Dating back to 591 BC in Egypt, a Greek mercenary soldier carved the following phrase on the leg of a giant statue of Ramesses II:
"ΒΑΣΙΛΕΟΣ ΕΛΘΟΝΤΟΣ ΕΣ ΕΛΕΦΑΝΤΙΝΑΝ ΨΑΜΑΤΙΧΟ
ΤΑΥΤΑ ΕΓΡΑΨΑΝ ΤΟΙ ΣΥΝ ΨΑΜΜΑΤΙΧΟ ΙΤΟΙ ΘΕΟΚΛΟΣ
ΕΠΛΕΟΝ ΗΛΘΟΝ ΔΕ ΚΕΡΚΙΟΣ ΚΑΤΥΠΕΡΘΕ ΥΙΣ Ο ΠΟΤΑΜΟΣ
ΑΝΙΗ ΑΛΟΓΛΟΣΟΣ ΔΗΧΕ ΠΟΤΑΣΙΜΤΟ ΑΙΓΥΠΤΙΟΣ ΔΕ ΑΜΑΣΙΣ
ΕΓΡΑΦΕ ΔAΜΕ ΑΡΧΟΝ ΑΜΟΙΒΙΧΟ ΚΑΙ ΠΕΛΕΚΟΣ ΟΥΔΑΜΟ"
"When King Psamatikhos came to Elephantine,
those who sailed with Psammatikhos, the son of Theokles, wrote this,
and they came upstream above Kerkis as far as the river
permits. Potasimto commanded the non-native speakers, Amasis, and the Egyptians.
Arkhon son of Amoibikhos inscribed us, and Peleqos son of Oudamos".
The Inscription was carved by Ionian Greek mercenaries in the Egyptian army under Psammetichus II (594-588 BC) on the temple of Abu Simbel in Nubia, using the Hellenic Milesian alphabet.
Other Egyptian inscriptions mention the general Potasimto (the Greek version of Egyptian “Padisematawy”) commanding Greek and Carian troops. Amasis (Egyptian Ahmose) was a military officer who became pharaoh (570–526 BC) after Apries, Psammetikhos’ son and successor, was killed in battle. Amasis was also known to have married a Hellenic Cyrenean princess named Ladice.
The carver signed his name with a pun at the end of his sentence, stating, "Axe, son of no one," referring to the axe he probably used to carve the phrase. Greeks had a custom of referring to themselves as sons or daughters of their parental names, as observed in the Homeric hymns frequently. An example would be "Odysseus, son of Laertes."
The article first appeared in Archaeology & Civilizations.
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