Editing Demetrius III Eucaerus (section)

===Name and royal titulary===

Demetrius (<small>[[Romanization of Greek|translit.]]</small> {{lang|grc-Latn|Demetrios}}) is a Greek name that means "belonging to [[Demeter]]", the Greek goddess of fertility.{{sfn|Hoschander|1915|p=651}} Seleucid kings were mostly named Seleucus and Antiochus; "Demetrius" was used by the [[Antigonid dynasty]] of [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] as a royal name, and its use by the Seleucids, who had Antigonid descent, probably signified that they were heirs of the latter.{{sfn|Bevan|2014|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=T4g9BAAAQBAJ&pg=PA56 56]}} [[Hellenistic period|Hellenistic]] kings did not use [[regnal number]]s, which is a modern practice; instead, they used epithets to distinguish themselves from similarly named monarchs.{{sfn|McGing|2010|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=D8kjH-4ehf4C&pg=247 247]}}{{sfn|Hallo|1996|p= [https://books.google.com/books?id=SbsEtMon-dEC&pg=PA142 142]}} Demetrius III's most used epithets are Theos (divine), Philopator (father loving) and Soter (saviour);{{sfn|Burgess|2004|p=23}} the aforementioned epithets appear together on all his Damascene and Antiochene coins.{{sfn|Ehling|2008|p=232}}{{sfn|Houghton|Lorber|Hoover|2008|p=587}} In Cilicia, two epithets were used in conjunction: Philometor (mother-loving) and Euergetes (benefactor).{{sfn|Houghton|Lorber|Hoover|2008|p=587}} The coins from [[Seleucia Pieria]] bear three epithets together: the ones appearing on the coins of Cilicia, combined with the epithet Callinicus (nobly victorious).{{sfn|Houghton|Lorber|Hoover|2008|p=588}} Theos Philopator Soter served to emphasise Demetrius III's descent from the line of his grandfather [[Demetrius II Nicator|Demetrius II]] who bore the epithet Theos; Soter was an epithet of Demetrius III's great-grandfather [[Demetrius I Soter|Demetrius I]],{{#tag:ref|It is also possible that Demetrius III was claiming to be the saviour of Damascus, protecting it from the [[Judea|Judaeans]], [[Nabataean Kingdom|Nabataeans]] and the [[Iturea]]ns.{{sfn|Houghton|Lorber|Hoover|2008|p=589}}|group=note}} while Philopator represented his devotion to his deceased father Antiochus VIII.{{sfn|Hoover|Houghton|Veselý|2008|p=212}} With Philometor, Demetrius III probably sought to emphasise his [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] royal Egyptian descent through his mother Tryphaena.{{sfn|Ehling|2008|p=240}}

Eucaerus is a popular nickname used by the majority of modern historians to denote Demetrius III, but it is a mistranscription of the nickname given by Josephus in his works ''[[The Jewish War]]'' and ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]''. The earliest Greek manuscripts of Josephus's works contain the nickname Akairos in three places. Eucaerus appeared as a later development, and is attested in the Latin versions of the manuscripts.{{#tag:ref|Eucaerus also appears in the tables of contents written in the sixth century for the older Greek manuscripts. Those tables are actually summaries of the main text;{{sfn|Levenson|Martin|2009|p=315}} they sometimes contain discrepancies with the main work.{{sfn|Levenson|Martin|2009|p=316}}|group=note}}{{sfn|Levenson|Martin|2009|p=307}} It was probably a copyist, thinking that Akairos was a mistake and trying to correct it, that led to the appearance of Eucaerus.{{sfn|Levenson|Martin|2009|p=316}} Eucaerus translates to "well-timed", while Akairos means "the untimely one".{{sfn|Levenson|Martin|2009|p=309}} Josephus did not explain the origin of Akairos.{{sfn|Levenson|Martin|2009|p=335}} Such popular nicknames are never found on coins, but are handed down only through ancient literature;{{sfn|Ehling|2008|p=97}} neither Eucaerus or Akairos was used by Demetrius III on his coinage.{{sfn|Levenson|Martin|2009|p=313}} Josephus is the only source for the nickname; in the view of historians David Levenson and [[Thomas R. Martin|Thomas Martin]], Eucaerus should not be used to refer to Demetrius; instead, Akairos, or one of his official epithets should be used.{{sfn|Levenson|Martin|2009|p=307}}