THE UNUSUAL CASE OF NAUCRATIS
A faience flask decorated with lotuses and figures and dated to the third through second century BC. This vessel was made by an artisan living in Naucratis, however the motifs are distinctly Egyptian (albeit with a touch of Greek influence).
According to Herodotus the first Greeks to visit Egypt were pirates who were blown off course. This is belied by archaeological evidence of trading contacts stretching back to the Mycenaean period. No permanent settlement or presence was established so early, however. Nonetheless, Herodotus tells us (2.152.3–5) that the pharaoh Psammeticus (Wahibre Psamtik I, r. 664-610 BC, hereafter Psamtik) had an oracle from Buto telling him of “men of bronze coming from the sea”. These men would return him to power – as he was then in exile in Syria. These details correspond to the flight of
