Editing Antiochus VIII Grypus

{{Short description|King of the Seleucid Empire from 125 to 96 BC}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Antiochus VIII Epiphanes
| title        = Antiochus VIII Callinicus/Philometor
| titletext    = 
| more         = 
| type         = 
| image        = Antiochus VIII.jpg
| image_size   = 
| alt          = 
| caption      = Coin of Antiochus VIII
| succession   = [[King of Syria]]
| moretext     = ([[Seleucid Empire]])
| reign        = 125–96 BC
| regent       = Cleopatra Thea (125–121 BC)
| reg-type     = Co-ruler
| regent1      = Alexander II (125–123 BC)<br>Antiochus IX (116–96 BC)
| reg-type1    = Contenders
| coronation   = 125 BC
| predecessor  = [[Cleopatra Thea]], [[Seleucus V]], [[Alexander II Zabinas|Alexander II]]
| pre-type     = Predecessors
| successor    = [[Antiochus IX]], [[Seleucus VI]] 
| suc-type     = Successors
| birth_name   = 
| birth_date   = Unknown<!-- {{birth date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = 96 BC <!-- {{death date and age|YYYY|MM|DD|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| death_place  = 
| burial_date  = 
| burial_place = 
| spouses      = [[Tryphaena]]<br/>[[Cleopatra Selene of Syria|Cleopatra Selene]]
| consort      = <!-- yes or no -->
| issue        = [[Seleucus VI]]<br />[[Antiochus XI]]<br />[[Philip I Philadelphus|Philip I]]<br />[[Demetrius III Eucaerus|Demetrius III]]<br />[[Antiochus XII]]<br />[[Laodice VII Thea|Laodice, Queen of Commagene]]
| issue-link   = 
| issue-pipe   = 
| issue-type   = 
| full name    = 
| era name     = 
| era dates    = 
| regnal name  = 
| posthumous name = 
| temple name  = 
| house        = [[Seleucid dynasty|Seleucid]]
| house-type   = Dynasty
| father       = [[Demetrius II Nicator]]
| mother       = [[Cleopatra Thea]]
| occupation   = 
| signature_type = 
| signature    = 
}}

'''Antiochus VIII Epiphanes/Callinicus/Philometor''', nicknamed '''Grypus''' ({{langx|el|Γρυπός}}, "hook-nose"), was the ruler of the [[Hellenistic]] [[Seleucid Empire]] from 125 to 96 BC. He was the younger son of [[Demetrius II Nicator|Demetrius II]] and [[Cleopatra Thea]]. He may have spent his early life in [[Athens]] and returned to Syria after the deaths of his father and brother [[Seleucus V]]. At first he was joint ruler with his mother. Fearing her influence, Antiochus VIII had Cleopatra Thea poisoned in 121 BC.

Political instability affected most of Antiochus VIII's reign. From 116 BC he fought a civil war against his half-brother [[Antiochus IX]]. Antiochus VIII's wife, the [[Ptolemaic Egypt]]ian princess [[Tryphaena]], had her sister and the wife of Antiochus IX, the former [[Cleopatra IV of Egypt]], murdered in 112 BC; Antiochus IX killed Tryphaena in revenge. In 102 BC, Antiochus VIII's aunt [[Cleopatra III of Egypt]], the mother of the two rival queens, gave him the hand of her daughter [[Cleopatra Selene of Syria|Cleopatra Selene]] in marriage. Antiochus VIII was assassinated in 96 BC.

==Biography==
===Family background and childhood===
In 193 BC [[Cleopatra I]], a [[Seleucid]] princess, married King [[Ptolemy V]] of [[Ancient Egypt|Egypt]]. Their granddaughter [[Cleopatra Thea]] of the [[Ptolemaic dynasty]] married the claimant [[Alexander Balas]] half a century later in 150 BC.{{sfn|Whitehorne|1994|pp=81, 149}} She later married [[Demetrius II Nicator|Demetrius II]] of Syria, and they had two sons.{{#tag:ref|Antiochus VIII, the younger, was born sometime between 143 and 140 BC; he was between 15 and 17 when he took the throne. He may have been sent to [[Athens]] to prevent competition for the throne. However, this is not certain. In any case, he was in [[Syria (region)|Syria]] in 125 BC.{{sfn|Wright|2008|pp=39–41}}|group=note}} Demetrius II was captured and held as a prisoner by the [[Parthian Empire]]. Antiochus VIII's uncle [[Antiochus VII]] took the throne and married Cleopatra Thea, but died in 129 BC while fighting against the Parthians; Demetrius II then returned to the throne, and died in 125 BC while waging a war for the Syrian throne against the claimant [[Alexander II Zabinas|Alexander II]]. Demetrius II's eldest son [[Seleucus V]] became king after his death, but was soon killed by Cleopatra Thea. She made Antiochus VIII king, ruling as his co-regent.{{sfn|Wright|2008|pp=39–41}}

===Rise to power===
Shortly after taking the throne, Antiochus VIII married his cousin, the Ptolemaic princess [[Tryphaena]]. Silver and bronze coins issued during the co-regency (125–121{{nbs}}BC) of Antiochus VIII and Cleopatra Thea show the head of the queen appearing at front with her son's head behind hers. Her name is also the first listed on the coinage. These facts signify that she was the senior co-ruler.{{sfn|Wright|2008|p=40}} He defeated usurper [[Alexander II Zabinas]] in 123 BC. In 121 BC, Antiochus decided to rid himself of his influential mother.<ref name="ogden-dinasties">{{cite book|last1=Ogden|first1=Daniel|title=Polygamy Prostitutes and Death. The Hellenistic Dynasties|date=1999|publisher=Gerald Duckworth & Co. Ltd.|location=London|isbn=07156-29301|page=150}}</ref> According to [[Justin (historian)|Justin]], his mother tried to poison him with wine, but the suspicious king forced her to drink the cup herself.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Justin|author-link1=Justin (historian)|title=Epitome of Pompeius Trogus' Philippic Histories|url=http://www.attalus.org/translate/justin6.html#39.2|chapter=39.2.7-8}}</ref> However, it was Grypus himself who would become famous for his interest in [[toxicology]].<ref name="ogden-dinasties" /><ref>Galen, 14 p. 185</ref> Some poems about poisonous herbs believed to have been written by him are quoted by the famous physician [[Galen]].{{citation needed|date=April 2018}}

===Reign as King of Syria===
[[Image:AntiochusGrippusCoin.jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of Antiochus VIII Grypus. Reverse: god [[Sandas|Sandan]] standing on the horned lion, in his pyre surmounted by an [[eagle]].]]

Despite political shortcomings, Grypus was a popular king. His ugly, lazy appearance on coins (common among the last Seleucids), together with stories of his lavish banquets, made posterity believe his dynasty was degenerate and decadent. This was, however, a conscious image invoking the Hellenistic concept of ''[[Tryphe]]'' - meaning good life, which the last Seleucids strove to be associated with, as opposed to the exhausting civil wars and feuds which troubled their reigns in reality.<ref>{{cite book|title=Aspects of Hellenistic Kingship|first=Per|last=Bilde|publisher=Aarhus University Press|series=Studies in Hellenistic civilization|volume=7|year=1996|page=36|issn=0906-3463|isbn=978-8-772-88474-5}}</ref>

A story of his luxurious parties claims he sent food home with guests who attended banquets, complete with a camel as beast of burden, as well as an attendant to carry the guest himself. This should certainly have caused some strain on the already depleted treasury.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.attalus.org/old/athenaeus5c.html|title=Athenaeus: Deipnosophists - Book 5 (c)|first=Andrew|last=Smith|website=www.attalus.org}}</ref>

===Civil War===
In 116 BC his half-brother and cousin [[Antiochus IX Cyzicenus]] returned from exile and a [[civil war]] began. Cyzicenus' wife, also named [[Cleopatra IV|Cleopatra]], was a sister of Tryphaena and was eventually killed in a dramatic fashion in the temple of [[Daphne]] outside [[Antioch]], on the order of Tryphaena. Cyzicenus eventually killed Tryphaena as revenge. The two brothers then divided [[Syria]] between them until Grypus was killed by his minister Heracleon in 96 BC.

==Family==
He married the [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]] princess [[Tryphaena]] ca. 125,<ref name="ogden-dinasties" /> and had six children by her: 
* [[Seleucus VI Epiphanes]]
* [[Antiochus XI Epiphanes]] Philadelphus
* [[Philip I Philadelphus]]
* [[Demetrius III Eucaerus]]
* [[Antiochus XII Dionysus]]
* [[Laodice VII Thea]], married to king [[Mithridates I Callinicus]] of [[Commagene]] as part of a settlement by Mithridates' father [[Sames II Theosebes Dikaios]] to ensure peace between the Kingdom of Commagene and the [[Seleucid Empire]]. Laodice and Mithridates' son was King [[Antiochus I Theos of Commagene]], grandson to Grypus.

In 102, [[Cleopatra III of Egypt]] gave him her daughter [[Cleopatra Selene I]] in marriage, but she gave him no children. Afterwards, she went to marry [[Antiochus IX Cyzicenus]].<ref name="ogden-dinasties" />

==See also==
{{Portal|Asia}}
* [[List of Syrian monarchs]]
* [[Timeline of Syrian history]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
<references/>

==Sources==
*{{cite book|title=Cleopatras|first=John|last=Whitehorne|year=1994|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-0-415-05806-3}}
*{{cite journal |last1=Wright |first1=Nicholas L. |date=2008 |title=A note on Cleopatra Thea, Antiochus Grypus, and Athens |url=https://www.academia.edu/252838 |journal=Mediterranean Archaeology |volume=21 |pages=39–42 |jstor=24651722 |access-date=26 April 2019 }}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://virtualreligion.net/iho/antiochus_8.html Antiochus VIII Grypus] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid dynasty]]||Unknown||96 BC}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Cleopatra Thea]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Seleucid Empire|Seleucid King]] <small>([[King of Syria]])</small>|years=125&ndash;96 BC|regent1=[[Cleopatra Thea]]|years1=126&ndash;121/3 BC}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Antiochus IX Cyzicenus]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{Hellenistic rulers}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grypus, Antiochus VIII}}
[[Category:2nd-century BC births]]
[[Category:96 BC deaths]]
[[Category:2nd-century BC Seleucid monarchs]]
[[Category:1st-century BC Seleucid monarchs]]
[[Category:Year of birth unknown]]
[[Category:1st-century BC murdered monarchs]]