Manetho

Manetho (/ˈmænɪθoʊ/; Koine Greek: Μανέθων Manéthōn, gen.: Μανέθωνος, fl. 290–260 BCE) was an Egyptian priest of the Ptolemaic Kingdom who lived in the early third century BCE, at the very beginning of the Hellenistic period. Little is certain about his life. He is known today as the author of a history of Egypt in Greek called the Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt), written during the reign of Ptolemy I Soter or Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BCE). None of Manetho’s original texts have survived; they are lost literary works, known only from fragments transmitted by later authors of classical and late antiquity.

The remaining fragments of the Aegyptiaca continue to be a singular resource for delineating Egyptian chronology, more than two millennia since its composition. Until the decipherment of Ancient Egyptian scripts in the early 19th century CE, Manetho's fragments were an essential source for understanding Egyptian history. His work remains of unique importance in Egyptology.

Eight works have been attributed to Manetho:

Some of these have been considered "ghost" titles.^{[further explanation needed]} Of these eight, modern scholars agree that: the historical Manetho is the author of Aegyptiaca; that Manetho cannot be the author of Sothis; and that the Criticisms is likely a part of the larger Aegypticia and not written as a separate work.

Scholars agree that "Manetho" is a Greek transcription of an Egyptian name, however there is no consensus on the original. Some speculate that it is a theophoric name invoking either the god Thoth or the goddess Neith, e.g. "Truth of Thoth", "Beloved of Neith", or similar. Another proposal is "I have seen the great god". Others propose an occupational name based on Egyptian Myinyu-heter ("Shepherd" or "Groom"). In Latin sources he is called Manethon, Manethos, Manethonus, and Manetos.

The earliest attestations of his name, all in Greek, come from three sources: an inscription found in Carthage; the Hibeh papyrus; and the writings of Josephus. The name that he called himself in Greek was likely Manethôn.

Manetho lived and worked at the very beginning of the new Hellenistic order in Egypt, when the Macedonian Greek Diadochi (successors) of Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE) fought each other for control of the new empire, a struggle finally ending in partition. In Egypt, diadochos Ptolemy I Soter founded the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 305 BCE. Reigning for nearly three centuries, the Ptolemies were the final and longest-lived dynasty of ancient Egypt before Roman conquest in 30 BCE. They introduced the Hellenistic religion, a unique syncretism between Greek and Egyptian religions and cultures. Manetho wrote Aegyptiaca in order to preserve the history of his homeland for posterity and—as evidenced by his having written it in Greek—for its new foreign rulers.

Manetho originated in Sebennytos and was likely a priest of the solar deity Ra at Heliopolis. He was an authority on the temple cult of Serapis (a Hellenistic appropriation of Osiris and Apis).