LIFEINNAUKRATIS

GREEKCOLONISATION

DEPARTMENTOFARCHAEOLOGYANDANTHROPOLOGY

INTRODUCTION
When one examines the general characteristics of a colony established by a Greek citystate,
NaukratisdoesnottickmanyboxesotherthanbeinginhabitedbyGreeks,thatithadtemplesand
Greekadministratorsthatmadesurethecivicandeconomiclifeofthetownransmoothly.

A colony tends to have a foundation myth and an oikist, a metropolis and a complicated
relationship to the colonisednatives, and itsphysical,civic and political organisation tended to
conformtothegeneralpolisstyleofmostGreekstates.Naukratishasneitheroftheseaspectsin
theArchaicperiod(ourperiodoffocus).Yetitwasaverysuccessfulsettlementthatthrivedonits
opportunelocationclosetotheNile.Itsmainpurposeforexistenceseemshavebeencentredon
trade and production. Though when one looks at what has been found during excavation, the
picturebecomesmorecomplicatedandmultifaceted.

This essay will try to show this far fuller picture of Naukratis, by highlighting other aspects than
simplytradeandproduction.MostaspectsofNaukratitelifewerehoweververycloselylinkedto
the economic life of the town, and so it would be impossible to give a full picture of Naukratis
withoutastrongemphasisontrade,butitisnottheonlyaspectofNaukratis.
Due to the nature of classical archaeology, both archaeological and literary evidence will be
examined,aswellastheconclusionsotheracademicshavedrawnfromtheirownresearchdone
uponthedifferenttopicsrevolvingNaukratis.

LIFEINNAUKRATIS
Foundation
The generally accepted date of Naukratis foundation falls around 620625 BC (Mller, 2000, p.
214),duringtheSatedynastyandthereignofPsammetichosI.Ithasbeendebated whetheror
notthisisthefoundationdate,seeingastheancientsourcesdonotagree.
Strabo(1stcenturyBCAD1stcentury)writesofaMilesianraidingpartythatsailedintoEgyptand
alongtheNileuntiltheyreachthesiteofNaukratisandsettledhere:

forinthetimeofPsammetichos(wholivedinthetimeofCyaxarestheMede)theMilesians,with
thirty ships, put in the at the Bolbitine [of the Nile, to the west] mouth and then, disembarking,
fortified a wallthe abovementionedsettlement [MilesianTeichos]; but intime they sailedup into
the Satic nome, defeated the city Inaros in a naval fight, and founded Naukratis, not far above
Schedia.
Strabo,Geography,17.1.18
(TranslatedbyHoraceL.Jones)

Herodotus, the father of history, claims differently. He credits the Egyptian pharaoh Amasis for
grantingthetownofNaukratistotheGreeks(ratherthantheGreeksactuallyfoundingthecity):

AmasisfavouredtheGreeksandgrantedthemanumberofprivileges,ofwhichthechiefwasthegift
ofNaukratisasacommercialheadquartersforanywhowishedtosettleinthecountry.Healsomade
grantsoflanduponwhichGreektraders,whodidnotwanttolivepermanentlyinEgypt,mighterect
altarsandtemples.
Herodotus,Histories,BookII:178
(TranslatedbyAubreydeSlincourt)

When one examines the evidence unearthed by excavation and survey of the area, the general
periodprovidedbyStraboisthemorelikelyone.TheearliestfindsofpotteryfoundinNaukratis
datestothe7thcenturyBC(Villing,2006,p.5),whichsupportsthisearlierdate,ratherthanthat
onegivenbyHerodotus.

Religion
ReligiouslifeinNaukratisappearstohaveavibrantone.Herodotus (BookII:178)mentionsfour
templesaAeiginiantempleofZeus,aSamiantempleofHera,aMilesiantempleofApolloand
theHellenion(whichwillbediscussedinmoredetaillater).ThetempleofZeushasnotbeenfound
by any of the different excavations taken place, but an additional temple of Aphrodite and one
temple of the Dioscuri have been found on the site (Leonard, 1997, pp. 135). The temple of
Aphrodite is probably a Chian one, due to the extensive amount of Chian votive pottery found
insideit(Boardman,1980,pp.119120).

TheHellenion.
Thisbuildinghasreceivedalotofattentionovertheyearsbybothancientauthorsandexcavators.
AsstatedbyHerodotus(BookII:178),theHellenionwasajointsanctuarybyninepoleiswhoall
had a strong connection to Naukratis Ionian Chios, Teos, Phocaea and Clazomenae, Dorian
Rhodes,Knidos,HalicarnassusandPhaselis,andlastlyAeolianMytilene.
WhatmakestheHellenionaveryinterestingphenomenonlieswiththededicationsmadeinsideit.
The typicaldedicationstospecificgods(e.g. Apollo, the Dioscuri, Artemis, etc.) exist, but arefar
fewerthanthoseofanothertypenamelythededicationstothegodsoftheHellenes/Hellenic
gods(andmoresimilarformulae)(Villing,2006,pp.1115).
The Hellenion appears to have been a sanctuary for all Greeks, no matter of their specific cult
affiliation or citizenstatus with a particular polis. It was a place where Greeks could go and

sacrifice generally to the gods of their pantheon. This ties in quite neatly with the cosmopolitan
natureofNaukratisasthiscentreforGreeksinEgypt.

Generally, it appears as if the temples in Naukratis show what polis had a strong interest in
Naukratis.Theadditional,nonHellenionrelated,threepoleisthatHerodotusmentionsAeigina,
Samos and Miletus all show an important presence in Naukratis (whose individual temples
predatetheHellenion),withpotteryfromallthreeappearingalongwiththeotherninepoleis,in
bothvotiveformandgenerallyscatteredacrossthesite(Villing,2006).

Politics
AswasdiscussedaboveintheIntroduction,itisimportanttonotethatNaukratiswasinnowaya
traditional colony with a metropolis, an oikist or even any of the different types of political
administration found in Greek poleis at the time. Little has been found that relates to the
administrationofNaukratis,otherthanthementioningoftheprostatai.

TheProstatai.
Naukratis is only mentioned in any fairly extensive amount in Strabo and Herodotus (only
mentioned very brieflyin Diodorus), and no records of administrative activities have been found
duringtheexcavations.Whatismentionedintheancientsources istheprostatai1.Mllerinher
Naukratis: Trade in Archaic Greece (2000, pp. 195196)) discusses these, as it appear,
administratorsinchargeoftheport.Shecomestotheconclusionthattheywereprobablyselected
fromtheinhabitantsinNaukratis,onefromeachofthemainactivepoleis.Theyappear tohave
beenbothinchargeofthegeneralgoingsofthetown,aswellasadministratingandsupervising
the economic transactions of the trade, and acting as the Naukratite officials dealing with the
Egyptian officials that undoubtedly wanted to keep an eye on the activities in the port. Mller
suggests that they were the counterpart to the Egyptian Overseer of the Gate to the Foreign
LandsoftheGreatGreen,whowasresponsibleforthesupervisionofforeigntrafficinthedelta
and the collection of taxes for the Temple of Neth in Sais [the Sate capital]. (Mller, 2000, pp.
195196).

Several authors (e.g. Mller, 2000, Boardman, 1980) have suggested that the Hellenion was the
administrative centre for these prostatai. It possibly served Naukratis both as its main sanctuary
andasitscityhall.

Urbanism
TheTownofNaukratis.
Fromwhattheearlyexcavationsunearthed,Naukratisappeartonothavebeenaverylargetown.
Itmadeefficientuseofitsterrain,beinglocatedquiteclosetotheNile(fulfillingNaukratispurpose
ofexistence)(seefigure1foranillustrationofthis).

AnymajorchangedoesnotappeartohaveexistedbetweentheArchaicandtheClassicalperiods,
butsignificantlyintheHellenisticperiod.Thisisprobablyrelatedtothefactthatitisonlyfromthe
4th century onwards that Naukratis is considered a polis (Mller, 2000, p. 119) and when the
inhabitantscalledthemselvesNaukratites.

1
HerodotussaysthatthepoleiswithahandintheHellenionweretheonlyoneswhohadthe

rightofappointingtheofficers[theprostatai]inchargeoftheport.(Histories,BookII:178)

CarlRoebucksuggestedinanarticlethattheHellenionwasthebothphysicalandpoliticalheartof
Naukratis(Roebuck,1951).Asdiscussedaboveintheprevioussection,academicsagreethatthe
Hellenionpossiblyactedastheadministrativecentrefortheprostatai,butnoonehasfoundany
evidence of this being the case. If one looks at the excavation plans (figure 1) the Hellenion is
locatedinthenorth.IfRoebuckwouldbeprovenright,itmeansthatalargepartofNaukratisisyet
tobefound.

WhatisperhapsquiteobviousisthatnowhereinNaukratishavetherebeenfoundanybuildings
traditionallyassociatedwithapolis(Mller,2000,p.118).Insummary,whathasbeenfoundare
religiousbuildings,theHellenionandtheotherindependenttemples,ascarabfactoryandalarge
Ptolemaicstructure.

Burial
No Greek burials has of yet been found at Naukratis. All the different excavation projects have
comeacrossseverallayersofIslamicburials(identifiedbythegravegoodsfoundwiththebodies,
andbytheorientationofthegravetowardsMecca),butnoonehasyetfoundanyGreeksburied.
Whyisacomplexquestion,withanumberofpossibilities.Ultimately,thereisnowayofknowingif
Greekswereactuallyburiedhere,asthecompleteabsencedoesnotnecessarilymeanthattheydo
notexist

ProductionandTrade
While the original motive for settlement derived from the activity of mercenaries, it obviously
soon developed into one exclusively for the support of trade. (Tsetskladze, 2003, p. 141)
Boardman quite adequately defines Naukratis purpose on being in this short quote. Had there
beennodesiretotradewithEgypt,Naukratiswouldprobablyneverhaveexisted.

As mentioned above, the traderelationship between the Greek world and Egypt was not a one
waything.TheEgyptianswantedtotradewiththeGreeksasmuchastheGreekswantedtotrade
with the Egyptians. The location of Naukratis not only enabled smooth trading routes, but also
gavetheSatedynastyamoreextensivecontroloverthetrade(asitwaslocatedclosetoSais).

TheGreekpoleisinvolvedinNaukratis,ontheotherhand,hadalsothenbeengivenamonopoly
on the trade with Egypt. The Egyptians had allowed certain poleis to trade here, and so it was
these poleis that gained from the cautiousness of the Egyptians. One can see this in the list of
potteryfoundinthetownVillingcomposedinherNaukratis:GreekDiversityinEgypt(pp.54562),
whereitisquiteapparentthattheEastGreekpoleisweremostdominantoftheGreekareas3.

2
Seetheentirechapterforamorecoherentdescriptionofwhathasbeenfoundsofar

ThereisalargecollectionofCorinthianandAtticwares,butthatisthecaseformostofthe

Mediterranean,sothereisnoreasonforclaimingthateitherCorinthorAthenshavinganinterestin
Naukratis(whichtheydidnot).
3

OneofthemostimportantimportsintoEgyptwassilver.Mllerwrites(2000,p.209)thatathird
ofallsilverfoundinhoardsinEgyptwasofaThracoMacedonianorigin,althoughneitherThrace
norMacedoniahadanyinterestinNaukratisortradewithEgyptatthetime.
Carl Roebuck wrote anarticle, in which he discusses the GrainTrade between Greece and Egypt
(Roebuck,1950).Egyptsmainexporthasthroughtheagesbeengrain4.Roebucksuggeststhatthe
EastGreekpoleistradedsilvertheygotfromThrace/MacedoniawithEgyptforgrain,whichthey
thendistributed(mainly)inthewestandcentralpartsoftheGreekworld.

Naukratiteproduction.
AnumberofobjectsappeartohavebeenproducedinNaukratis.Themostobviousexampleisthe
FaienceFactorythatwasfoundnexttothetempleofAphroditeinthesouthernpartofthetown.
Whathasstruckmanyarchaeologistsisthecloseresemblanceofthefaiencefiguresfoundhereto
those found on Rhodes (Mller, 2000, p. 150). The island was one of the participants in the
Hellenion,sohadastronglinktothetown.
The faience produced in Egypt5 has been found distributed all across the western Greek world,
especiallyonSamosand(notsurprisingly)Rhodes.

The production of scarabs follows a very similar line (seeing as they could be a type of faience
figure).ScarabswereproducedinNaukratis,butalsoonothersitesintheDelta,and(aswiththe
faience figures) on Rhodes. These small objects have been found all over the Mediterranean, all
thewayfromSpaintoOlbiadowntoCyrene.

A number of kouroi statues have been found in Naukratis. Ian Jenkins wrote an article strongly
arguingthatthesekouroiwerenotasGreekaspreviouslyhadbeenthought,butCypriot(Jenkins,
2001).CyprusoftenfunctionedasamidwaypointforgoodspassingbetweentheGreekworldand
thesouthern/easternMediterranean6.
Whether or not most of these statues were produced in Naukratis is at the moment unknown.
Archaeologists have not found any strong evidence that would suggest this, but then have not
beenabletodisproveiteither.Itcouldbejustasprobablethatthekouroiwereimported,along
with most of the Greek pottery found here, as it would be that the kouroi were produced in
Naukratis.

EthnicityandAcculturation
GreeksinEgypt.
As was discussed above concerning religion, the temples set up by individual poleis predate the
Hellenion.ThiswouldsuggestthattheGreekswhofirstarrivedatNaukratisthoughtofthemselves
asaGreekfromtheirspecificpoleis(e.g.MilesianGreek,SamianGreek,etc.).Butlateron,asthis
settlementgrewinbothimportanceandwealth,theconstructionoftheHellenionwouldsuggest
thattheGreeksinNaukratisbeganthinkingofthemselvesasgeneralGreeks,andthusgettingrid

4
E.g.EgyptbecameRomesgranarywhenitfellintoherhands

Identifiedassuchbythechemicalcompositionofthematerialsused

Jenkinsultimatelyclaimedthatthesekouroihadoriginallydevelopedoutofthetraditionalblock
likestatuessocommonlyfoundinEgypt,thathadthenarrivedinCyprus(andtoPhoenicia)totakeona
moreHellenisedlook,totheneventuallyendupintheGreekworld,wherethestatueseventually
developedintotheGreekkouroi.

of the categories that separated them. They lived in a country whose language and culture was
very different from their own, and so probably felt that being Greeks together, and not divided
MilesiansfromSamians,wouldmakethemstrongerandsafer.

Naukratites.
A Naukratite identity as such did not appear until the 4th century, in the very beginning of the
Hellenistic period (Mller, 2000, p. 189). Even though Mller describes a gravestone found in
NaukratiswiththetermNaukratitewrittenonitdatedtothe5thcentury,itdoesnotappearto
havebeenverycommonuntilNaukratiswasconsideredapolisinthe4thcentury.

Multiculturalism
Beingatradingportandajointprojectbetweenseveralpoleis,NaukratisaccommodatedGreeks
fromatleast12differentpoleis(thatweknowof),andthesespanningoverallthreeofthetribes
ofGreeksDorians,IoniansandAeolians,asmentionedabove.Nowhereintheancientsourcesis
there mention of any animosities between the citizens of the town, so one could draw a very
general conclusion and say that life in Naukratis was a rather harmonic multicultural state of
affairs.

TheEgyptians.
NaukratiswasaGreeksettlementlocatedinadeveloped,ancientcivilisationstillgoingreasonably
strong. Thus the relationship between the colonisers (who were not actually colonisers as such)
andthenativesdidnotfollowthenormthatcolonieselsewhereintheMediterraneanfollowed.
TheGreekswereverymuchasOtherliketotheEgyptiansastheEgyptianswouldhavebeento
theGreeks.

The Greeks had rather mixed views on the Egyptians. On one hand they were a foreign nation,
barbarians7asalltheotherpeoplesthatdidnotspeakGreek.Theirpractiseswereverydifferent
and alien to the Greeks, as was their religion. On the other hand, Egypt was a truly ancient
civilisationthatwasinitsheydayswhentheancientpalatialsocietiesofCyprusexisted.Egyptwas
portrayedintheancientsources(i.e.Herodotus,DiodorusandStrabo)asthisgreatoldandwise
nationthattotheGreekswasthecradleofcivilisation.

ArtandStyle
There are no particular artefacts (pottery, statues, miniature figures, etc.) found that show a
particularNaukratitestyle.NaukratiswasverymuchameetinggroundforGreekandEgyptians
styles to meet and mix, so the artefacts show a more general GrecoEgyptian style in its artistic
characteristics.
Naukratis,beingtheonlyplaceinEgyptwhereGreekswereallowedtotrade,sojusthappenedto
become the point where this cultural mixing occurred. The port was simply a very convenient
placeforthis,andimportanttonoteisthatHellenisationofEgyptianarthadhappenedpreviously
andoutsideofEgypt(i.e.thekouroi).

EarlyexcavationsfoundpotterywhichwascategorisedasNaukratite,butlaterresearchdoneupon
thesevesselsshowthattheyaresimplycopiesofknownGreekwaresdoneinEgyptianmaterials
(Villing,2006,pp.119and131),inparticularaChianwarethatwasconsideredtobeNaukratite.
GreekadaptationsofEgyptianwaresandsocalledMixedStylepotteryhavealsobeenfound,and
arenotNaukratiteassuch.

BarbarianintheancientGreeksense,notthemodernhighlyloadedterm

There was never, either, a Naukratite style of kouroi. It was simply something Egyptian being
Hellenised.

Asmentionedabove,faiencewasproducedinlargenumbersinNaukratis,butasalsomentionedit
waspracticallyidenticaltothefaienceproducedonRhodes.Scarabsfollowthissameline.

Coinage
CoinageinNaukratisisaverysmallsubject,seeingasNaukratisneverminteditsowncoins.Trade
with Egypt was never conducted with money as such, due to the fact that Egypt never had a
monetarysystemfocusedoncoinage8.TradeinNaukratiswasfocusedongoods(andinsomeway
itsservices9.

NotuntilthecomingofAlexandertheGreat,whosetupamintinhisnewlybuiltAlexandria.The
Ptolemiescontinuedthis,andmintedtheirowncoinage.
9

IfoneistobelieveHerodotuswhenhesaystheprostitutesofNaukratisaresomehowparticularly
attractive(BookII:135)

CONCLUSION
Ashasbeenillustratedinthesectionsabove,lifeinNaukratiswasverytraderelated.Thetowns
entireexistencewasbasedupontrade.Thetempleserectedwereprobablybuiltinordertogrant
the Greeks some security when it came to dangerous journeys across the Mediterranean and
importanteconomictransaction.Theadministratorsofthetownweremainlyadministratorsofthe
portanditsactivities.

YetNaukratiswasnotjustacollectionofwarehouses,factoriesandtemplesdedicatedtogodsthat
would protect the traders and their goods. Naukratis did develop into a polis, with permanent
inhabitants and probably had civic buildings dedicated to the citizens and politics, rather than
simplytotrade10.

Soinconclusion,Naukratiswasverymuchatradingport.Itsexistencecameaboutbecauseofit,
its life revolved around it, and it was due to the success of its trade that it eventually became a
towninitsownright.Thecitizensweremerchantsandpeoplecloselyinvolvedwiththem.Itwas
onlyonceGreekshadbecomemoresettledinEgyptasawhole(inparticularonceitwasGreeks
thatruledit)thatNaukratismovedbeyondthisemporionorganisationandbecameapolisinthe
conventionalsense.

10

Althoughthesehavenotyetbeenfound,partfromtheGreatTemenos,discussedbyMller(2000),
Villing(2006)andinLeonardsexcavationreports(1997and1998).

BIBLIOGRAPHY
o Boardman,J.,1980,TheGreeksOverseas,Thames&Hudson,London
o Herodotus, 2003 (latest revision), Histories, translated by Aubrey de Slincourt, Penguin
Books,London
o Jenkins, I., 2001, Archaic Kouroi in Naukratis: The Case for Cypriot Origin, American
JournalofArchaeology,Volume105,No.2,pp.163179
o Leonard,A.,1997,AncientNaukratis:ExcavationsataGreekEmporioninEgypt,PartI,The
ExcavationsatKomGeif,AnnualoftheAmericanSchoolsofOrientalResearch,Volume54,
TheAmericanSchoolsofOrientalResearch
o Leonard, A., 1998, Ancient Naukratis: Excavations at a Greek Emporion in Egypt, Part II,
The Excavation at Kom Hadid, Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research,
Volume55,TheAmericanSchoolsofOrientalResearch
o Mller,A.,2000,Naukratis:TradeinArchaicGreece,OxfordUniversityPress,Oxford
o Roebuck, C., 1950, The Grain Trade between Greece and Egypt, Classical Philology,
Volume45,No.4,pp.236247
o Roebuck,C.,1951,TheOrganisationofNaukratis,ClassicalPhilology,Volume46,No.4,
pp.212220
o Strabo, 1932, The Geography of Strabo, Volume VIII, translated by Horace L. Jones, The
LoebClassicalLibrary,WilliamHeinemannLtd.,London
o Tsetskladze, G.R. and de Angelis, F. (eds.), 2003, The Archaeology of Greek Colonisation,
TheOxfordCommitteeforArchaeology,Oxford
- Boardman,J.,SettlementforTradeandLandinNorthAfrica,pp.137149
o Villing, A. and Schlotzhauer, U., 2006, Naukratis: Greek Diversity in Egypt, The British