Berenice II

Ptolemaic (Macedonian) queen of Egypt

• Born: c. 273 b.c.e.
• Birthplace: Cyrene, Cyrenaica (now in Libya)
• Died: 221 b.c.e.
• Place of death: Egypt

Berenice staged a palace coup in her native Cyrene that allowed for her marriage to Ptolemy III Euergetes, thus bringing Cyrene under Ptolemaic control.

Early Life

Information concerning the early life of Berenice’s (beh-ruh-NI-see) is sketchy and somewhat contradictory. Aside from some fragments of a poem by Callimachus, a native of Cyrene who served in Alexandria as a kind of court poet for Ptolemy II Philadelphus and Ptolemy III Euergetes, all of the literary evidence for her comes from the Roman period. Still, it can be established that she was the female heir to the throne of Cyrene at a time when the Seleucid and Ptolemaic Empires were competing for control of the Middle East. This made her choice of husbands a highly political issue.

Cyrene was a Greek colony on the southern shores of the Mediterranean that was founded as early as 630 b.c.e. Though the Greek colonists did, at times, marry Libyan natives and though they were influenced by the culture of North Africa and Egypt, their civilization was essentially Hellenic. Cyrene and the surrounding region, sometimes known as Cyrenaica, supported Alexander the Great, but soon after his death (323 b.c.e.) and following a small revolt, the region became a dependency of the Ptolemaic kingdom of Egypt.

Berenice’s father was Magas, the ruler of Cyrene, who owed his position, at least in part, to a pact with Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Though he died while Berenice was still a teenager, Magas apparently had betrothed her to Ptolemy III Euergetes. He probably intended to solidify the relationship between Cyrene and Egypt by marrying the Cyrenean heiress to the Egyptian heir. It may also have been customary for Hellenistic kings to marry the heiress to her closest male relative not her brother, which in this case may have been Ptolemy III. In any case, the proposed union would have had important political consequences, bringing Cyrene under more direct Ptolemaic control. It would have been important for Ptolemaic Egypt in that it secured the western flank of the empire and prevented the Seleucids from gaining a foothold on the southern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It may have had advantages for Cyrene as well, in maintaining important economic and military ties with Ptolemaic Egypt, which provided funding for numerous public projects throughout Cyrenaica.

Although Berenice was betrothed to Ptolemy III, on her father’s death her mother, Apama, made different plans. The sources are unclear on the details of the marital relationships of the Cyrenean queens, but it seems that Apama betrothed Berenice to Demetrius “the Fair” (so called because of his good looks). Demetrius was the son of Demetrius Poliorcetes and the half brother of Antigonus Gonatas, who had formed an alliance with the Seleucid Empire, the Ptolemies’ chief rivals. It is probably not coincidental that Apama supported an alliance with the Seleucids over the Ptolemies; she was the daughter of Antiochus I, who ruled the Seleucid Empire in Asia Minor, and Stratonice, who, before marrying Antiochus, was the (much younger) wife of Seleucus I, the founder of the Seleucid Empire in the era immediately following the death of Alexander the Great. Apama’s plan was probably also supported by the more independent-minded citizens of Cyrene, who did not want to become vassals of Ptolemaic Egypt. It seems that an independent federation of cities, probably headed by Cyrene, had been established by Demophanes and Ecdelus following the death of Magas.

Whether Demetrius the Fair actually married Berenice or was merely betrothed to her, he soon became Apama’s lover. According to one ancient source, Berenice had her soldiers storm her mother’s bedroom, where they found Demetrius with Apama in a compromising situation. Though Apama tried to protect Demetrius by wrapping her body around his, the soldiers killed him. However, Berenice spared her mother’s life, giving the soldiers directions not to harm her. Once Demetrius was eliminated, Berenice continued with her father’s original plan and married Ptolemy III.

Graphic and passionate as this tale is, politics may have had as much, or more, to do with Berenice’s assassination of Demetrius as jealousy or moral repugnance. By marrying Ptolemy III she was able to bring Cyrene under Ptolemaic control without risking war. She also was able to provide herself, as the queen of Egypt, with a position of much greater influence and power than she would have enjoyed as the queen of Cyrene. Seen in this light, her assassination of Demetrius may have been more of a revolt, or palace coup, than simply the actions of a jealous fiancé. This view is supported by the description of Callimachus, preserved in a Latin version of his poem by Catullus, who characterizes her as “bold” and “brave” for the manner in which she gained a “royal consort.”

Life’s Work

In spite of the political nature of her marriage, Berenice is known as an especially devoted wife. Early in their marriage Ptolemy III was called to battle in Syria to rescue and then avenge his sister, also called Berenice, who was murdered as the result of political intrigue in the Seleucid kingdom. (This precipitated a much larger conflict known to historians as the Third Syrian War.) Concerned for his safety, Berenice went to the temple of Arsinoe Aphrodite and pledged a lock of her hair to the goddess in exchange for the safe return of her husband. Her pledge was seen by her contemporaries as an unmistakable sign of her genuine affection for Ptolemy. He did return safely, and so Berenice devoted a lock of her hair to the goddess.

The story does not end there. According to Callimachus (as preserved in Catullus’s Latin version), the lock of hair disappeared from the temple, and the court astronomer, Conon, “discovered” it as a new constellation, henceforth known to astronomers as Coma Berenices (which means “hair of Berenice”). Today this constellation is well known as containing one of the densest clusters of galaxies in the local universe.

Berenice is also known for her compassion and influence over Ptolemy. In one story, Ptolemy was playing dice as a court official read to him a list of condemned prisoners to see if the king would approve their execution. Observing this, Berenice intervened, arguing that on matters as important as life and death the king should not be distracted by games but should devote his entire mental faculties to such decisions. Ptolemy was pleased with her response and made it his practice to give such matters his full attention.

The Cyrenean elites were known as experts in breeding and training horses for the chariot races, and Berenice was no exception. She was known as a horsewoman who sponsored several winning chariot teams. She also is remembered as patron of the Alexandrian perfume industry, which flourished during her reign.

Along with her husband, she was deified in the dynastic cult as a “benefactor” (Euergetes) god, and, according to the Canopus Decree, her daughter, also called Berenice, who died in childhood, was deified according to traditional Egyptian practice and belief. Similarly, Ptolemy and Berenice are portrayed in traditional Egyptian costumes and poses in engravings and reliefs found in numerous Egyptian temples. This probably reflects the renewed support of the Ptolemaic Dynasty by native Egyptians. Ptolemy’s father, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, had been known, especially toward the end of his reign, as a profligate and exploitive ruler. Scholars have suggested that his extravagant displays had begun to impoverish local Egyptian institutions. This trend was reversed by the patronage of Ptolemy III Euergetes and Berenice, who built and restored several temples and supported public projects.

It was probably these displays of generosity and support, along with her reputation as a devoted wife and queen, that explain why in some Demotic (native Egyptian) inscriptions Berenice was known as “the female Pharaoh.” Evidence from Egyptian coins suggests that she was widely admired and accepted by virtually all levels of Egyptian society—a significant achievement that made her a model of queenship for her successors and probably helped legitimate the role of the Ptolemaic queens in Egyptian society.

Following the death of Ptolemy III, Berenice’s surviving children (at least those about whom we know anything) became involved in a struggle for power that would eventually lead to Berenice’s death. It was thought that Berenice favored her son Magas as the heir to the Ptolemaic throne, but her other son, Ptolemy IV (Philopator), wanted that position for himself. He married his sister, Berenice’s surviving daughter Arsinoe III, and seems to have ordered his brother’s murder; Magas was scalded to death in his bath. Subsequently Berenice, who, though a woman, may have been considered a rival to her son, Ptolemy, was reportedly poisoned to death, at the behest of either Ptolemy himself or his adviser Sosibius. Perhaps as evidence of her continued popularity, about a decade after her death Ptolemy IV established an eponymous priesthood in her honor.

Significance

Berenice II was one of the most celebrated queens of the Hellenistic era. She is depicted on vase-paintings, on coins, and in political inscriptions as an important, beloved, and devoted queen in an age when many of her predecessors and successors were criticized for their excesses and treacheries.

Berenice’s assassination of Demetrius the Fair, which allowed her to marry Ptolemy III Euergetes, had the effect of returning Cyrene to Ptolemaic control. The dedication of her hair to the goddess Arsinoe Aphrodite led to her immortalization in the stars, lending her name to the constellation Coma Berenices.

Bibliography

Macurdy, Grace Harriett. Hellenistic Queens: A Study of Woman-Power in Macedonia, Seleucid Syria, and Ptolemaic Egypt. 1932. Reprint. New York: Ares, 1985. Focuses on the ways Macedonian queens established and exercised power. This remains an excellent source for a narrative account of Berenice’s life. It is especially useful because of the way Macurdy situates Berenice within the tradition of Macedonian queenship in Egypt and the Middle East.

Pomeroy, Sarah B. Women in Hellenistic Egypt: From Alexander to Cleopatra. New York: Schocken Books, 1985. Reprint. Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1990. Attempts to provide an overall history of women and their lives in Hellenistic Egypt. Using inscriptions, images, and papyri, Pomeroy brings women of all social classes “to life.” Includes a short discussion of Berenice and the other important Ptolemaic queens. Though her treatment of Berenice is shorter than that of Macurdy, Pomeroy’s analysis is more in tune with more recent feminist approaches to the study of women in antiquity.