Editing Berenice II

{{Short description|Queen regnant of Cyrenaica from 258 to 246 BCE}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Berenice II
| image        = Egitto tolemaico, berenice II, octodracma di efeso, 246-222 ac ca.JPG
| caption      = Octodrachma of Berenice II
| succession   = [[List of kings of Cyrene|Queen regnant of Cyrenaica]]
| reign        = 258–247/246 BCE<ref>{{Cite book |author1=[[Reginald Stuart Poole]] |author2=[[British Museum Department of Coins and Medals|British Museum Dept. of Coins and Medals]] |url=https://archive.org/details/cataloguegreekc01medagoog/page/n169/mode/1up |title=Catalogue of Greek Coins: The Ptolemies, Kings of Egypt |date=1883 |publisher=The Trustees |language=English|page=59|quote=i. Queen Regnant of Cyrenaïca, ʙ.ᴄ. 258–247.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Libya Heads |url=https://guide2womenleaders.com/Libya_Heads.htm |access-date=2022-12-25 |website=guide2womenleaders.com}}</ref>
| predecessor  = [[Magas of Cyrene|Magas]]
| successor    = Annexed by Ptolemaic Kingdom
| regent       = [[Magas of Cyrene|Magas]] (until 250 BCE)<br>[[Demetrius the Fair]] (250–249 BCE)<br>Republican government (249–246 BCE)
| reg-type     = Co-rulers
| investiture  = 
| succession1  = Queen of [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Egypt]]{{efn|name=ruler}}
| reign1       = 246–221 B.C.E.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qllfAgAAQBAJ&pg=PP22|title=Portraits of the Ptolemies: Greek Kings as Egyptian Pharaohs|page=xviii |isbn=9780292787476|last1=Stanwick |first1=Paul Edmund |date=22 July 2010 |publisher=University of Texas Press }}</ref>
| regent1      = [[Ptolemy III Euergetes|Ptolemy III]] (246–222 BCE)<br>[[Ptolemy IV Philopator|Ptolemy IV]] (222–221 BCE) (possibly)
| succession2  = [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|Vizier]]
| reg-type1    = Co-rulers
| full name    = {{Ancient Egyptian royal titulary case|horus=''Satheqa Iretenheqa''<br/>The King's Daughter, Created by the King|horus_hiero=<hiero>q-HqA-t-G38*t D4:t:n-q-HqA-t:H8</hiero>|prenomen=''Bereniket Meritnetjerou''<br/>Berenice Euergetes, the Goddess, Beloved of the Gods|prenomen_hiero=<hiero>b-i-rw:n-i-i-W11-A-t:H8</hiero>}}
| spouse       = [[Demetrius the Fair]] <br />[[Ptolemy III Euergetes]]
| issue        = [[Ptolemy IV Philopator|Ptolemy IV]]<br/>[[Arsinoe III]]<br/>Alexander<br/>[[Magas of Egypt]]<br/>Berenice
| royal house  = 
| dynasty      = [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]]
| father       = [[Magas of Cyrene]]
| mother       = [[Apama II]]
| occupation   = 
| birth_date   = c. 267/266 BCE
| birth_place  = 
| death_date   = 221 BCE (aged 45 or 46)
| death_place  = 
| date of burial = 
| place of burial = 
}}
'''Berenice II Euergetis''' (267 or 266 – 221 BCE; {{Langx|el|Βερενίκη Ευεργέτις}}, ''[[Berenikē]] Euergetis'', "Berenice the Benefactress"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldhistory.org/Berenice_II_Euergetis/|title=Berenice II Euergetis|website=[[World History Encyclopedia]]}}</ref>) was [[queen regnant]] of [[Cyrenaica]] from 258 to 246 BCE and queen of [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] from 246 to 222 BCE as the wife of [[Ptolemy III Euergetes|Ptolemy III]]. She is sometimes considered co-regent of her Ptolemaic husband.{{efn|name=ruler|Berenice did have titles of "female Horus" and "female Pharaoh", but was not included in dating protocols as co-ruler to her husband.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Sewell-Lasater |first=Tara |year=2020 |title=Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest, and the Path to Female Rule |url=https://www.academia.edu/43290689 |pages=187–189 |journal=University of Houston }}</ref> However she is considered Pharaoh by Sally Ann Ashton.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ashton |first=Sally-Ann |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FO_fBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA112 |pages=112–113 |title=The Last Queens of Egypt: Cleopatra's Royal House |date=2014-09-19 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-86873-6 |language=en}}</ref>}}

She married [[Demetrius the Fair]], thus giving him the throne of Cyrenaica, on the death of her father [[Magas of Cyrene|Magas]] in 250/249 BCE. After a short power struggle with her mother, Berenice married her half-cousin Ptolemy III, the third ruler of the [[Ptolemaic kingdom]]. This marriage led to the re-incorporation of Cyrenaica into the Ptolemaic empire. As queen of Egypt, Berenice participated actively in government, was incorporated into the Ptolemaic state cult alongside her husband and worshipped as a goddess in her own right. She is best known for sacrificing her hair as a votive offering, which led to the constellation [[Coma Berenices]] being named after her. Berenice was murdered by the regent [[Sosibius]] shortly after the accession of her son [[Ptolemy IV Philopator]] in 221 BCE.

==Life==

Cyrenaica had been incorporated into the Ptolemaic realm in 323 BCE, by [[Ptolemy I Soter]] shortly after the death of [[Alexander the Great]]. The region proved difficult to control and around 300 BCE, Ptolemy I entrusted the region to [[Magas of Cyrene|Magas]], son of his wife [[Berenice I of Egypt|Berenice I]] by an earlier marriage. After Ptolemy I's death, Magas asserted his independence and engaged in warfare with his successor [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]]. Around 275 BCE, Magas married [[Apama II|Apama]], who came from the [[Seleucid dynasty]], which had become enemies of the Ptolemies.<ref>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=38–39}}</ref> Berenice II was their only child. When Ptolemy II renewed his efforts to reach a settlement with Magas of Cyrene in the late 250s BCE, it was agreed that Berenice would be married to her half-cousin, the future [[Ptolemy III]], who was Ptolemy II's heir.<ref>Justin 26.3.2</ref><ref name="H446">{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|pp=44–46}}</ref>

The astronomer [[Gaius Julius Hyginus]] claims that when Berenice's father and his troops were routed in battle, Berenice mounted a horse, rallied the remaining forces, killed many of the enemy, and drove the rest to retreat.<ref name=GHDA2.24/> The veracity of this story is unclear and the battle in question is not otherwise attested, but "it is not on the face of it impossible."<ref name="auto">{{harvnb|Clayman|2014|p=157}}</ref>

===Queen of Cyrene===
Berenice was hailed ''[[basilissa]]'' (queen) on coins even in her father's lifetime.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Branko van Oppen de Ruiter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wi6FCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA39 |title=Berenice II Euergetis: Essays in Early Hellenistic Queenship |date=2016-02-03 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-49462-7 |pages=39 |language=en|quote=Remarkably, Berenice was hailed ''basilissa'' on coins even in her father's lifetime,
}}</ref> There are Cyrenean coins with the portrait of queen, the legend ΒΕΡΕΝΙΚΗΣ ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΗΣ (Berenice Basilissa), and the [[monogram]] of Magas. It is evidently more plausible that the queen's identity is Magas's daughter Berenice II rather than Magas's mother Berenice I, because the portrait is youthful and unveiled, meaning unmarried.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Branko van Oppen de Ruiter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wi6FCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA29 |title=Berenice II Euergetis: Essays in Early Hellenistic Queenship |date=2016-02-03 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-1-137-49462-7 |pages=29 |language=en}}</ref> According to coins of Berenice, the accession of Berenice as queen of Cyrene was in 258 BCE.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=[[Reginald Stuart Poole]] |author2=[[British Museum Department of Coins and Medals|British Museum Dept. of Coins and Medals]] |url=https://archive.org/details/cataloguegreekc01medagoog/page/n36/mode/1up |title=Catalogue of Greek Coins: The Ptolemies, Kings of Egypt |date=1883 |publisher=The Trustees |language=English|page=xxxii|quote=This review brings us to the accession of Berenice as queen of Cyrene, B.C. 258. Her coinage will be considered later (p. xlv.).}}</ref>

King Magas died in circa 250 BCE. At this point, Berenice's mother Apama refused to honour the marriage agreement with the Ptolemies and invited an [[Antigonid dynasty|Antigonid]] prince, Demetrius the Fair to Cyrene to marry Berenice instead. With Apama's help, Demetrius seized control of the city. Allegedly, Demetrius and Apama became lovers. Berenice is said to have discovered them in bed together and had him assassinated. Apama was spared.<ref>Justin 26.3.3-6; [[Catullus]] 66.25-28</ref> Control of Cyrene was then entrusted to a republican government, led by two Cyrenaeans named Ecdelus and Demophanes, until Berenice's actual wedding to Ptolemy III in 246 BCE after his accession to the throne.<ref name="H446"/><ref name="CB">[http://www.tyndalehouse.com/Egypt/ptolemies/berenice_ii_fr.htm Berenice II] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150225050402/http://www.tyndalehouse.com/Egypt/ptolemies/berenice_ii_fr.htm |date=February 25, 2015 }} by Chris Bennett</ref> It seems most probable that Berenice conceded a certain degree of autonomy to Cyrene.<ref>{{Cite book |author1=[[Reginald Stuart Poole]] |author2=[[British Museum Department of Coins and Medals|British Museum Dept. of Coins and Medals]] |url=https://archive.org/details/cataloguegreekc01medagoog/page/n52/mode/1up |title=Catalogue of Greek Coins: The Ptolemies, Kings of Egypt |date=1883 |publisher=The Trustees |language=English|page=xlviii|quote=But it seems most probable that Berenice conceded a certain degree of autonomy to Cyrene, which included the right of coining;}}</ref>

===Queen of Egypt===
[[File:Berenike II coin.jpg|thumb|300px|Coin of Berenice II]]
{{multiple image|align=right
|image1=Mosaic of Berenice II, Ptolemaic Queen and joint ruler with Ptolemy III of Egypt, Thmuis, Egypt.jpg
|caption1=A [[mosaic]] from [[Thmuis]] ([[Mendes]]), Egypt, created by the [[Hellenistic art]]ist Sophilos (signature) in about 200 BCE, now in the Greco-Roman Museum in Alexandria, Egypt; the woman depicted is probably Berenice II. Her crown showing a ship's [[prow]] and her [[anchor]]-shaped [[brooch]] symbolised the Ptolemaic Empire's naval prowess.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Daszewski |first1=W.A. |editor1-last=Kahil |editor1-first=L. |editor2-last=Auge |editor2-first=C. |editor3-last=Linant de Bellefonds |editor3-first=P. |title=Iconographie classique et identités régionales' |date=1986 |publisher=De Boccard |location=Paris |pages=299–309 |chapter-url=https://cefael.efa.gr/detail.php?ce=hvro7d8dve8h5a1iadof61t6rqhav1ic&site_id=1&actionID=page&serie_id=BCHSuppl&volume_number=14&page_number=300&page_type=1 |chapter=La personnification de la Tyché d’Alexandrie. Réinterprétation de certains monuments}}</ref>
|image2=Wall painting from Room H of the Villa of P. Fannius Synistor at Boscoreale MET DP105943.jpg
|caption2=A seated woman in a fresco from the Roman [[Villa Boscoreale]], dated mid-1st century BCE, that likely represents Berenice II of [[Ptolemaic Egypt]] wearing a ''stephane'' (i.e. royal [[diadem]]) on her head<ref>Pfrommer, Michael; Towne-Markus, Elana (2001). ''[http://d2aohiyo3d3idm.cloudfront.net/publications/virtuallibrary/0892366338.pdf Greek Gold from Hellenistic Egypt]''. Los Angeles: Getty Publications (J. Paul Getty Trust). {{ISBN|0-89236-633-8}}, pp. 22–23.</ref><!--Need to find a reference for this identification in a publication that is actually about the Boscoreale paintings... -->
|total_width=450
}}
Berenice married Ptolemy III in 246 BCE after his accession to the throne.<ref name="CB"/> This brought Cyrenaica back into the Ptolemaic realm, where it would remain until her great-great-grandson [[Ptolemy Apion]] left it to the [[Roman Republic]] in his will in 96 BCE.

====Ruler cult====
In 244 or 243 BCE, Berenice and her husband were incorporated into the Ptolemaic state cults and worshipped as the ''Theoi Euergetai'' (Benefactor Gods), alongside [[Alexander the Great]] and the earlier Ptolemies.<ref name="CB"/><ref name=H49>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=49}}</ref> Berenice was also worshipped as a goddess on her own, ''Thea Euergetis'' (Benefactor Goddess). She was often equated with [[Aphrodite]] and [[Isis]] and came to be particularly associated with protection against shipwrecks. Most of the evidence for this cult derives from the reign of Ptolemy IV or later, but a cult in her honour is attested in the [[Fayyum]] in Ptolemy III's reign.<ref name=H105>{{harvnb|Hölbl|2001|p=105}}</ref> This cult closely parallels that offered to her mother-in-law, [[Arsinoe II]], who was also equated with Aphrodite and Isis, and associated with protection from shipwrecks. The parallelism is also presented on the gold coinage minted posthumously in honour of the two queens. The coinage of Arsinoe II bears a pair of [[cornucopia]]e on the reverse side, while that of Berenice bears a single cornucopia.

Berenice was also granted the title of [[Vizier (Ancient Egypt)|vizier]], highlighting her position as king's advisor.<ref>Sewell-Lasater, Tara, ''Becoming Kleopatra: Ptolemaic Royal Marriage, Incest, and the Path to the Female Rule'', University of Houston, 2020, p. 166.</ref> 

====Berenice's Lock====
{{main|Coma Berenices}}
[[File:Sidney Hall - Urania's Mirror - Bootes, Canes Venatici, Coma Berenices, and Quadrans Muralis.jpg|thumb|right|''Coma Berenices'' constellation noted]]

Berenice's divinity is closely connected with the story of "Berenice's Lock". According to this story, Berenice vowed to sacrifice her long hair as a [[votive offering]] if Ptolemy III returned safely from battle during the [[Third Syrian War]]. She dedicated her tresses to and placed them in the [[Sanctuary of Arsinoe Aphrodite at Cape Zephyrion|temple at Cape Zephyrium]] in [[Alexandria]], where [[Arsinoe II]] was worshipped as Aphrodite, but the next morning the tresses had disappeared. [[Conon of Samos]], the court astronomer identified a constellation as the missing hair, claiming that Aphrodite had placed it in the sky as an acknowledgement of Berenice's sacrifice. The constellation is known to this day as ''Coma Berenices'' ([[Latin]] for 'Berenice's Lock').<ref name="Barentine">{{cite book |first= John C. |last= Barentine |title= Uncharted Constellations: Asterisms, Single-Source and Rebrands |publisher =Springer |year=2016| page=17 |isbn= 978-3-319-27619-9}}</ref> It is unclear whether this event took place before or after Ptolemy's return; Branko van Oppen de Ruiter suggests that it happened after Ptolemy's return (around March–June or May 245 BCE).<ref>{{harvnb|van Oppen de Ruiter|2016|p=110}}</ref> This episode served to link Berenice with the goddess Isis in her role as goddess of rebirth, since she was meant to have dedicated a lock of her own hair at [[Koptos]] in mourning for her husband [[Osiris]].<ref>[[Plutarch]], ''De Iside et Osiride'' 14.</ref><ref name=H105/>

The story was widely propagated by the Ptolemaic court. [[Seal (emblem)|Seals]] were produced depicting Berenice with a shaved head and the attributes of Isis/[[Demeter]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Pantos |first1=P. A. |title=Bérénice II Démèter |journal=Bulletin des correspondence hellenique |date=1987 |volume=111 |pages=343–352 |language=fr|doi=10.3406/bch.1987.1777 }}</ref><ref name=H105/> The poet [[Callimachus]], who was based in the Ptolemaic court, celebrated the event in a poem, ''The Lock of Berenice'', of which only a few lines remain.<ref>[[Callimachus]] fragment 110 [[Rudolf Pfeiffer|Pfeiffer]].</ref> The first century BCE Roman poet [[Catullus]] produced a loose translation or adaptation of the poem in [[Latin]],<ref>[[Catullus 66]]</ref> and a prose summary appears in [[Gaius Julius Hyginus|Hyginus]]' ''[[De astronomia]]''.<ref name=GHDA2.24>[[Gaius Julius Hyginus]] ''[[De astronomia]]'' 2.24</ref><ref name="Barentine"/> The story was popular in the early modern period when it was illustrated by many [[Neoclassicism|neoclassical]] painters.<!--Need to find an example-->

====Panhellenic Games====
Berenice entered a chariot team in the [[Nemean Games]] of 243 or 241 BCE and was victorious. The success is celebrated in another poem by Callimachus' ''Victory of Berenice''. This poem connects Berenice with [[Io (mythology)|Io]], a lover of Zeus in Greek mythology, who was also connected with Isis by contemporary Greeks.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Parsons |first1=P. J. |title=Callimachus: Victoria Berenices |journal=Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik |date=1977 |volume=25 |pages=1–50}}</ref><ref name=H105/> When she won in the four-horse chariot race at the Olympics in the early third century BCE, she commissioned an epigram by the poet [[Posidippus (epigrammatic poet)|Posidippus]] in which she explicitly claimed to have "stolen" the fame (κῦδος) of [[Cynisca]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Posidippus|title=AB 87|url=https://chs.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Posidippus14.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420173221/https://chs.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Posidippus14.pdf |archive-date=2021-04-20 }}</ref> Her epigram was included in the so-called [[Greek Anthology]], which also indicates its continuing relevance long after the victory itself.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Greek Anthology 13.16|publisher=New York G.P. Putnam's sons |url=https://archive.org/details/greekanthology05newyuoft/page/10/mode/2up}}</ref>

==== Death ====
Ptolemy III died in late 222 BCE and was succeeded by his son by Berenice, [[Ptolemy IV Philopator]]. Berenice died soon after, in early 221 BCE. [[Polybius]] states that she was poisoned, as part of a general purge of the royal family by the new king's regent [[Sosibius]].<ref>[[Polybius]] 15.25.2; [[Zenobius]] 5.94</ref><ref name="CB"/> She continued to be venerated in the state ruler cult. By 211 BCE, she had her own priestess, the [[Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great#The Ptolemies as temple-sharing gods|athlophorus]] ('prize-bearer'), who marched in processions in [[Alexandria]] behind the priest of Alexander the Great and the Ptolemies, and the [[kanephoros|canephorus]] of the deified [[Arsinoe II]].<ref name="auto"/>

==Legacy==
The city of [[Benghazi#Ancient Greek colony|Euesperides]] (now the Libyan city of [[Benghazi]]) was renamed Berenice in her honour, a name it retained until the Middle Ages.

The asteroid [[653 Berenike]], discovered in 1907, also is named after Queen Berenice.<ref name=Use-of-tree-Oils>Use of tree Oils. "[http://designsonwood.blogspot.com/2009/03/use-of-tree-oils-varnish-and-berenice.html Varnish and Berenice]." Retrieved on September 02, 2010</ref>

==Issue==
With Ptolemy III she had the following children:<ref>Dodson, Aidan and Hilton, Dyan. The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. 2004. {{ISBN|0-500-05128-3}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Name!!Image!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
|[[Arsinoe III]]||[[File:Dinastia_tolemaica,_arsinoe_III,_octodracma,_204-203_ac_ca.JPG|90px]]|| 246/5 BCE || 204 BCE|| Married her brother Ptolemy IV in 220 BCE.
|-
|[[Ptolemy IV Philopator]]||[[File:Octadrachm Ptolemy IV BM CMBMC33.jpg|90px]]||May/June 244 BCE||July/August 204 BCE|| King of Egypt from 222 - 204 BCE.
|-
|A son|| ||July/August 243 BCE||Perhaps 221 BCE||Name unknown, possibly 'Lysimachus'. He was probably killed in or before the political purge of 221 BCE.<ref>[http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/lysimachus_ii_fr.htm Lysimachus] by Chris Bennett</ref>
|-
|Alexander || ||September/October 242 BCE ||Perhaps 221 BCE||He was probably killed in or before the political purge of 221 BCE.<ref>[http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/alexander_fr.htm Alexander] by Chris Bennett</ref>
|-
|[[Magas of Egypt|Magas]]|| ||November/December 241 BCE ||221 BCE||Scalded to death in his bath by Theogos or Theodotus, at the orders of Ptolemy IV.<ref>[http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/magas_ii_fr.htm Magas] by Chris Bennett</ref>
|-
| Berenice || ||January/February 239 BCE||February/March 238 BCE||Posthumously deified on 7 March 238 BCE by the [[Canopus Decree]], as Berenice Anasse Parthenon (Berenice, mistress of virgins).<ref>[http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/berenice_b_fr.htm Berenice] by Chris Bennett</ref>
|}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book |last1=Clayman |first1=Dee L. |title=Berenice II and the golden age of Ptolemaic Egypt |date=2014 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780195370881}}
*{{cite book |last1=Hölbl |first1=Günther |title=A History of the Ptolemaic Empire |date=2001 |publisher=Routledge |location=London & New York |isbn=0415201454 |pages=143–152 & 181–194}}
*{{cite book |last1=van Oppen de Ruiter |first1=Branko |title=Berenice II Euergetis: Essays in Early Hellenistic Queenship |date=2016 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Nature America, Inc.|isbn=9781137494627}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|position=left|Berenice II}}
* [https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Gazetteer/Places/Africa/Egypt/_Texts/BEVHOP/3*.html Bevan, E.R., The House of Ptolemy, Methuen Publishing, London, 1927 - Chapter 3, "The Second Ptolemy, "Philadelphus"]

{{Hellenistic rulers}}
{{Pharaohs}}
{{Queens of Ancient Egypt}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berenice 02}}
[[Category:3rd-century BC pharaohs]]
[[Category:Queens consort of the Ptolemaic dynasty]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Greek women]]
[[Category:260s BC births]]
[[Category:221 BC deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Greek people]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Egyptian people]]
[[Category:Female pharaohs]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Egyptian women]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC women regents]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek sportspeople]]
[[Category:Sportswomen in antiquity]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC regents]]