Editing Arsinoe II

{{Short description|Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom (c.316–c.270/268 BC)}}
{{other uses|Arsinoe (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Arsinoe II Philadelphos
| image        = ArsinoeII.jpg
| succession   = Queen of [[Ptolemaic Egypt|Egypt]]{{efn|name=ruler}}
| reign        = 273/272 – 270/268 BC<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bennett |first1=Chris |title=Arsinoe II |url=http://instonebrewer.com/TyndaleSites/Egypt/ptolemies/arsinoe_ii_fr.htm |website=Egyptian Royal Genealogy}}</ref>
| predecessor  = [[Arsinoe I]] (as Queen, but not as co-regent)
| successor    = [[Berenice II of Egypt|Berenice II]] (as Queen and possible co-regent)
| regent       = [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]] (possibly)
| reg-type     = Co-regent
| succession1  = Queen consort of [[Thrace]]
| reign1       = 300/299–281 BC (as Queen of [[Lysimachus]])<br/>281/280–280/279 BC (as Queen of [[Ptolemy Keraunos]])
| reign-type1  = Tenure
| succession2  = Queen consort of [[Macedon]]
| reign2       = 288–281 BC (as Queen of [[Lysimachus]])<br/>281/280–280/279 BC (as Queen of [[Ptolemy Keraunos]])
| reign-type2  = Tenure
| birth_date   = 316 BC
| death_date   = 270 or 268 BCE (aged {{circa}} 47)<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w-U_EAAAQBAJ&pg=PA166|page=166|title=The Antikythera Mechanism: The Story Behind the Genius of the Greek Computer and its Demise|isbn=9781627343589|last1=Vallianatos |first1=Evaggelos G. |date=October 2021 |publisher=Universal-Publishers }}</ref>
| spouse       = [[Lysimachus]]<br/>[[Ptolemy Keraunos]]<br/>[[Ptolemy II Philadelphos]]
| issue        = [[Ptolemy Epigonos]]<br/>[[Lysimachus (son of Lysimachus)]]<br/>[[Philip (son of Lysimachus)]]
| father       = [[Ptolemy I Soter]]
| mother       = [[Berenice I of Egypt]]
| dynasty      = [[Ptolemaic dynasty|Ptolemaic]]
}}
'''Arsinoë II''' ({{langx|grc-x-koine|Ἀρσινόη}}, {{Circa}} 316 BC – between 270 and 268 BC) was Queen consort of [[Thrace]], [[Anatolia]], and [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]] by her first and second marriage, to king [[Lysimachus]] and king [[Ptolemy Keraunos]] respectively, and then Queen of the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt]] by marriage to her brother, [[Pharaoh]] [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]]. As an Egyptian queen she acquired the royal name '''Arsinoe Philadelphos''', as well the title ''[[nswt-bjtj]]'' ("King of [[Upper and Lower Egypt]]") that may suggest she was co-ruler with her husband; the exact meaning of this elevation and whether it occurred during her life or posthumously is uncertain.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=115}}<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/Becoming_Kleopatra_Ptolemaic_Royal_Marriage_Incest_and_the_Path_to_Female_Rule |pages=119–125 |journal=University of Houston }}</ref>{{efn|name=ruler|Arsinoe II did have titles of "''[[nswt-bjtj]]''" and "ruler", but Tara Sewell-Lasater classifies her as queen-consort.<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 |page=16, 456 |journal=University of Houston }}</ref> However, Arsinoe II 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>}} After her death, Arsinoe [[Imperial cult|was deified]] at the orders of her husband and the cult of Arsinoe Philadelphos became widespread in the Ptolemaic territories.

==Life==
===Early life===
Arsinoë was the first daughter of Pharaoh [[Ptolemy I Soter]], founder of the Hellenistic state of Egypt, and his second wife [[Berenice I of Egypt]].{{sfn|Lorenzi|2010}}

She was maybe born in [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], but was raised in the new city of [[Alexandria]], where her father moved his capital.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=16}} Nothing is known of her childhood or education, but judging from her later life as patron of scholars and noted for her learning, she is estimated to have been given a high education.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=17}} Her brothers were tutored by intellectuals hired by their fathers, and it is regarded likely that she attended these lessons as well: she corresponded with the intellectual [[Strato of Lampsacus]] later in life, and he may have previously been her tutor.{{sfn|Carney|2013}}

===Queen of Lysimachus===
Around the age of 15, Arsinoë married [[Lysimachus|King Lysimachus]], who was then around 60 years old.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=31}} Together, the pair had three sons: [[Ptolemy Epigonos]],{{sfn|Billows|1995|p=110}}{{sfn|Bengtson|1977|p=569}} [[Lysimachus (son of Lysimachus)|Lysimachus]],{{sfn|Bengtson|1977|p=569}} and [[Philip (son of Lysimachus)|Philip]].{{sfn|Bengtson|1977|p=569}}

In order to position her sons for the throne, she had Lysimachus' first son, [[Agathocles (son of Lysimachus)|Agathocles]], poisoned on account of treason.

Arsinoe reportedly paid for a [[Rotunda (architecture)|rotunda]] in the [[Samothrace temple complex]], where she was likely an initiate.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=38}}

===Queen of Ptolemy Keraunos===
In 281 BC, Lysimachus died in battle and Arsinoë fled to [[Cassandreia]] ({{lang|grc|Κασσάνδρεια}}). There, she married her paternal half-brother [[Ptolemy Keraunos]]. Ptolemy Keraunos was a son of Ptolemy I Soter and his first wife, [[Eurydice of Egypt]]. The marriage was for political reasons: both claimed the throne of Macedonia and Thrace (by the time of his death Lysimachus was ruler of both regions, and his power extended to southern Greece and [[Anatolia]]). Their relationship was never good.

As Ptolemy Keraunos was becoming more powerful, Arsinoë decided it was time to stop him and conspired against him with her sons. This action caused Ptolemy Keraunus to kill two of her sons, Lysimachus and Philip, while the eldest, Ptolemy, was able to escape and to flee north, to the kingdom of the Dardanians.

Arsinoë sought refuge in the Samothrace temple complex, which she had benefited during her tenure as queen.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=60-63}} She eventually left from Samothrace for Alexandria, Egypt, to seek protection from her brother, [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]].{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=66}}

It is not known which year she left for Egypt. She may have left as early as 280/279 BC, directly after the murder of the younger sons, or as late as 277/276 BC, when the claim of her eldest son to the Macedonian throne had clearly failed, following the succession of [[Antigonus II Gonatas]].{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=
[https://books.google.co.kr/books?id=6wNREAAAQBAJ&pg=PA63 63]}}

===Queen of Egypt===

[[Image:Oktadrachmon Ptolemaios II Arsinoe II.jpg|thumb|alt=A gold coin shows paired, profiled busts of a plump man and woman. The man is in front and wears a diadem and drapery. It is inscribed "ΑΔΕΛΦΩΝ".|Head of Ptolemy II Philadelphus with Arsinoe II behind. The Greek inscription ''ΑΔΕΛΦΩΝ'' means "[[gold coin|coin]] of the [[sibling]]s".|left]]

In Egypt, she is believed to have instigated the accusation and exile of [[Arsinoe I]], the wife of her younger brother Ptolemy II. Whether this belief was correct remains unknown. It is not known which year she arrived in Egypt, nor when her sister-in-law was exiled, nor whether the divorce between her brother and Arsinoe I may have taken place without the involvement of Arsinoe II.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=67-70}}

Whatever the case, after the divorce of Ptolemy, Arsinoe II then married her brother. As a result, both were given the epithet "Philadelphoi" ({{langx|grc-x-koine|Φιλάδελφοι}} "Sibling-lovers"). The closer circumstances and reasons behind the marriage is not known.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=70-82}} According to R. A. Hazzard, the year of their marriage is 273 or 272 BC because of the change of the preamble in the papyri.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hazzard |first=R. A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PQvi3Xjv4HYC&pg=PA90 |title=Imagination of a Monarchy: Studies in Ptolemaic Propaganda |date=2000-01-01 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |isbn=978-0-8020-4313-9 |pages=90 |language=en}}</ref> 

Her role as queen was unprecedented in the dynasty at the time and became a role model for later Ptolemaic queens: she acted alongside her brother in ritual and public display, became a religious and literal patron, and was included in the Egyptian and Greek cults created for them by her brother.{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=95-100}} Sharing in all of her brother's titles,{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=85}} she was quite influential, having towns dedicated to her, her own cult (as was Egyptian custom), appearing on coinage, and contributing to foreign policy,{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=90-95}} including Ptolemy II's victory in the [[Syrian Wars#First Syrian War .28274-271 BC.29|First Syrian War]] between Egypt and the [[Seleucid Empire]].

According to [[Posidippus (epigrammatic poet)|Posidippus]], she won three [[chariot race]]s at the [[Ancient Olympic Games|Olympic Games]], probably in 272 BC.{{sfn|Posidippus|p=VIII 309}}{{sfn|Carney|2013|p=142}}

{{Clear}}

==Deification==
[[File:Arsinoe II.jpg|thumb|350px|Coin of Arsinoe II struck under the rule of her husband-brother [[Ptolemy II Philadelphus]], including her main divine attributes: the ram's horn and the double [[cornucopia]]]]
{{Ancient Egyptian religion}}
She died in 270 or 268 BC and circumstantial evidence supports the latter date.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Oppen |first=Branko van |year=2010 |title=The Death of Arsinoe II Philadelphus: The Evidence Reconsidered |url=https://www.academia.edu/245632 |journal=[[Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik]] |volume=174 |pages=139–150}}</ref> After her death, Ptolemy II established a cult of Arsinoe Philadelphus. She received burial and deification rites at [[Mendes]], where she had been a priestess. Those rites are commemorated in the [[Mendes stele]]. This stele also includes the decree of Ptolemy II announcing her cult. All temples in Egypt were required to include a cult statue of Arsinoe II alongside the main deity of the sanctuary. In the relief at the top of the stele, Arsinoe is depicted among the deities receiving sacrifice from Ptolemy - an image that recurs throughout the country. Separate temples were constructed for Arsinoe, at [[Memphis, Egypt|Memphis]], and elsewhere. The [[Fayyum]] region became the [[Arsinoite nome]], with Arsinoe as its patron goddess. From 263 BC, a portion of tax on orchard and vineyard produce in each nome of Egypt was dedicated to funding the local cult of Arsinoe.<ref name=H1014>{{harvnb|Holbl|2001|pp=101–104}}</ref>

Arsinoe's cult was also propagated in Alexandria. An annual priesthood, known as the [[Kanephoros|Canephorus]] of Arsinoe Philadelphus, was established by 269 BC. The holder of the office was included as part of the dating formula in all official documents until the late second century BC. An annual procession was held in Arsinoe's honour, led by the Canephorus. Every household along the procession's route was required to erect a small altar of sand and sacrifice birds and lentils for Arsinoe.<ref>[[P. Oxy]] 27.2465.</ref> A large temple was erected by the harbour in Alexandria. The admiral Callicrates of Samos erected [[Sanctuary of Arsinoe Aphrodite at Cape Zephyrion|another sanctuary]] at Cape Zephyrium, at the eastern end of the harbour, where Arsinoe was worshipped as Aphrodite Euploia (Aphrodite of the good-sailing). Similar sanctuaries were established at a number of port-cities under Ptolemaic control, including [[Citium]] in Cyprus, [[Delos]] in the [[Nesiotic League]], and [[Thera]]. As a result of these sanctuaries, Arsinoe became closely associated with protection from shipwrecks. Coinage and statuettes depicting the divine Arsinoe survive.<ref name=H1014/> Her divine attributes are a small ram's horn behind her ear - symbolising her connection to the ram of Mendes - and a pair of [[cornucopia]]e which she carries. She appears in this guise on a set of mass-produced [[faience]] [[Oenochoe|Oenochoae]], which seem to have been associated with funerary ritual in Alexandria.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Thompson |first1=D.B. |title=Ptolemaic Oinochoai and Portraits in Faience: Aspects of the Ruler-Cult |date=1973 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford}}</ref>

Arsinoe seems to have been a genuinely popular goddess throughout the Ptolemaic period, with both Greeks and Egyptians, in Egypt and beyond. 'Arsinoe' is one of the few Greek names to be naturalised as an Egyptian personal name in the period. Altars and dedicatory plaques in her honour are found throughout Egypt and the Aegean, while hundreds of her faience oenochoae have been found in the cemeteries of Alexandria.

==Marriage and issue==
Arsinoe married Lysimachus of Thrace in 300 or 299 BC and had three children:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
|[[Ptolemy Epigonos|Ptolemy]]||299/8 BC||February 240 BC|| Co-regent of Egypt with her younger brother, Ptolemy II (267-259 BC), rebelled in 259 BC, subsequently Ptolemaic vassal ruler of [[Telmessus]] until 240 BC.
|-
|[[Lysimachus (son of Lysimachus)|Lysimachus]] ||297/6 BC ||279 BC|| Murdered by Ptolemy Keraunos.
|-
|[[Philip (son of Lysimachus)|Philip]] ||294 BC||279 BC|| Murdered by Ptolemy Keraunos.
|}
After Lysimachus' death in 281 BC, Arsinoe was briefly married to her half-brother Ptolemy Ceraunus from 280 to 279 BC and then to her full-blooded, younger brother Ptolemy II of Egypt from the late 270s BC until her death. Ptolemy II's children by his first wife [[Arsinoe I]], including his eventual successor [[Ptolemy III]], were posthumously declared to be children of Arsinoe II in the late 260s BC.

== Gallery ==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="250">
File:Πήλινη κεφαλή της βασίλισσας Αρσινόης, αδερφής και συζύγου του βασιλιά Πτολεμαίου Β (4334588370).jpg|Arsinoe II, a pottery fragment
File:Grandiorite Statue of Arsinoe II from Canopus.jpg|[[Granodiorite]] statue of Queen Arsinoe II 
File:Cammeo gonzaga con doppio ritratto di tolomeo II e arsinoe II, III sec. ac. (alessandria), da hermitage.jpg|The [[Gonzaga Cameo]] in the [[Hermitage Museum]], [[St. Petersburg]]; the gem measures 15,7 x 11,8 cm
File:Gilt faience fragment of an oinochoe (jug) MET DP121919.jpg|Faience oinochoe with remains of gilding, depicting Arsinoe II
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biographies|History}}
*[[Arsinoitherium]]
{{clear}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last=Bengtson|first=H.|title=Griechische Geschichte von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit|year=1977|publisher=C.H.Beck}}
*{{cite book|last=Billows|first=R.A.|title=Kings and colonists: aspects of Macedonian imperialism|year=1995|publisher=Brill}}
* {{cite book|last=Carney|first=Elizabeth Donnelly |title=Arsinoe of Egypt and Macedon: A Royal Life|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bmzRCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA115|year=2013|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-971101-7}}
* {{cite book|last=Holbl|first=Gunther|year=2001|title=A History of the Ptolemaic Empire|publisher=Routledge|location=London}}
* {{cite news|last1=Lorenzi |first1=Rossella|title=Did female Egyptian pharaoh rule before Cleopatra? |url=http://www.nbcnews.com/id/40472692 |work=NBC News |date=December 2, 2010 |access-date=2010-12-05}}{{dead link|date=August 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}
*{{cite book|last=Posidippus|title=[[Milan Papyrus]] aka P. Mil. Vogl. }}

==Further reading==
* S.M. Burstein, "Arsinoe II Philadelphos: A Revisionist View", in W.L. Adams and E.N. Borza (eds), ''Philip II, Alexander the Great and the Macedonian Heritage'' (Washington, 1982), 197-212
* P. McKechnie and P. Guillaume (eds) ''Ptolemy II Philadelphus and his World''. Leiden, 2008.
* M. Nilsson, ''The Crown of Arsinoë II: The Creation of an Image of Authority''. Oxford, 2012.
* D. L. Selden, Daniel L. "Alibis". ''Classical Antiquity'' '''17''' (2), October 1998.

==External links==
{{commons category|Arsinoe II}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071201083945/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9009647 Encyclopædia Britannica]
*[http://virtualreligion.net/iho/arsinoe_2.html Arsinoe II] entry in historical sourcebook by Mahlon H. Smith

{{Pharaohs}}
{{Queens of Ancient Egypt}}
{{Ancient Olympic winners|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsinoe 02 Of Egypt}}
[[Category:316 BC births]]
[[Category:260s BC deaths]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC pharaohs]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek queens regnant]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek queens consort]]
[[Category:4th-century BC Egyptian women]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC Egyptian women]]
[[Category:3rd-century BC queens regnant]]
[[Category:Pharaohs of the Ptolemaic dynasty]]
[[Category:Remarried queens consort]]
[[Category:Hellenistic Thrace]]
[[Category:Hellenistic Macedonia]]
[[Category:Egyptian goddesses]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek chariot racers]]
[[Category:Ancient Olympic competitors]]
[[Category:Female pharaohs]]
[[Category:Sportswomen in antiquity]]
[[Category:Ancient Alexandrians]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek regents]]
[[Category:Children of Ptolemy I Soter]]
[[Category:Daughters of kings]]