Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great The Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great was an imperial cult in ancient Egypt in the Hellenistic period (323–31 BC), promoted by the Ptolemaic dynasty. The core of the cult was the worship of the deified conqueror-king Alexander the Great, which eventually formed the basis for the ruler cult of the Ptolemies themselves. The head priest of the cult was the chief priest in the Ptolemaic Kingdom, and years were dated after the incumbents (eponymous priests). Following the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC, his empire fell apart in the wars of
Valley of the Thracian Rulers areas. As far as coins are concerned – they represented Macedonian rulers (Philip II, Alexander III, Cassander, Lysimach, etc.) together with single coins from towns such as Messambria, Apollonia Pontica, Enos, Lysimachia. The town’s coin production is entirely dynastical, i.e. it belongs to the town’s founder Seuthes III. The small par of the coins is a proof that they served the local coin circulation, while the range in which those coins were used, defines the territories controlled by Seuthes III. The town existed for a relatively short period of time – from the beginning of the last quarter of the