Well, let's see what my English dictionary has to say about the matter:
Gay:
1. having or showing a merry, lively mood: gay spirits; gay music.
2. bright or showy: gay colors; gay ornaments.
Surely, both definitions can apply to the Ptolemaioi?
I certainly would be in a merry and lively mood if I kicked the Arche Seleukia around like it's nobody's business and have more money then I know what to do with.
And those yellow colours of theirs, if that's not bright and showy I don't know what is...
(Sorry, I just can't resist dumb jokes like that)
Anyway:
In my experience, as long as the Arche's eastern front is stable enough so that they don't have to send a lot of resource that way; they can do a good job of halting the Ptolemaioi's advance to the north. Certainly long enough for the Saba and Carthaginians to start harassing them from the east and west, effectivly stopping the Ptolemaioi and force them on the defensive.
Only problem is that on campaign difficulties of hard or very-hard the Ptolemaioi's main target - Arche Seleukia -tends to switch to 'Rahr! Player! Smash!'-mode and starts to mindlessly attack you if you're a neighbouring faction, allowing the Ptolemaioi to strike in the Arche's soft underbelly early in the game, which is is not something the AI can deal with.
Usually though, I am able to use force-diplomacy to keep the Arche's east stable and keep them focussed on their west long enough (roughly 10-20 years) to allow the Arche's AI to build up a decent infrastructure, at which point they don't need help anymore and can actually defend themselves against the dreaded yellow fever.
Honestly though, if your criteria for hating a faction is that the AI will form a superpower 9 out 10 times, then why not hate the Sweboz of the Lusotanna too?
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