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T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
April 1924
T h e Canopus Stone By Prof. S. Elliott-Skinner, Lecturer at the British Museum, London.
second Syrian war ended by treaty that year as follows: Ptolemy 11 ( Philadelphia), the king of the south (Egypt) stipulated that Antiochus 11 (Theos), king of the north (Syria) was to put away his wife, Laodice and also declare her sons illegitimate and marry Berenice the daughter of Ptolemy instead. Their first-born son was t o ;be declared heir to the Syrian throne. Ptolemy gave so large a dower with his daughter that he was nicknamed “the Dower-giver.” A year later a son was born to Berenice, hut as Ptolemy II died shortly after, Antiochus II recalled his first wife, Laodice and her sons, thinking to repudiate Berenice and her infant. Laodice, however, poisoned her husband and made her son, Seleucus II (Callinicus) . king and pursued Berenice, who had fled to the Asylum at the grove of Daphne. Her father could not help her. being now dead, hut her brother, Ptolemy III, marched with an army to the rescue. All the cities of Asia Minor were on her side and ready to open their gates to her, but the relentless old queen procured the murderer of the young queen and her infant at Daphne. Ptolemy, however, arrived shortly after with a large army and completely defeated the Syrian king and his brother and executed the murderess, Laodice. So success ful was he that he recovered many priceless objects which had formerly been carried off from Egypt by the Persian monarch Camhyses many years before. Ptolemy outlived his. rival, Seleuchus II, and returned in safety to his own land to inaugurate a golden age of Greek culture. The fulfillment of Daniel’s prophecy was truly miracul ous., and the Canopus Stone cries aloud of it over two thousand years after.
This stone is usually called the “Decree of CanopuB” because it contains a certain decree of the priesthood as sembled at Canopus. The original is at Cairo and at the British Museum there is a very fine cast of the same. The stone is reminiscent of the victories and the benefits which Ptolemy III (Euergetes) conferred on Egypt. This king conquered Asia Minor and for a brief space held Western Asia in fee. To commemorate this the priesthood assembled at Cano pus in the ninth year of his reign and passed a decree con ferring special honors on the king and his queen Bere nice II. It was ordered that the decree be cut in the Greek and Egyptian languages on stelae to be set up in the most prominent places in temples of the first, second and third class throughout Egypt, in order that all men might read of the king’s bounty. The Egyptian version was inscribed in two kinds of writing, viz., in hieroglyphics and in de motic. The decree also ordered that one day be added to the calendar every fourth year, thus anticipating the Leap- year of modern times. To appreciate the value of this stone, it is necessary to turn to Daniel 11:6-9: "A nd in th e en d o f y e a rs th e y sh a ll jo in th e m se lv e s to g e th e r, fo r th e k in g ’s d a u g h te r of th e S o u th sh a ll com e to th e k in g o f th e n o rth to m a k e a n a g re e m e n t, b u t sh e sh a ll n o t r e t a i n , th e p o w er o f th e a rm , n e ith e r sh a ll h e sta n d , n o r h is a rm ; b u t sh e sh a ll be g iv e n up, a n d th e y th a t b ro u g h t h er, a n d he th a t b e g a t h er, a n d he th a t stre n g th e n e d h e r in th e se tim es. B u t o u t of a b ra n c h of h e r ro o ts sh a ll one s ta n d up in h is e s ta te , w h ic h sh a ll com e w ith a n arm y , a n d sh a ll e n te r in to th e f o rtr e s s of th e k in g 'o f th e n o rth , a n d sh a ll d eal a g a in s t th em , a n d sh a ll p r e v a ilt a n d sh a ll a lso c a r r y c a p tiv e s in to E g y p t th e ir g o d s, w ith th e ir p rin ces, a n d w ith th e ir p re c io u s v e sse ls o f silv e r an d of g o ld , a n d ,he s h a ll c o n tin u e m o re y e a rs th a n th e k in g o f th e n o rth . So th e k in g of th e so u th sh a ll com e in to h is k in g d o m , a n d sh a ll r e tu r n in to h is ow n la n d .” Daniel received this prophecy by special revelation in 534 B. C. and it came to pass in the year 250 B. C. The
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