Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Arsinoe II and Ptolemy II, & Coins (285-246 BC)

                                       

Arsinoe II and Ptolemy II

Arsinoe II was queen of Thrace, Anatolia and Macedonia and co-ruler of the Ptolemaic Kingdom with Ptolemy II. She was given the unprecedented Egyptian title "King of Upper and Lower Egypt", marking her a full pharaoh. She was the daughter of Ptolemy I, the founder of the Hellenistic state of Egypt (323 BC) who was a childhood friend of Alexander the Great, and his second wife Berenice I of Egypt. She was born in 316 BC.

Ptolemy II succeeded his father, Ptolemy I. His marriage to his sister Arsinoe II (married twice earlier) scandalized Greeks, but brother-sister marriages were a custom of the Egyptian pharaohs and the Ptolemies continued the tradition for generations. After the death of his father, Ptolemy I, and his mother Berenike I, he depicted them on a coin obverse with himself with his sister queen on the reverse, emphasizing family resemblance and dynastic continuity.

                      

                                   Arsinoe II
                     

                           Ptolemaic Empire, 200 BC

                                                 

Ptolemy II with Arsinoe II and Ptolemy I and Berenike I, 285-246 BC, weight 5.1 gm

Obverse: Conjoined busts of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II right. Ptolemy is diademed and draped, Arisone is diademed and veiled. Legend above, shield to the left

Reverse: Conjoined busts of Ptolemy I and Berenike I right. Ptolemy is diademed and draped, Berenike is diademed and veiled. Legend above. Alexandria mint.

 

Miniature masterpiece of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II, "The Gonaza Cameo" State Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg. Size 15.7 cm by 11.8 cm.

                                                         

Arsinoe II, Silver Tetradrachm, 253-246 BC, weight 12.7 gm

Obverse: Diademed and veiled head of Arsinoe II right, lotus tipped scepter over shoulder.

Reverse: Double Cornucopia bound with fillet. Alexandria mint

                                                        

Arsinoe II, Tetradrachm, 253-246 BC, weight 14.3 gm

Obverse: Diademed and veiled head of Arsinoe II right, lotus tipped scepter over shoulder.

Reverse: Double Cornucopia bound with fillet. Alexandria mint

Her role as queen was unprecedented in the dynasty at that time and became a role model for later Ptolemaic queens. She acted alongside her brother in ritual and public displays, became a religious and literal patron and was included in Egyptian and Greek cults. She had towns dedicated to her own cult, appearing on coinage and contributing to all activities. According to Posidippus, she won three chariot races at the Olympic Games, probably in 272 BC.

After her death, Ptolemy II established a cult of Arsinoe. All temples in Egypt were required to include a cult statue of Arsinoe II alongside the main god of the sanctuary Separate temples were also constructed for Arsinoe at Memphis and elsewhere. She seems to have been a genuinely popular goddess throughout the Ptolemaic period with both Greeks and Egyptians.

                                               

A life size bronze head attributed to Arsinoe II based on a favorable comparison with her coin portrait from Egypt, 275-250 BC, (Photo courtesy Museum of Fine Arts, Boston)

                                                 

                                                              

Limestone relief from the Chapel of Ptolemy II at Tanis in the Nile Delta representing Ptolemy II facing Arsinoe (San el- Hagar,ca 275-250 BC. Photo courtesy of the trustees of the British Museum, London. 

                                                                

Statuette of Arsinoe II for her Posthumous Cult, 150-100 BC, from Egypt. size, height 38.7 cm.

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