10-15-2010, 05:09 PM
The machimoi were, in fact, the old warrior caste. Prior to the Roman annexation, however, it seems the meaning changed somewhat to denote all soldiers who possessed a certain amount of land, Greeks included. Bevan's House of Ptolemy discusses this far better than I can.
One thing I might add is that Ptolemy IV Philopator evidently organized and equipped a large body of natives in the style of the Macedonian phalanx. This was an emergency measure, and the troops may not have been machimoi.
Sekunda's book doesn't say much at all about the natives. He does include the image of a terracotta warrior from Fayum; "This most interesting terracotta from the Fayoum may give a rough idea of the appearance of an Egyptian native soldier (machimos) in the late Hellenistic period. The coiffure, head shaved but for a child's hair-lock, indicates that the terracotta shows the Graeco-Egyptian deity Harpocrates 'Horus the child', the son of Osiris and Isis, who eventually triumphed over the evil Set (Typhon). He is frequently shown as a child in arms. Crude Graeco-Egyptian terracotta of this type are extremely difficult to date. The shield, a thureos with top and bottom cut off, places the terracotta after the second century BC. A date around the middle of the first century BC might be appropriate." If you ask me, I don't think this is very strong evidence, though I'm not on expert on the subject either.
Hope this helps.
One thing I might add is that Ptolemy IV Philopator evidently organized and equipped a large body of natives in the style of the Macedonian phalanx. This was an emergency measure, and the troops may not have been machimoi.
Sekunda's book doesn't say much at all about the natives. He does include the image of a terracotta warrior from Fayum; "This most interesting terracotta from the Fayoum may give a rough idea of the appearance of an Egyptian native soldier (machimos) in the late Hellenistic period. The coiffure, head shaved but for a child's hair-lock, indicates that the terracotta shows the Graeco-Egyptian deity Harpocrates 'Horus the child', the son of Osiris and Isis, who eventually triumphed over the evil Set (Typhon). He is frequently shown as a child in arms. Crude Graeco-Egyptian terracotta of this type are extremely difficult to date. The shield, a thureos with top and bottom cut off, places the terracotta after the second century BC. A date around the middle of the first century BC might be appropriate." If you ask me, I don't think this is very strong evidence, though I'm not on expert on the subject either.
Hope this helps.
God bless.
Jeff Chu
Jeff Chu
