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Heir of Ptolemy son of Lagus, Alexander the Great's general (who took Egypt over in 323BC), Ptolemy II Philadelphus reigned in Alexandria from 282 to 246. The greatest of the Hellenistic kings of his time, Philadelphus exercised power far beyond the confines of Egypt, while at his glittering royal court the Library of Alexandria grew to be a matchless monument to Greek intellectual life. In Egypt the Ptolemaic rA(c)gime consolidated its power by encouraging immigration and developing settlement in the Fayum. This book examines Philadelphus' reign in a comprehensive and refreshing way. Scholars from the fields of Classics, Archaeology, Papyrology, Egyptology and Biblical Studies consider issues in Egypt and across Ptolemaic territory in the Mediterranean, the Holy Land and Africa.

The contributions of the present volume deal with the repercussions of intercultural encounters between Greek and non-Greek groups in the Hellenistic period. Its methodological focus lies in exploring the transformative potential of those encounters and their impact on the social imaginaries of all parties involved.

The Ass of the Gods rereads Apuleius' Golden Ass and the Lucianic Onos through the patterns of ancient metamorphosis narratives to explore the relationship between these works, their origins, the nature of their endings, and the meanings of their titles.