Editing Ptolemy IV Philopator (section)

===Ptolemaic dynastic cult===

[[File:Menthu and Ptolemy IV.jpg|thumb|190x190px|
Ptolemy IV depicted with [[Montu]]]]

Like early Ptolemaic monarchs, Ptolemy IV was proclaimed to be a deity on his accession to the throne, as the ''Theos Philopator'' (Father-loving God). Particularly after the [[Fourth Syrian War]], he systematised the dynastic cult, reinforcing the links between the worship of the reigning king and the cults of [[Alexander the Great]] and [[Dionysus]].<ref name=H16971/> 
 
In 216–215 BC, after the victory celebrations for the Fourth Syrian War, Ptolemy IV and his wife as the ''Theoi Philopatores'' (Father-loving gods) were formally incorporated into the dynastic cult. This meant that they were added to the title of the Priest of Alexander the Great in [[Alexandria]], who led the Ptolemaia festival and whose name and titulary was used to name the year in all official and private documents. This followed the pattern that had been laid down by Ptolemy IV's predecessors, particularly Ptolemy III, whose incorporation into the dynastic cult seems to have formed part of the victory celebrations for the [[Third Syrian War]].<ref name=CBP4/>

In order to assert the unity of this dynastic cult, Ptolemy IV had the existing [[tomb of Alexander the Great]] and the tombs of the individual Ptolemaic kings in Alexandria demolished. A new, pyramidal structure was built within the palace district of Alexandria to house the bodies of Alexander and the Ptolemies together. This structure seems to have been consecrated at the Ptolemaia festival of 215–214 BC.<ref>[[Strabo]] ''Geography'' 17.1.8; [[Zenobius]] 3.94</ref><ref name=H16971>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=161–162}}</ref> At the same time, Ptolemy IV incorporated the cult of the dynastic founders [[Ptolemy I]] and [[Berenice I]] as the ''Theoi Soteres'' (Saviour gods) into the main dynastic cult overseen by the priest of Alexandria. Probably also in 215–214 BC, he instituted a new cult in the Greek city of [[Ptolemais Euergetis|Ptolemais]] in southern Egypt, dedicated to Ptolemy I and the reigning monarch.<ref name=H16971/>

In 211 BC, Ptolemy IV seems to have begun propagating another cult for his deceased mother Berenice II, on the model of the earlier cult for Ptolemy IV's grandmother, [[Arsinoe II]]. A temple for Berenice ''sozousa'' (Berenice who saves) was established in Alexandria, by the shore, and seems to have been associated with protection of sailors, closely paralleling the cult of Arsinoe II. Berenice also received a special priestess, the ''athlophorus'' (prize-bearer), who marched in the Ptolemaia procession and appeared in official records of the date ahead of the ''canephorus'' (basket-bearer) of Arsinoe II. Similar priestesses would be established for later queens in the following reigns.<ref name=H16971/>

Ptolemy IV also strongly emphasised the cult of [[Dionysus]] and linked the god closely to the dynastic cult. Dionysus was the Greek god of wine and was closely associated with the royal ideal of opulence and luxury, known in Greek as ''tryphe'', which Ptolemy IV wished to cultivate. Several new festivals of Dionysus were inaugurated, in which Ptolemy IV himself led the processions, beating on a [[Tympanum (hand drum)|tympanon]].<ref>[[Eratosthenes]] ''[[FGrH]]'' 241 F16</ref> He renamed several areas of Alexandria in honour of Dionysus and his attributes. Sometime before 217 BC, Ptolemy IV ordered all priests of Dionysus to come to Alexandria to be registered and to submit their holy books and mystery rites to government inspection. This demonstrates a desire to assert his total control of Dionysus worship within his realm. Ptolemy IV himself was referred to as the ''Neos Dionysos'' (New Dionysus) and depicted with attributes of the god in images.<ref name=H16971/> Equations with other deities were also made in royal imagery: one notable set of gold octo[[drachm]]s depicts the king with the rayed crown of [[Apollo]] or [[Helios]], the trident of [[Poseidon]], and the [[aegis]] of [[Athena]], [[Zeus]], and Alexander.

Many Greek cities that were under Ptolemy IV's control or aligned with him also established official cults in his honour during his reign. Greek cities in this period regularly granted such cults to monarchs and other powerful individuals, usually in thanks for a specific benefaction. Notable examples are found in [[Jaffa]] and other cities of the Levant after the victory at Raphia, where Ptolemy even bears the title [[Great king]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Pfeiffer|first=Stefan|title=Griechische und lateinische Inschriften zum Ptolemäerreich und zur römischen Provinz Aegyptus|series=Einführungen und Quellentexte zur Ägyptologie|volume=9|publisher=Lit|location=Münster|year=2015|language=German|pages=102–104}}</ref><ref name=H16971/>