Eirene (concubine Ptolemy VIII)

Eirene was a concubine of the Egyptian king Ptolemy VIII. After he died in the summer of 145 BC. According to Diodorus, he had the Cyrenaians executed, who had accompanied him on his return to Egypt , because they had spoken out frankly about Eirene. The report by the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus about the alleged murderous intentions of Ptolemy VIII against the Jewish population of Alexandria is not historical . According to Josephus, the king wanted to let drunken elephants trample them because Jewish generals had supported his sister Cleopatra II in her resistance to his return. However, as if by a miracle, the elephants did not attack their victims, but rather their own people and Eirene was then able to persuade the king to give up his murderous plan. Some historians consider Eirene to be the mother of Ptolemy Apion .

literature

Hugo Willrich : Eirene 5). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume V, 2, Stuttgart 1905, Col. 2135.

Remarks

↑ Diodorus 33, 13.
^ Josephus, Contra Apionem 2, 5, 53ff .; to Hans Volkmann : Ptolemy 27). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XXIII, 2, Stuttgart 1959, Col. 1726.

personal data
SURNAME	Eirene
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Ptolemy VIII's concubine
DATE OF BIRTH	2nd century BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH	2nd century BC Chr.

[1] Diodorus 33, 13.

[2] Josephus, Contra Apionem 2, 5, 53ff .; to Hans Volkmann : Ptolemy 27). In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume XXIII, 2, Stuttgart 1959, Col. 1726.