and plundered the golden coffin of ALEXANDER III THE
GREATinorder to cover his expenses.
Expelled again, Ptolemy X was accompanied to Lycia
byBerenice. He was killed in exile, and she returned to
Egypt in 88 B.C.E. By 80 B.C.E. she was sole ruler of Egypt,
but she was murdered soon after by Ptolemy Alexander,
the son of Ptolemy X.
Berenice (5) (Berenike)(fl. first century B.C.E.)Royal
woman of the Ptolemaic Period
Berenice was the eldest daughter of PTOLEMY XII NEOS
DIONYSIUS(r. 76–51 B.C.E.) and the sister of CLEOPATRA
VII. When her father was forced to leave Egypt, Berenice
ruled the land in his absence. She also married Archelaus
of Pontus. When Ptolemy XII returned to Alexandria, he
executed Berenice on the charge of treason.
Berenice (6) (Berenike)(d. c. 240 B.C.E.)Royal wo-
man of the Ptolemaic Period
The daughter of PTOLEMY III EUERGETES (r. 246–221
B.C.E.) and Queen BERENICE(3), she died at a very young
age but achieved a remarkable posthumous status in
Egypt. After 240 B.C.E., she was identified with the god
OSIRIS. Rites and shrines were devoted to her cult, and she
was served by a special group of priests established to
maintain the cult of the royal family, living or dead.
Berenice (7) A site on the Red Sea, near modern Ras
Benas, founded by PTOLEMY II PHILADELPHUS(r. 285–246
B.C.E.). The town was linked to KOPTOSby TRADEroutes
and became a chief trading port for wares from Arabia,
eastern Africa, and India in the early Roman Period (after
30 B.C.E.).
Berlin Papyri A series of documents now in the
Egyptian Museum, Berlin. Some date to the Middle
Kingdom (2040–1640 B.C.E.) and others to the Ramessid
Period (1307–1070 B.C.E.). One of the papyri, discov-
ered in SAQQARA, contains 204 separate paragraphs and
discusses medical conditions and treatments. The
papyrus repeats much of the Eber and Hearst texts but is
believed to be a copy of a papyrus of the Old Kingdom
dynasties (2575–2134 B.C.E.). Diagnoses and treatises on
rheumatism, ear problems, fertility, and the conditions
of the heart are treated in this document. Another
papyrus contains literary and popular mythological
works. Also included in the texts are the tale of SINUHE
THE SAILOR,the story of Khufu and the Magicians,and THE
ELOQUENT PEASANT,all valued for their demonstrations of
Egyptian LITERATURE.
Bersha (Deir al-Bersha) This was a site north of
’AMARNA, where AMENHOTEP III (r. 1391–1353 B.C.E.)
reopened a mining site near the famous TUREHquarry,
valued for its high-quality limestone. TOMBS of local
NOMARCHSwere discovered in Bersha, rock-cut in the
cliffs of the valley. Some of the tombs date to the Twelfth
Dynasty (1991–1783 B.C.E.) or earlier. The most noted of
the tombs was constructed for DJEHUTIHOTEP, called “the
Great Overlord of the Hare Nome.” The chapel was
designed as a portico with two columns and a niched
inner chamber. The west wall of the interior room con-
tained the famous scenes depicting Djehutihotep direct-
ing the transport of a colossal statue from the HATNUB
quarries.Bes An ancient Egyptian god in the shape of a
grotesque DWARF who was the patron of women and
childbirth, he probably was a Babylonian deity originally.
Bes was also the patron of war and the protector of
hunters. His cultic home was supposedly PUNT. The god
was depicted in reliefs and statues as a dwarf, with a leo-
nine head and a protruding tongue. His legs were bowed,
and his ears were large. He was clad in animal skins, bore
a tail, and wore a fashioned diadem. Appealing mostly to
commoners, the god was popular in the New Kingdom
(1550–1070 B.C.E.). In the Ptolemaic Period (304–30
B.C.E.) his portrait adorned the walls of “the birthing
places” erected at the time. His consort was Beset. Bes
carried the sasymbol of protection.Beset See BES.Biahmu (Byahmu) Asite northeast of HAWARAand
near MEDINET AL-FAIYUMin central Egypt. The remains
of two colossal statues of AMENEMHET III(r. 1844–1797
B.C.E.) were discovered there. The bases of the two
fallen statues arethe remains of a temple complex
believed to have been erected at Hawara or Biahmu on
the nearby dried lake. The statues were originally the
size of the surviving colossi of AMENHOTEP III (r.
1391–1353 B.C.E.). Amenemhet III and his dynastic
rulers were patrons of the Faiyum area in their own
period. These statues have been compared to the
COLOSSI OF MEMNON.Biban el-Harim (Biban el-Sultanat) This is the
modern name for the VALLEY OF THE QUEENSon the west-
ern shore of THEBES.Biban el-Moluk (Biban el-Muluk) The modern
name for part of the VALLEY OF THE KINGSon the western
shore of Thebes, the vast tomb of SETI I(r. 1306–1290
B.C.E.) is located there, cut some 300 feet deep into the
limestone cliffs.Biga An island near Philae, called the home of “the
PURE MOUND” by ancient Egyptians, or Abaton, the70 Berenice