Agathocles ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθοκλῆς, flourished 3rd century BC, died 203/202 BC) was a Ptolemaic minister and together with his sister Agathoclea was very close to

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

king

Ptolemy IV Philopator egy, Iwaennetjerwymenkhwy Setepptah Userkare Sekhemankhamun Clayton (2006) p. 208. , predecessor = Ptolemy III , successor = Ptolemy V , horus = ''ḥnw-ḳni sḫꜤi.n-sw-it.f'Khunuqeni sekhaensuitef'' The strong youth whose f ...

().

Life

Agathocles through his father was a distant relation of the

Ptolemaic dynasty The Ptolemaic dynasty (; grc, Πτολεμαῖοι, ''Ptolemaioi''), sometimes referred to as the Lagid dynasty (Λαγίδαι, ''Lagidae;'' after Ptolemy I's father, Lagus), was a Macedonian Greek royal dynasty which ruled the Ptolemaic ...

. Agathocles was the son born to

Oenanthe of Egypt Oenanthe ( el, Οἰνἀνθη, which means ''wineflower'' - from οἶνος ''wine'' and ἄνθος ''flower''), who flourished in the 3rd century BC and died in 203 BC, was an Ancient Egypt, Egyptian Greeks, Greek noblewoman who, through marr ...

from her first husband

Agathocles Agathocles (Greek: ) is a Greek name, the most famous of which is Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from , ''agathos'', i.e. "good" and , ''kleos'', i.e. "glory". Other personalities named Agathocles: *Agathocles, ...

and also had two unnamed sisters. His paternal grandmother

Theoxena of Egypt Theoxena, also known as Theoxena the Younger to distinguish her from her mother ( el, Θεόξενα, flourished possibly late second half of 4th century BC and first half of 3rd century BC), was a Syracuse, Sicily, Syracusan Greeks, Greek Princess ...

, was a

Syracusan Syracuse ( ; it, Siracusa ; scn, Sarausa ), ; grc-att, Συράκουσαι, Syrákousai, ; grc-dor, Συράκοσαι, Syrā́kosai, ; grc-x-medieval, Συρακοῦσαι, Syrakoûsai, ; el, label=Modern Greek, Συρακούσε� ...

princess and Theoxena’s mother, also named Theoxena was a Macedonian noblewoman, who was the second older maternal half-sister of

Ptolemy II Philadelphus ; egy, Userkanaenre Meryamun Clayton (2006) p. 208 , predecessor = Ptolemy I , successor = Ptolemy III , horus = ''ḥwnw-ḳni'Khunuqeni''The brave youth , nebty = ''wr-pḥtj'Urpekhti''Great of strength , gol ...

().

Polybius Polybius (; grc-gre, Πολύβιος, ; ) was a Greek historian of the Hellenistic period. He is noted for his work , which covered the period of 264–146 BC and the Punic Wars in detail. Polybius is important for his analysis of the mixed ...

states he had other relations who served the Ptolemaic dynasty: Nico or Nicon, a nauarch under Ptolemy IV; Philo and Philammon, appointed Libyarch of Cyrene by himself. Agathocles and his sister were introduced to Ptolemy IV by their ambitious mother. Despite Ptolemy IV marrying his sister

Arsinoe III Arsinoe III Philopator ( grc, Ἀρσινόη ἡ Φιλοπάτωρ, which means "Arsinoe the father-loving", 246 or 245 BC – 204 BC) was Queen of Ptolemaic Egypt in 220 – 204 BC. She was a daughter of Ptolemy III and Berenice II. She wa ...

in 220 BC, Agathoclea continued to be his favourite. According to surviving inscriptions in 216/215 BC, Agathocles served as eponymous priest of the

Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great The Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great was an imperial cult in ancient Egypt in the Hellenistic period (323–31 BC), promoted by the Ptolemaic dynasty. The core of the cult was the worship of the deified conqueror-king Alexander the Great, whi ...

.Ptolemaic Genealogy: Agathoclea, Footnote 2
On the death of Ptolemy IV in 204 BC, Agathocles and his allies kept the event secret, that they might have an opportunity to plunder the royal treasury. They also formed a conspiracy with

Sosibius Sosibius ( el, Σωσίβιoς; lived 3rd century BC) was the chief minister of Ptolemy Philopator (221–204 BC), king of Egypt. Nothing is known of his origin or parentage, though he may have been a son of Sosibius of Tarentum; nor have we any ac ...

aimed at placing Agathocles on the throne or at least making him regent for the new boy king, Ptolemy V Epiphanes. With the support of Sosibius, they murdered Arsinoe III. Agathocles then acted as guardian to the young king

Ptolemy V Epiphanes egy, Iwaennetjerwymerwyitu Seteppah Userkare Sekhem-ankhamun Clayton (2006) p. 208. , predecessor = Ptolemy IV , successor = Ptolemy VI , horus = '' ḥwnw-ḫꜤj-m-nsw-ḥr-st-jt.f'Khunukhaiemnisutkhersetitef'' The youth who ...

. Agathocles seems to have soon killed Sosibius, although the details of this event are unknown. In 203/202 BC, the Egyptians and the Greeks of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

, exasperated at Agathocles' outrages, rose against him, and the military governor

Tlepolemus In Greek mythology, Tlepolemus (; Ancient Greek: Τληπόλεμος ''Tlēpólemos'') was the leader of the Rhodes, Rhodian forces in the Trojan War.Homer, ''Iliad'2.653–70 Family Tlepolemus was a son of Heracles and Astyoche, daughter of P ...

placed himself at their head. They surrounded the palace in the night, and forced their way in. Agathocles and his sister begged for mercy, but in vain. Agathocles was killed by his friends, to avoid an even more cruel fate. Agathoclea with her sisters, and Oenanthe, who had taken refuge in a temple, were dragged out, and in a state of nakedness exposed to the fury of the multitude, who literally tore them limb from limb. All their relations and those who had had any share in the murder of Arsinoe III were likewise put to death.

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...

, ''Cleom.'' 33 Agathocles died along with his wife and their son.

References

Sources

Primary sources

*Polybius, x
25
* Porphyry on the

Book of Daniel The Book of Daniel is a 2nd-century BC biblical apocalypse with a 6th century BC setting. Ostensibly "an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, a noble Jew exiled at Babylon", it combines a prophecy of history with an eschatology (a ...

section 45

Secondary sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agathocles of Egypt Year of birth unknown 3rd-century BC Greek people Ptolemaic regents 200s BC deaths Priests of the Ptolemaic cult of Alexander the Great Lynching deaths