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Summary The main function of Hellenistic queenship is increasingly understood as contributing to the definition of the basileus. The early Ptolemies produced the most peculiar version of the ‘sister queen’, known throughout the Near East as an ideological construct, but taken literally in Egypt from the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphos (285/282–246) and Arsinoe II Philadelphos (278/275–270), the ‘Sibling-Lovers’. The most famous example of a ‘virgin queen’ is Berenike, the daughter of Ptolemy III Euergetes and Berenike II, best known from the Kanopos Decree, which regulated her posthumous cult (238). Often understood as a merely honorary title for some or potentially all princesses in Alexandria, the basilissa title of unmarried girls has found little scholarly attention so far. Altogether, there are surprisingly few royal daughters for whom we have clear evidence: besides the aforesaid Berenike, her sister Arsinoe III (died 204) and previously Berenike (later known as Phernophoros, died 246), the daughter of the Philadelphoi. Claims that Arsinoe II or her sister Philotera had enjoyed the same status at the court of Ptolemy I Soter (323–282) cannot be substantiated, so that their basilissa titles should be explained by marriage with a king. The phenomenon of virgin queenship was thus of limited duration. It is best interpreted as a ramification of an emphatically endogamous royal dynasty: Ptolemy II and Ptolemy III pledged their most distinguished daughter to the future successor even before he had been chosen from among his brothers.
Summary The main function of Hellenistic queenship is increasingly understood as contributing to the definition of the basileus. The early Ptolemies produced the most peculiar version of the ‘sister queen’, known throughout the Near East as an ideological construct, but taken literally in Egypt from the time of Ptolemy II Philadelphos (285/282–246) and Arsinoe II Philadelphos (278/275–270), the ‘Sibling-Lovers’. The most famous example of a ‘virgin queen’ is Berenike, the daughter of Ptolemy III Euergetes and Berenike II, best known from the Kanopos Decree, which regulated her posthumous cult (238). Often understood as a merely honorary title for some or potentially all princesses in Alexandria, the basilissa title of unmarried girls has found little scholarly attention so far. Altogether, there are surprisingly few royal daughters for whom we have clear evidence: besides the aforesaid Berenike, her sister Arsinoe III (died 204) and previously Berenike (later known as Phernophoros, died 246), the daughter of the Philadelphoi. Claims that Arsinoe II or her sister Philotera had enjoyed the same status at the court of Ptolemy I Soter (323–282) cannot be substantiated, so that their basilissa titles should be explained by marriage with a king. The phenomenon of virgin queenship was thus of limited duration. It is best interpreted as a ramification of an emphatically endogamous royal dynasty: Ptolemy II and Ptolemy III pledged their most distinguished daughter to the future successor even before he had been chosen from among his brothers.
The appearance of this article was prompted by the discovery of a new block of inscriptions from the island of Kos, published in the 50th volume of the journal Chiron by D. Bosnakis and K. Hallof. Among these inscriptions, dating to 243 BC, of particular interest are two royal letters concerning the recognition of the right of asylum possessed by the temple of Asclepius in Kos. The first letter belongs to the king of Bithynia Ziaelas, and the second – to the Seleucid queen Laodice I, the mother of Seleucus II and Antiochus Hierax. Analysis of the contents of these documents compels us to rethink the commonly held assumptions about the foreign policy orientation of King Ziaelas from the second half of the 240s BC. Based on the already known earlier letter of Ziaelas to the citizens of Kos (IGXII, 4, 1, 209), together with the evidence of the Chronicle of Eusebius of Caesarea (Euseb. Chron. Schoene, I, 251), many researchers believe in the existence of a long-term alliance between this Bithynian king and Ptolemy III Everget, formed at the beginning of the second half of the 240s BC and lasting at least until the mid-230s BC. Instead, given the observations made on the basis of the new royal letters by D. Bosnakis, K. Hallof, and the author of this article, we can speak of only a very shortlived political partnership between Ziaelas and Ptolemy III. Afterwards, Ziaelas quickly returned to the Seleucid political orbit. This conclusion follows from the absence of references to Ptolemy III in the new letter of the Bithynian king, combined with indications of contacts between the latter and Laodice I, openly hostile to Everget. This move by Ziaelas was probably dictated by the lack of tangible military or political support from the Alexandrian ruler. The fact of the rupture of the short-lived relationship between Ziaelas and Ptolemy III, together with the testimony of the already known sources, suggests that the king of Bithynia continued permanently in the Seleucid sphere of influence.
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