Naucratis

Welcome to the site of Naukratos, or Naucratis, the very first Greek colony on the sacred soil of Egypt. As we stand here in the western Nile Delta, imagine the landscape not as the quiet agricultural fields you see today, but as…

The presence of Greeks in Egypt did not begin with merchants, but with warriors. In the 600s BCE, the Egyptian kings were desperate for help against invading armies from the Near East. …

At the heart of Naucratis lay the sanctuaries of the Greek gods, but these were no ordinary temples. In the precinct of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, we see the first evidence of 'syncretism'—the merging of different religious…

Naucratis was not just a port of entry; it was a major manufacturing center. One of the most fascinating discoveries here was a factory for making 'faience' scarab seals. …

The most profound impact Naucratis had on the Western world was in the realm of art. Before the 7th century BCE, Greek depictions of the human form were small, geometric figurines. …

Naucratis was a multicultural city, and the archaeological record reflects this diversity in its small finds. One particularly intriguing object is a fragmentary terracotta head of a young man, less than three centimeters tall. …

Even after its prime, Naucratis continued to influence the world through its famous sons. Perhaps the most notable was Athenaeus of Naucratis, who lived in the second century CE. …

As we stand at the edge of what was once the great port of Naucratis, look out over the Delta landscape. You are looking at the site of a profound cultural collision. …