A Greek trading settlement on the western (Canopic) branch of the Nile. Sources mention concessional arrangements made by Psammetichus I (663-609 bc), who may have been grateful for support from Greek mercenaries, and later by Amasis (578-525 BC). It looks as if Greek trading and residence on Egyptian soil was a matter for negotiation, with some traders, such as the Milesians and Samians, having separate quarters. There was also a shared administrative building, called the Helleneion, although the basis of participation is far from clear. With the arrival of Alexander the Great (332 bc) and the consequent founding of the new Alexandria, emphasis seems gradually to have shifted away from Naukratis. Some activity, however, continued, and we have evidence for the minting of silver and bronze coins, and for the existence of a new building programme under the early Ptolemies. By Roman imperial times the site may well have been abandoned, and perhaps was soon as overgrown as it is today.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied