Editing Ptolemy VI Philometor (section)

===Regencies===
Ptolemy VI, who was only six years old, was immediately crowned king, with his mother Cleopatra I as co-regent. In documents from this period, Cleopatra I is named before Ptolemy VI and coins were minted under the joint authority of her and her son.<ref name=Tyndale/> In the face of continued agitation for war with the Seleucids, Cleopatra I pursued a peaceful policy, because of her own Seleucid roots and because a war would have threatened her hold on power.<ref name=H143>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=143}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Grainger|2010|pp=281–2}}</ref> She probably died in late 178 or early 177&nbsp;BC, though some scholars place her death in late 176&nbsp;BC.<ref name=BennettC/>

Ptolemy VI was still too young to rule on his own. On her deathbed, Cleopatra I appointed Eulaeus and Lenaeus, two of her close associates, as regents. Eulaeus, a eunuch who had been Ptolemy VI's tutor, was the more senior of the two, even minting coinage in his own name. Lenaeus was a Syrian slave who had probably come to Egypt as part of Cleopatra I's retinue when she got married. He seems to have been specifically in charge of managing the kingdom's finances.<ref>{{harvnb|Morkholm|1961|pp=32–43}}</ref>

Eulaeus and Lenaeus sought to reinforce their authority by augmenting the dignity of Ptolemy VI. In early 175&nbsp;BC, they arranged his marriage to his sister Cleopatra II. Brother-sister marriage was traditional in the Ptolemaic dynasty and was probably adopted in imitation of earlier Egyptian [[Pharaoh]]s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ancientegyptonline.co.uk/PtolemyII.html|title=Pharaohs of Ancient Egypt|publisher=Ancient Egypt Online|access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref> The couple were incorporated into the Ptolemaic dynastic cult as the ''Theoi Philometores'' ('the Mother-loving Gods'), named in honour of the deceased Cleopatra I.<ref name=Tyndale/> In Egyptian religious contexts, the title recalled the relationship of the Pharaoh as [[Horus]] to his mother [[Isis]].<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=143 & 168}}</ref> Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II were still young children, so the marriage was not consummated for many years; they would eventually have at least four children together.