Manetho (pronounced /ˈmænɪθoʊ/; Koine Greek: Μανέθων Manéthōn, gen.: Μανέθωνος) was an Egyptian priest who lived in the Ptolemaic Kingdom during the early third century BCE, at the start of the Hellenistic period. Not much is known about his life. He is best remembered as the author of a history of Egypt written in Greek, called the Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt). This work was written during the time when Ptolemy I Soter or Ptolemy II Philadelphus ruled (285–246 BCE). No original copies of his writings remain. Only pieces of his work, copied by later writers in classical and late antiquity, are available today.

The fragments of the Aegyptiaca are still important for understanding the timeline of ancient Egypt. Before ancient Egyptian writing was fully understood in the early 1800s, Manetho’s fragments were a key source for learning about Egypt’s past. His work is still important for Egyptologists today.

Works attributed to Manetho

Eight works are believed to have been written by Manetho. Some of these titles are not confirmed and are called "ghost" titles. Scholars today believe that the historical Manetho wrote the work called Aegyptiaca. They also believe that Manetho did not write Sothis. Additionally, scholars think that Criticisms is likely a section of the larger work Aegypticia and not a separate book.

Name

Scholars agree that "Manetho" is the Greek written version of an Egyptian name, but they do not all agree on what the original name was. Some think the name may be related to a god, such as Thoth or Neith. Examples include "Truth of Thoth" or "Beloved of Neith." Another idea is that it means "I have seen the great god." Others suggest it could be a job-related name from the Egyptian word Myinyu-heter, meaning "Shepherd" or "Groom." In Latin sources, he is called Manethon, Manethos, Manethonus, and Manetos.

The earliest records of his name, all in Greek, come from three places: an inscription in Carthage, the Hibeh papyrus, and the writings of Josephus. The name he used for himself in Greek was probably Manethôn.

Historical context

Manetho lived during the early years of Greek rule in Egypt, a time when Alexander the Great’s successors, known as the Diadochi, fought for control of his empire. This conflict eventually led to the division of the empire. In Egypt, a leader named Ptolemy I Soter established the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 305 BCE. The Ptolemies ruled Egypt for nearly three centuries, making them the last major Egyptian dynasty before the Roman conquest in 30 BCE. They created a new religion that combined Greek and Egyptian beliefs. Manetho wrote a book called Aegyptiaca to record Egypt’s history for future generations. He wrote it in Greek, likely to share this information with the new Greek rulers.

Manetho was born in Sebennytos and may have served as a priest of the sun god Ra in Heliopolis. He was an expert on the religious practices of Serapis, a deity formed by combining elements of the Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis with Greek traditions.

Many ancient writers compared Manetho to Berossus, a Mesopotamian historian, and considered them similar in their goals. The same group of later writers—Josephus, Africanus, Eusebius, and Syncellus—preserved most of their works. Both men wrote in Greek around the same time and followed the writing style of earlier Greek historians like Herodotus and Hesiod. They organized their histories using lists of kings and rulers, and they extended their stories back to mythical beginnings. Modern historians believe Manetho and Berossus lived during the same period.

The fragments of Manetho

All of Manetho's original writings have been lost. What remains are copies or summaries of his work, as well as references to it found in the writings of later authors. These remaining pieces of text are called "literary fragments." Scholars have labeled these fragments with numbers, such as "Fragment 1," "Fragment 2," and so on.

Two English translations of these fragments have been published. The first was completed by William Gillan Waddell in 1940, and the second was completed by Gerald P. Verbrugghe and John Moore Wickersham in 2001.

Waddell's translation grouped the fragments based on the author who preserved them and tried to organize them according to Manetho's original system for listing Egyptian rulers. His numbering of the fragments followed this method.

Verbrugghe and Wickersham's work was influenced by scholarship published after Waddell, especially the research of Felix Jacoby, a German scholar who studied ancient texts. Jacoby's work, called Fragments of the Greek Historians (often abbreviated as "FGrHist"), collects surviving quotes, summaries, and excerpts from lost works by ancient Greek historians. Jacoby's section on Manetho (FGrHist 609) created a widely used system for classifying and numbering the fragments.

Verbrugghe and Wickersham chose to follow Jacoby's system to match the standard methods used by scholars in the field. Jacoby's work is known for its careful and detailed approach to collecting and analyzing fragments. At the time Verbrugghe and Wickersham were working, Jacoby's writings were only available in German and had not yet been translated into English.

TheAegyptiaca

The Aegyptiaca (Αἰγυπτιακά, Aigyptiaka), also called "History of Egypt," was a historical text divided into three papyrus scrolls (Greek: tomoi), or "books" or "volumes." It may have been written as a reply to Herodotus's Histories. The text, or its remaining pieces, is a key source for learning about ancient Egypt's long history, especially its timeline. For many centuries, it or its fragments were the main source of information about Egypt until Ancient Egyptian scripts were translated in the early 19th century CE. The text is still important in the study of Egyptology.

Manetho's Aegyptiaca records Egypt's history starting from a mythical time of divine rulers, through the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by Menes (around 3100 BCE in modern dating), and the following thirty (or thirty-one) dynasties, ending with the creation of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 305 BCE. Key themes included the value of a united kingdom, times of peace and progress compared to periods of conflict and foreign rule (such as the Hyksos, Kushites, and Achaemenids), and the return of Egyptian strength. Manetho aimed to share a complete and ongoing history of Egypt under rulers believed to be chosen by the gods, including foreign rulers.

Manetho's legacy

Manetho’s most important contribution is his work called Aegyptiaca. This text is unique because it helped organize the history of ancient Egypt in a way that is still used today.

Manetho introduced the term "dynasty" (from the Greek word dynasteia). He did not use the word to mean families related by blood, as we might think today. Instead, he grouped rulers together, but these groups often ended because of changes, such as moving the capital or a shift in leadership. After each change, a new dynasty began.

One of Manetho’s most important achievements was dividing Egyptian rulers into thirty (or thirty-one) dynasties. Even though this system has some flaws and has been studied for many years, it remains the main way Egyptologists organize the timeline of ancient Egypt. Since the time of Syncellus, this method of grouping rulers has been the basic structure used to describe the history of Pharaonic Egypt.

During the third century CE, the use of Egyptian hieroglyphs and demotic writing began to fade. With this decline, the ability to read these scripts was also lost. Religious leaders who once preserved these writings disappeared, and Egypt slowly became a Christian country. Egyptian Christians used the Coptic alphabet, which was based on Greek, and this writing system replaced demotic. The last hieroglyphic text was written by priests at the Temple of Isis in Philae in 394 CE. The last known demotic text was recorded there in 452 CE.

Manetho chose to write Aegyptiaca in Greek, the common language of his time, rather than in Egyptian. This decision ensured that his work remained available even after people could no longer read Egyptian scripts. It also allowed scholars from ancient times to the present to study Egypt’s long history. Without this, much of Egypt’s past might have been forgotten until ancient scripts were finally understood.

Manetho was an educated Egyptian who wrote for people outside of Egypt. His work is still an important guide to understanding Egypt’s ancient past. As the only complete and organized record of Egypt’s history written by an Egyptian, his perspective carried special authority. His views continue to provide valuable insights into how ancient Egyptians saw their own history and their place in the world.

In Aegyptiaca, Manetho also included statements about the Jews, which are recorded by Josephus in Against Apion. He may have criticized the Jewish story of leaving Egypt, which he believed was exaggerated. He described the exodus not as a miracle but as the forced removal of a group of people who were considered unclean. He claimed that Moses, whom he called Osarseph, led the Jews to avoid mixing with others and to reject Egyptian traditions. Manetho described the Jews as people who disliked others and mocked other religions. His description of a rebellious priest leading a group of outcasts became a key idea in later antisemitic beliefs.

Even though parts of Aegyptiaca are missing or incomplete, Manetho created a timeline of Egyptian history that is still used today. For many years, his work was the main source for understanding the order of Egyptian rulers. His lists of kings helped early Egyptologists organize their studies. Jean-François Champollion, who translated ancient Egyptian scripts, used Manetho’s records to compare and confirm his translations.