known language to unlock an unknown one?
  5. Greek settlers got land and lower taxes; Egyptians paid more and were mostly kept out of high office. What happens over time to a kingdom run like that?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Cleopatra VII, the last ruler of the dynasty. Afterwards discuss: her ancestors had kept Greeks and Egyptians apart for two centuries. Is it a coincidence that the one Ptolemy who learned Egyptian is the one everybody remembers?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

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