Ptolemy VIII

Name of Ptolemy VIII
Didrachm of Ptolemy VIII. Euergetes II.
Throne name	Iua-en-netjerui-henmemeti-setep-en-Ptah-iri-maat-en-Amun-Re-anch- Sechem Jwˁ-n-nṯrwj-ḥnmmtj-stp-n-Ptḥ-jrj-m3ˁt-Jmn-Rˁ-ˁnḫ -sḫm heir of the divine sun people (the king), chosen one of Ptah , who makes truth for Amun-Re, (with) mighty life
Proper name	Ptolemy Ptolmys Ptolemaios-ankh-djet-meri-Ptah Ptwlmys-ˁnḫ-ḏt-mrj-Ptḥ Ptolemaios, may he live forever who is loved by Ptah

Ptolemy VIII. Euergetes II ( Greek Πτολεμαῖος Ηʹ ὁ Εὐεργέτης Βʹ , "the benefactor"; * around 180 BC ; † June 26th 116 BC ), called Physkon ("the fat one") because of his obesity, was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh (king) from the dynasty of the Ptolemies in the Greco-Roman period .

origin

Ptolemy VIII was the son of Ptolemy V and Cleopatra I and the younger brother of Ptolemy VI . When this happened on the eve of the 6th Syrian War in 170 BC. When BC was declared of legal age, he took Ptolemy VIII and his sister Cleopatra II as co-regents. When Antiochus IV , the uncle of the three kings, invaded Egypt, the Alexandrians proclaimed the young Physkon, together with Cleopatra II, to be king for a short time.

Regency

After Antiochus in 169 BC After having withdrawn, Physkon agreed to a joint government with his older brother Philometor and his wife (and sister of both) Cleopatra II, an arrangement that led to constant intrigues that lasted until October 164 BC. Lasted when Philometor went to Rome to obtain support from the Roman Senate , which, however, proved to be uncooperative.

Division of power

Physkon's sole rule, however, soon became so unpopular that the brothers in May 163 BC. BC decided a division of rule, in which Physkon was limited to the Cyrenaica .

Although this agreement continued until Philometor's death in 145 BC. Chr. Held, they did not end the conflict. Physkon convinced the Roman Senate to support its claim on Cyprus , which Philometor ignored; After Physkon's unsuccessful attempt to conquer the island, Rome sent Philometor's ambassador in 161 BC. Chr. Home. Around 156/155 BC Philometor tried to have Physkon murdered, Physkon went to Rome, showed the scars he had suffered from the attack and, despite Cato's resistance, received the support of the Senate for a further attempt to conquer Cyprus. An inscription reports that Physkon installed Rome in Cyrenaica as heir should he die childless, which is otherwise not mentioned by any written source.

The second attempt to conquer Cyprus also failed. Philometor captured Physcon, but spared him, offered him the hand of his daughter Cleopatra Thea and sent him back to the Cyrenaica.

As sole ruler

Ptolemy VIII between Wadjet and Nechbet (relief in the temple of Edfu )

When Philometor 145 BC Died on a campaign, Cleopatra II proclaimed her son Ptolemy VII as his successor; However, Physkon returned to Egypt and proposed a joint government as well as marriage to his sister Cleopatra. The fate of his nephew is uncertain. Justin reports that Physkon personally killed him at the wedding celebrations. However, there is some evidence that the nephew was born in 143 BC. Was Alexander priest. Physkon now ascended the throne as Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, a name that goes back to his ancestor Ptolemy III. should remember.

Ancient authors like Menekles von Barka report mass expulsions of Jews and intellectuals from Alexandria who had supported Philometor. Flavius ​​Josephus even mentions a failed massacre of Jews using fighting elephants. What is certain is that many scholars had to leave the country. These included Aristarchus (who went to Cyprus as early as 146 BC) and Apollodorus of Athens . The large number of displaced scholars is said to have caused art and science to blossom anew in many other places, as the exiles gave classes there to earn a living. Polybios states that almost the entire Greek population was expelled from Alexandria at that time; but this description is likely to be considerably exaggerated. On the other hand, it is said that the king was not called “benefactor” ( Euergetes ), but rather “ culprit ” ( Kakergetes ) because of his harshness in Alexandria .

As his nickname already attests, the king was of immense body. While this obesity was a symbol of power, success and wealth in the Egyptian context, which is why Ptolemy VIII consciously put it on public display, it met with disgust, especially among the Romans:

“Because he was ugly and short in stature, and his obesity made him look less like a human than a cattle. This ugliness was heightened by his very thin, see-through robe - as if to consciously display what a man with a sense of shame should hide under all circumstances. "

Marriage with Cleopatra III. and civil war

Ptolemy VIII seduced and married Cleopatra III. , his niece and stepdaughter, without divorcing their mother Cleopatra II (141/140). The inevitable conflict between mother and daughter smoldered for ten years, until it broke out in 132/131 BC. In a civil war in which the people of Alexandria set the royal palace on fire. Ptolemy VIII, Cleopatra III and her children fled to Cyprus, while Cleopatra II wanted to proclaim her and Physcons about 13-year-old son Ptolemaios Memphites as the anti- king. Euergetes, however, managed to lure the boy to her. He killed his son and sent him back to his mother in pieces.

The civil war widened the gap between Cleopatra's Alexandria and the flat land that Ptolemy supported. Cleopatra offered the Egyptian throne to Demetrios II. Nikator , who however only got as far as Pelusion with his army ; 127 BC Cleopatra fled to Syria, while Alexandria fought for another year.

After further intrigues, Cleopatra II returned in 124 BC. Back to Egypt. At the same time Ptolemy sent his second daughter of Cleopatra III, Tryphaina , to the wedding with Antiochus VIII. A large-scale amnesty in 118 BC. Chr. Was associated with penalties, tax relief and various economic and legal reforms.

Ptolemy VIII died on June 26, 116 BC. BC (shortly after him also Cleopatra II.). He had arranged the succession in such a way that he was Cleopatra III. left to hand over rule to one of his two sons.

literature

• Marco Frenschkowski:  Ptolemaios VIII. In: Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). Volume 7, Bautz, Herzberg 1994, ISBN 3-88309-048-4 , Sp. 1038-1040.
• Peter Green: Alexander to Actium. University of California Press, Berkeley 1990, ISBN 0-520-05611-6 .
• Erhard Grzybek: claim to the throne and claim to the throne. Studies VIII during the reign of Ptolemy. Dr. Ludwig Reichert, Wiesbaden 2017, ISBN 978-3-95490-263-7 .
• Peter Nadig: Between King and Caricature: The image of Ptolemy VIII in the field of tension of tradition. Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-55949-5 .
• Thomas Schneider : Lexicon of the Pharaohs. Albatros, Düsseldorf 2002, ISBN 3-491-96053-3 , pp. 219-221.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Tranlit, transcript and translation according to editorial portal: Ägyptologie ; see also: Jose M. Serrano : Origin and Basic Meaning of the Word ḥnmmt (The So-Called "Sun-Folk"). In: Studies on Ancient Egyptian Culture. (SAK) Volume 27, 1999, pp. 353-368.
2. ^ P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, pp. 429-430.
3. ^ P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, p. 442.
4. ^ ^{A b} P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, p. 443.
5. ^ P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, p. 443. The inscription: Supplementum epigraphicum Graecum 9, No. 7.
6. ^ P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, p. 537.
7. ↑ Justin , epitoma historiarum Philippicarum 38,8,2-4.
8. ^ Papyrus Cologne VIII 350.
9. ↑ Polybios , Historíai 34: 14, 1-7.
10. ^ P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, p. 875, note 102.
11. ↑ Athenaios , Deipnosophistai 12,549 d.
12. ^ Justin, epitoma historiarum Philippicarum 38,8,9-11.
13. ^ P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, p. 538.
14. ^ ^{A b} P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, p. 540.
15. ^ P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, pp. 541-542.
16. ↑ Papyrus Tebtunis I 5.
17. ^ P. Green: Alexander to Actium. Berkeley 1990, p. 544.

predecessor	Office	successor
Ptolemy VI Ptolemy VII	King of Egypt 164–163 BC Chr. 144-116 v. Chr.	Ptolemy VI Ptolemy IX