People > Berenice I

Berenice I

Background

Berenice I (c. 340 - 279-268 BCE) was a Macedonian noblewoman and through her marriage to Ptolemy I Soter became the second queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom following Eurydice which was a Hellenistic kingdom based out of the former Achaemenid satrapy of Egypt. She was originally born in Eordeaea to the daughter of a local nobleman named Magas and his wife Antigone. Her maternal grandfather was a nobleman named Cassander who was the brother of Antipater who served as the regent to Alexander's empire.

Not much is known about her early life other than she originally married a local nobleman and military officer named Philip in 325 BCE. Philip had previously been married and had several other children. Berenice I and Philip would have two children together, King Magas of Cyrene and a daughter named Theoxena. Philip would die around 318 BCE and following this Berenice would travel around Egypt.

Berenice I would eventually marry Ptolemy I in 317 BCE who was one of the generals in the Macedonian army under Alexander III the Great. After the marriage Ptolemy and Berenice would have three children together; Ptolemy II Philadelphus and two daughters named Arsinoe II and Philotera.

After the death of her first husband, Berenice travelled to Egypt with her children as a lady-in-waiting for her mother’s first cousin Eurydice who was the wife of Ptolemy I. Ptolemy I was one of the generals of King Alexander the Great and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt. Berenice caught the eye of Ptolemy I who married her in 317 BC. Berenice bore Ptolemy I: two daughters Arsinoe II, Philotera and a son Ptolemy II Philadelphus.

Ancient accounts state that Berenice was a competitor in the Olympiad where she was victorious in the chariot races. During his reign Ptolemy II would built a port on the Red Sea that he would name after his mother called Berenice Trogolodytica. Following her death both Ptolemy II and later Ptolemy IV Philopater would decree divine honors to her according to Theocritus, Idylls xv. and xvii.

Ptolemaic Dynasty of Egypt

King	Title	Meaning	Reign	Wife/Co-Ruler	Reign
Ptolemy I	Soter	Savior	305-285 BCE	Berenice I	Reign
Ptolemy II	Philadelphus	Sister-loving	285-246 BCE	Arsinoe I	Reign
Ptolemy III	Euergetes I	The Benefactor	246-221 BCE	Berenice II	Reign
Ptolemy IV	Philopater	Father-loving	221-204 BCE	Arsinoe III	Reign
Ptolemy V	Epiphanes	The Illustrious	204-180 BCE		Reign
Ptolemy VI	Philometor	Mother-loving	180-145 BCE	Cleopatra I Cleopatra II & Ptolemy VIII Ptolemy Eupator	180–176 BCE 170–163 BCE 153–150 BCE
Ptolemy VII	Neos Philopator	Father-loving	145 BCE	Cleopatra II	Reign
Ptolemy VIII	Euergetes II	The Benefactor	170–116 BCE	Cleopatra II	145–131/130 BCE
Cleopatra II			124–116 BCE
Ptolemy VIII	Euergetes II	The Benefactor	170–116 BCE	Cleopatra II	124–116 BCE
Ptolemy IX	Soter II	The Savior	116-107 BCE	Cleopatra III	107–101 BCE
Ptolemy X	Alexander I		107-88 BCE	Cleopatra III	107–101 BCE
Ptolemy IX	Soter II	The Savior	88-80 BCE
Ptolemy XI	Alexander II		80 BCE	Berenice III	80 BCE
Ptolemy XIII	Neos Dionysos/Auletes	New Dionysus/Flute Player	80–51 BCE	Berenice IV	58–55 BCE
Cleopatra VII			51-30 BCE		Reign
Ptolemy XIII Physcon	Dionysos		51-47 BCE		Reign
Ptolemy XIV	Philopator	Father-loving	47-44 BCE		Reign
Ptolemy XV	Caesarion	Little Caesar	44-30 BCE		Reign

Sources

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources