Post by tyrannohotep on Aug 24, 2018 2:28:44 GMT
I'm in the process of writing a story, either a short story or a novel, set in an alternate timeline where the ancient Egyptians colonized the coast of Greece during the Middle Kingdom, specifically during the reign of Pharaoh Amenemhat II. The inspiration for this scenario comes from three sources:
1) Ancient Greek legends of the Egyptians setting foot on their shores. One example would be a legend the historian Herodotus mentions about Egyptian priestesses (or "black doves") founding the oracle of Dodona in northwestern Greece. Another is the story of an Egyptian pharaoh's brother named Danaos who sailed with his fifty daughters to the Greek city of Argos.
2) The Egyptians' own accounts of raiding and destroying a place called "Iasy" (possibly referring to the island of Cyprus) during the reign of Amenemhat II.
3) Egyptian fortresses constructed along their national borders during the Middle Kingdom, such as Buhen near the modern Egyptian/Sudanese border.
These made me ask, "What if the Egyptians really had colonized Greece like the legends claimed?"
In its current incarnation, the plot of my story takes place three centuries after the Middle Kingdom colonization (this would set it around 1600 BC), with the burgeoning Mycenaean civilization poised to wipe the Egyptian colony off the map. My protagonist is an Egyptian priestess (also the colonial governor's daughter) who escapes the colony's destruction and vows to somehow avenge everything she has lost.
However, as I thought through my scenario, there came up a couple of questions I needed to answer.
1) Why would Middle Kingdom Egyptians need to colonize Greece in the first place? I originally envisioned this colony as serving both a defensive and commercial purpose. That is to say, the Egyptians would use it both to monitor barbarian and piratical activities in the Aegean region and to ship products of southern European origin (e.g. olive oil, wine, vases, and slaves) back to Egypt. Problem is, the Aegean region at this time would have been dominated by the Minoan civilization based in Crete. Couldn't the Egyptians get all their European products through Minoan intermediaries (as they probably did in OTL)?
2) Where in Greece would be the best site for Middle Kingdom Egyptians to erect a colony? At first I picked the northwestern coast of Greece near where Dodona is in honor of the story Herodotus described. However, when I look at maps of archaeological sites in Greece that date back to the Middle Bronze Age, most of them seem to be in the southeastern part of the country. Would it make more sense for the Egyptians to settle closer to where most of the Greeks are, or would they prefer a bigger buffer zone between them and the native Greek settlements?
If you can think of any more potential issues with my scenario, please let me know.
1) Ancient Greek legends of the Egyptians setting foot on their shores. One example would be a legend the historian Herodotus mentions about Egyptian priestesses (or "black doves") founding the oracle of Dodona in northwestern Greece. Another is the story of an Egyptian pharaoh's brother named Danaos who sailed with his fifty daughters to the Greek city of Argos.
2) The Egyptians' own accounts of raiding and destroying a place called "Iasy" (possibly referring to the island of Cyprus) during the reign of Amenemhat II.
3) Egyptian fortresses constructed along their national borders during the Middle Kingdom, such as Buhen near the modern Egyptian/Sudanese border.
These made me ask, "What if the Egyptians really had colonized Greece like the legends claimed?"
In its current incarnation, the plot of my story takes place three centuries after the Middle Kingdom colonization (this would set it around 1600 BC), with the burgeoning Mycenaean civilization poised to wipe the Egyptian colony off the map. My protagonist is an Egyptian priestess (also the colonial governor's daughter) who escapes the colony's destruction and vows to somehow avenge everything she has lost.
However, as I thought through my scenario, there came up a couple of questions I needed to answer.
1) Why would Middle Kingdom Egyptians need to colonize Greece in the first place? I originally envisioned this colony as serving both a defensive and commercial purpose. That is to say, the Egyptians would use it both to monitor barbarian and piratical activities in the Aegean region and to ship products of southern European origin (e.g. olive oil, wine, vases, and slaves) back to Egypt. Problem is, the Aegean region at this time would have been dominated by the Minoan civilization based in Crete. Couldn't the Egyptians get all their European products through Minoan intermediaries (as they probably did in OTL)?
2) Where in Greece would be the best site for Middle Kingdom Egyptians to erect a colony? At first I picked the northwestern coast of Greece near where Dodona is in honor of the story Herodotus described. However, when I look at maps of archaeological sites in Greece that date back to the Middle Bronze Age, most of them seem to be in the southeastern part of the country. Would it make more sense for the Egyptians to settle closer to where most of the Greeks are, or would they prefer a bigger buffer zone between them and the native Greek settlements?
If you can think of any more potential issues with my scenario, please let me know.
