Psammetichus I
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Psammetichus, or Psamtik I, was the first of three kings of the Saite, or Twenty-sixth dynasty of Egypt (664 BC-610 BC). The name is frankly written so as to mean "the man of methek", or mixed drink, implying "heavy drinker" or perhaps "vendor of strong drink". The Egyptian scribes do not conceal the opprobrious elements, but it has been suggested that the name may be due to false etymology of a foreign name (though all the names throughout the dynasty appear to be Egyptian), or that Methek may have been an unknown deity.
The story in Herodotus of the Dodecarchy and the rise of Psammetichus is fanciful. It is known from cuneiform texts that twenty local princelings were appointed by Esarhaddon and confirmed by Assurbanipal to govern Egypt. Necho I, father of Psammetichus, was the chief of these kinglets, but they seem to have been quite unable to hold the Egyptians to the hated Assyrians against the more sympathetic Nubians. The labyrinth built by a king of the Twelfth dynasty of Egypt is ascribed by Herodotus to the Dodecarchy, or rule of 12, which must represent this combination of rulers. If the dynasties were numbered thus before Manetho, the numeral may be the cause of Herodotus's confusion. After his father's death, Psammetichus was able to defy the Assyrians and the Nubians, and during a long reign marked by intimate relations with the Greeks, restored the prosperity of Egypt.
According to Herodotus (Histories 2.9), Psammetichus had two children raised in isolation in order to find the original language. The first word uttered by them was reported to him to have been bekos, which upon enquiry turned out to be Phrygian for "bread", so, according to Herodotus, Psammetich admitted that the Phrygian nation was senior to the Egyptians. Frederick II of Prussia intended to repeat the experiment, but in his case, the children died before they uttered articulate speech.
| Preceded by: Necho I | Pharaoh of Egypt Twenty-sixth Dynasty | Succeeded by: Necho II |
This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain.
| Image:Ankh.png | Notable Ancient Egyptians edit | Image:Ankh.png | |
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| Old Kingdom Rulers: Narmer | Menes | Djoser | Sneferu | Khufu | Khafra | Menkaura | Pepi II | |||
| Middle Kingdom Rulers:Mentuhotep II | Mentuhotep IV | Senusret III | Amenemhat III | Sobekneferu | |||
| New Kingdom Rulers: Hatshepsut | Thutmose III | Amenhotep III | Akhenaten | Tutankhamun | Ramesses I | Ramesses II | |||
| Other Rulers: Psammetichus I | Shoshenq I | Piye | Taharqa | Ptolemy I | Cleopatra VII | |||
| Consorts: Tetisheri | Ahmose-Nefertari | Ahmose | Tiy | Nefertiti | Ankhesenpaaten | Nefertari | Mark Antony | |||
| Court officials: Imhotep | Weni | Ahmose, son of Ebana | Ineni | Senemut | Yuya | Maya | Yuny | Manetho | Pothinus | |||
