ABSTRACT

In 308, Ptolemy Soter (fighting to secure his place among the Macedonian dynasts eager to claim their share of Alexander the Great’s legacy) personally led an expedition into the Aegean in order to anchor his influence in the region through alliances and a series of naval bases. Along with Ptolemy Soter went his third wife, Berenice, who gave birth to Ptolemy Philadelphus on the island of Cos. Berenice was the least well connected of the polygamous Ptolemy’s three wives. She had come to Egypt in the retinue of Eurydice, when that daughter of Antipater came as Ptolemy’s bride. Despite her political insignificance, Berenice was Ptolemy’s favorite spouse, and her son Ptolemy Philadelphus became heir to Egypt over the claims of an older son of Eurydice, Ptolemy Ceraunus, meaning “thunderbolt.”