Manetho (pronounced "ma-NEE-thoh") was an Egyptian priest who lived during the early third century BCE, at the start of the Hellenistic period. He served in the Ptolemaic Kingdom, a time when Greek rulers governed Egypt. Details about his life are unclear. He is most famous for writing a history of Egypt in Greek called the Aegyptiaca (History of Egypt). This work was written during the rule of Ptolemy I Soter or Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 BCE). No original copies of his writings have survived. His texts are known only through short parts copied by later writers from ancient times.

The pieces of the Aegyptiaca remain an important source for studying the timeline of ancient Egypt. Before the discovery of how to read Ancient Egyptian scripts in the early 1800s CE, Manetho’s fragments were a key way to learn about Egypt’s past. His work is still considered valuable in the study of Egyptology.

Works attributed to Manetho

Eight works are believed to have been written by Manetho. Some of these are called "ghost" titles because their existence is uncertain. Experts today believe that the historical Manetho wrote the work called Aegyptiaca. They also believe that Manetho did not write the work called Sothis. Additionally, experts think that the work called Criticisms is probably part of a larger work called Aegypticia, not a separate piece.

Name

Scholars agree that the name "Manetho" is a Greek version of an Egyptian name, but they do not all agree on what the original Egyptian name was. Some believe it may have included the names of gods, such as Thoth or Neith, for example, "Truth of Thoth" or "Beloved of Neith." Others suggest it might mean "I have seen the great god." Another idea is that it was an occupational name related to "Shepherd" or "Groom" in Egyptian, such as "Myinyu-heter." In Latin writings, the name appears as Manethon, Manethos, Manethonus, and Manetos.

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

Historical context

Manetho lived during the early years of Greek rule in Egypt, a time when the followers of Alexander the Great fought for control of his empire. This struggle ended with the empire being divided among them. In Egypt, one of these followers, Ptolemy I Soter, established the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 305 BCE. This ruling family governed Egypt for nearly three centuries, until the Roman Empire took control in 30 BCE. The Ptolemies created a new religion that combined Greek and Egyptian beliefs and traditions. Manetho wrote a book called Aegyptiaca to record Egypt's history for future generations. He wrote it in Greek, likely to make it easier for the Greek rulers to understand.

Manetho was born in Sebennytos and may have been a priest who served the sun god Ra at Heliopolis. He had deep knowledge about the religious practices involving Serapis, a god that combined elements of the Egyptian gods Osiris and Apis.

Many ancient writers compared Manetho to Berossus, a writer from Mesopotamia, and considered them similar in purpose. Most of their writings were preserved by the same group of historians, including Josephus, Africanus, Eusebius, and Syncellus. Both Manetho and Berossus wrote in Greek around the same time and used the writing style of earlier Greek historians like Herodotus and Hesiod. They organized their histories using lists of kings and their reigns, and they extended their stories back to mythical origins. 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 of parts of his work, summaries, and references found in the writings of later authors. These remaining pieces are called "literary fragments," and scholars have labeled each piece with a number, such as "Fragment 1," "Fragment 2," and so on.

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

Waddell's 1940 translation grouped the fragments by the author who preserved them and arranged them in the order of Manetho's original dynastic structure. His numbering system followed this organization.

Verbrugghe and Wickersham's translation was influenced by later scholarship, especially the work of Felix Jacoby, a German classicist and philologist. Jacoby's book, Fragments of the Greek Historians (often abbreviated as "FGrHist" or "FGrH"), collects surviving citations, excerpts, and summaries of 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 accepted scholarly standards in the field. Jacoby's work is known for its careful and thorough method of collecting and analyzing fragments. At the time Verbrugghe and Wickersham were working, Jacoby's writings were in German and not available in English translation.

TheAegyptiaca

The Aegyptiaca (pronounced "A-ig-yup-tee-ah-ka"), also called "History of Egypt," was a history written in order of time and divided into three long paper scrolls (called "tomoi" in Greek), or "books" and "volumes." It may have been written as a reply to Herodotus's Histories. The text, or pieces of it that remain, is an important source for learning about ancient Egypt's long history, especially its timeline of events. For many centuries, it or its pieces were the main source of information about Egypt until ancient Egyptian writing was understood in the early 1800s. The text is still important in the study of Egypt's past.

Manetho's Aegyptiaca records Egypt's history starting from a time when gods were believed to rule, through the unification of Upper and Lower Egypt by a leader named Menes (around 3100 BCE by modern dates), and through thirty (or thirty-one) dynasties, ending with the creation of the Ptolemaic Kingdom in 305 BCE. Important ideas in the text include the value of a united Egypt, times of peace and progress compared to times of conflict and foreign control (such as by the Hyksos, Kushites, and Achaemenids), and the return of Egypt's strength. Manetho tried to show a full and continuous history of Egypt, including rulers from other lands, who were believed to have been chosen by the gods.

Manetho's legacy

Manetho's most important contribution is his work called Aegyptiaca.

Manetho created the word "dynasty" (from Greek: dynasteia). He didn't see dynasties as family lines, as we do today. Instead, he grouped kings together, but when there were changes—like moving the capital or breaks in family lines—a new dynasty began. After each change, a new dynasty started.

His most important achievement was dividing Egypt's rulers into thirty (or thirty-one) dynasties. Even though this system has flaws and has been used for many centuries, it remains the main timeline for studying ancient Egypt. Since the time of Syncellus, this method of grouping rulers has been the basic structure for all descriptions of Pharaonic Egypt.

Egyptian hieroglyphs and demotic writing began to disappear in the third century CE. With them, the ability to read these scripts also faded. The temple-based priesthoods disappeared, and Egypt gradually became Christian. Because Egyptian Christians used the Greek-based Coptic alphabet, it replaced demotic. The last hieroglyphic text was written by priests at the Temple of Isis at Philae in 394 CE. The last known demotic text was written there in 452 CE.

Manetho chose to write Aegyptiaca in Greek, the common language of his time, instead of Egyptian. This decision ensured that his work remained accessible even after Egyptian scripts were forgotten. It allowed scholars from ancient times to the present to learn about Egypt's long history. Without this, much of Egypt's past would have been difficult to understand until ancient scripts were deciphered.

Manetho, an educated Egyptian who wrote for foreign readers, remains a key source for understanding Egypt's ancient history. As the only complete and organized work by an Egyptian author, his perspective carried special authority. His views still provide unique insights into how Egyptians saw their past and their place in a changing world.

In Aegyptiaca, Manetho included statements about the Jews that appear in Josephus' Against Apion. He may have criticized the Jewish story of leaving Egypt, which he likely saw as exaggerated. He described the exodus not as a miracle but as the forced removal of a leper colony and other groups. He claimed Moses, whom he called the renegade priest Osarseph, ordered the Jews to avoid outsiders, act opposite to Egyptian customs, and establish foreign rule. Manetho accused the Jews of hating others and mocking other religions. His description of a rebellious priest leading a group of outcasts became a key idea in later antisemitism.

Although much of Aegyptiaca is lost or incomplete, Manetho created a lasting way to organize Egypt's history. For many years, his fragments and summaries were the main sources for understanding Egypt's rulers. They provided a framework, even with flaws, that early Egyptologists used. Jean-François Champollion used Manetho's lists of kings as a guide when translating ancient Egyptian scripts.