Stratonice of Pontus ( el, Στρατoνίκη; fl. 1st century BC) was a Greek woman from the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( grc-gre, Πόντος ) was a Hellenistic period, Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus (region), Pontus and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty (of Persian people, Persian origin), which possibly may have been di ...

who was one of the mistresses and the fourth wife of King

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator ( grc-gre, Μιθραδάτης; 135–63 BC) was ruler of the Kingdom of Pontus in northern Anatolia from 120 to 63 BC, and one of the Roman Republic's most formidable and determined opponents. He was an e ...

.Mayor, ''The Poison King: the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome’s deadliest enemy'' Stratonice was a citizen of the Pontian city of Kabeira.Mayor, ''The Poison King: the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome’s deadliest enemy'' p. xviii She was originally a woman of mean birth and was the daughter of a

harpist The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual string (music), strings running at an angle to its sound board (music), soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various way ...

. Stratonice was a harpist in the court of Mithridates VI. She became one of the mistresses to the King and eventually Mithridates VI married her as one of his wives after 86 BC. Stratonice bore Mithridates a son called

Xiphares {{no footnotes, date=November 2018 Xiphares ( grc, Ξιφάρης; c. 85 – 65 BC) was, according to Appian, a Pontic prince who was the son of King Mithridates VI of Pontus from his concubine and later wife Stratonice of Pontus. During the Mithrid ...

. Stratonice became one of the favorite wives of the King and had obtained much influence over him. When Mithridates VI was compelled to undertake his perilous retreat to the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

, Mithridates VI left Stratonice in charge of a strong fortress at Coenum in which he had deposited a large amount of treasure. Stratonice was induced to hand over both the fortress and the fortress’ treasures to the Roman General

Pompey Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus (; 29 September 106 BC – 28 September 48 BC), known in English as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a leading Roman general and statesman. He played a significant role in the transformation of ...

, on the condition that Pompey would spare the life of her son. However Mithridates VI punished her for her treason by putting their son to death before her eyes. She died by 63 BC when the

was annexed by the Roman General

References

Bibliography

* Mayor, A., ''The Poison King: the life and legend of Mithradates, Rome’s deadliest enemy'',

Princeton University Press Princeton University Press is an independent publisher with close connections to Princeton University. Its mission is to disseminate scholarship within academia and society at large. The press was founded by Whitney Darrow, with the financial ...

, 2009, {{DEFAULTSORT:Stratonice Of Pontus Ancient Greek musicians Ancient Pontic Greeks 1st-century BC women Women in ancient Greek warfare Mithridatic dynasty Queens of Pontus Harpists