Ptolemy Philadelphus

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Ptolemy Philadelphos (* 36 BC) was the youngest son of the Egyptian queen Cleopatra VII and her lover, the Roman general and triumvir Marcus Antonius .

Life

After the love affair between Cleopatra and Antonius already 40 BC. The twin siblings Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios were born, followed in 36 BC. As the third child Ptolemy Philadelphos, whom Antonius (like his two other children with Cleopatra) recognized as his son in the same year. With the support of the triumvir, the queen had the hope of resurrecting her empire in the old greatness of her ancestors. The nickname Philadelphos of her youngest son was supposed to recall the heyday of the Ptolemaic Empire under Ptolemy II Philadelphus .

34 BC In a solemn ceremony in the gymnasium of Alexandria , Antonius granted the Ptolemaic empire great territorial expansions ("donations from Alexandria"). At this event Ptolemy Philadelphus sat with his siblings on a throne a little below his parents. He wore royal Macedonian costume with a diadem, purple cloak and boots and was surrounded by bodyguards dressed in Macedonian clothes. All the children of the triumvir and the Egyptian queen were now appointed rulers of great countries. Ptolemy Philadelphus, who was only two years old, was awarded Phenicia , Cilicia and Syria west of the Euphrates . Because all of the siblings were minors, the status quo of the administration of the Orient was preserved.

After Octavian's victory over Cleopatra and Antonius and their double suicide, the future Roman emperor spared the couple's young children. But in his triumphal procession in Rome in 29 BC he led At least Cleopatra Selene and Alexander Helios with, while the imperial historian Cassius Dio does not mention the participation of Ptolemy Philadelphos. All three siblings were then raised by Octavian's sister Octavia, along with their own children, from Antonius. The further fate of the two brothers Alexander Helios and Ptolemaios Philadelphos is unknown.

literature

Remarks

  1. ↑ Cassius Dio 49, 32, 4.
  2. ↑ Plutarch , Antonius 54, 6-9; Cassius Dio 49, 41, 1-3; Livy , periochae 131.
  3. ^ Cassius Dio 51, 21, 8.
  4. ↑ Plutarch, Antonius 87, 1; Cassius Dio 51, 15, 6; Suetonius , August 17, 5.
personal data
SURNAME Ptolemy Philadelphus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Son of Cleopatra VII and Marcus Antonius
DATE OF BIRTH 36 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH 1st century BC BC or 1st century