Suggested Readings:Chauveau, Michel, and David Lor-
ton, transl. Egypt in the Age of Cleopatra: History and Soci-
ety under the Ptolemies.Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University
Press, 2000; Ellis, Walter M. Ptolemy of Egypt.New York:
Routledge, 1994; Holbl, Gunther, and Tina Saavedra,
transl. A History of the Ptolemaic Empire.New York: Rout-
ledge, 2000.
Ptolemy II Philadelphus(d. 246 B.C.E.)Second ruler
of the Ptolemaic Period
He reigned from 285 B.C.E. until his death and was the
son of PTOLEMY I SOTERand Queen BERENICE(1). Ptolemy
II married ARSINOE(1), the daughter of Lysimachus of
Thrace, but exiled her to KOPTOSwhen his sister, another
ARSINOE(2), returned to Egypt from Thrace. When he
formally married his sister, he received the title Philadel-
phus, meaning “Brother-Sister Loving.”
From 274 to 271 B.C.E., Ptolemy II had to defend
Egypt from the Syrians, but he achieved power and lands
from alliances with other Greek states. During his reign,
ALEXANDRIAbecame a leading center for the arts and sci-
ences. Ptolemy II also aided irrigation projects through-
out the land. He celebrated a FESTIVALevery four years in
honor of Ptolemy I Soter, whom he deified, and com-
pleted his great building projects, including the Library
of Alexandria and the LIGHTHOUSE OF ALEXANDRIA.He
added theaters, gardens, zoological displays, and gymna-
siums to various sites as well.
Ptolemy II was called “the best paymaster, a freeman
could have” by the Greek poet Theocrites. He even com-
missioned an expedition south into Africa’s heartland to
bring back elephants and other animals, as well as
incense. He then sent a delegation to Rome and brought
70 Jewish scholars to Alexandria from Jerusalem to tran-
scribe the Pentateuch accurately. A banquet reportedly
lasted for seven nights upon the arrival of these scholars.
Ptolemy II was depicted in PHILAEoffering incense
and ointments to the gods. He erected a gate in the Philae
temple. A stela was also mounted at Tell el-Maskhuta to
commemorate his journey to Persia to reclaim religious
masterpieces taken by past rulers of that nation. Ptolemy
II also rebuilt a canal linking the Nile to the Gulf of Suez,
a waterway renovated centuries later by Emperor Trajan.
His children were PTOLEMY III EUERGETES, Lysimachus,
and Berenice, who married Antiochus of Syria in 252.
Ptolemy III Euergetes succeeded him.
See also CANAL OF NECHO II.Ptolemy III Euergetes(d. 221 B.C.E.) Third ruler of the
Ptolemaic Period
He reigned from 246 B.C.E. until his death and was the
son of PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHUSand Queen ARSINOE(2).
BERENICE(3),the daughter of Magas, the king of Cyrene,
was his consort. His sister, BERENICE(2), was slain in
Syria, and Ptolemy III invaded that land to avenge the
murder. The Egyptian navy advanced against Seleucus
III’s forces in Thrace, across the Hellespont, capturing
lands in Asia Minor. Ptolemy III led an army to Seleucia
on the Tigris River but had to return to Egypt because of
a low Nile inundation and famine. He faced an alliance of
Seleucid Syria, Macedonia, and Rhodes but was joined by
the ACHAEAN LEAGUE. A peace was organized in 242–241
B.C.E.
In Egypt, Ptolemy III colonized the FAIYUM and
reformed the CALENDAR with the CANOPUS DECREE.He
received the title Euergetes, meaning the Benefactor, as a
result of these efforts. His campaigns in Syria took
approximately five years, and Berenice stood as regent
during his absence with success. During the remaining
years of his reign, Ptolemy III built Minsha’a, near Sohag
in Upper Egypt, as a sister city to Alexandria. Two offer-
ing tables, a limestone wall, and a pillar capital were
found there. The site served as a trading center with
NUBIA(modern Sudan) and the Red Sea.
He also constructed a temple in EDFU, restoring trea-
sures stolen by the Persians centuries before. Ptolemy III
built at the SERAPEUM, adding another library to accom-
modate an overflow of books, and borrowing more vol-
umes to have them copied. Actually, the original
manuscripts of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripedes
arrived in Alexandria on loan from Athens. Ptolemy III
made copies and sent them back to Athens, keeping the
originals. He forfeited an amount of silver, given in
surety, as a result. During his reign, Ptolemy III and
Queen Berenice were deified as “Benevolent Gods” byPtolemy III Euergetes 315A portrait of Ptolemy II, called Philadelphus
of the Ptolemaic Period.(Hulton Archive.)