Arsinoe I (, 305 BC – after c. 248 BC), Footnote 10 was queen of Egypt by marriage to Ptolemy II Philadelphus.

Life

Arsinoe I was the second daughter and youngest child born to King

Lysimachus Lysimachus (; Greek language, Greek: Λυσίμαχος, ''Lysimachos''; c. 360 BC – 281 BC) was a Thessaly, Thessalian officer and Diadochi, successor of Alexander the Great, who in 306 BC, became king of Thrace, Anatolia, Asia Minor and Mace ...

and Nicaea of Macedon. Her older siblings were

Agathocles Agathocles ( Greek: ) is a Greek name. The most famous person called Agathocles was Agathocles of Syracuse, the tyrant of Syracuse. The name is derived from and . Other people named Agathocles include: *Agathocles, a sophist, teacher of Damon ...

and

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice', classical pronunciation: ) was a character in Greek mythology and the wife of Orpheus, whom Orpheus tried to bring back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several ...

. Her ancestors were powerful—her paternal grandfather was

Agathocles of Pella Agathocles (, flourished 4th century BC) was a Greek nobleman who was a contemporary to King Philip II of Macedon (reigned 359 BC–336 BC). Agathocles was a Thessalian serf from Crannon.Heckel, ''Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: ...

, a nobleman contemporary to King

Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon (; 382 BC – October 336 BC) was the king (''basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia (ancient kingdom), Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...

. Her maternal grandfather was the

Regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

Antipater Antipater (; ; 400 BC319 BC) was a Macedonian general, regent and statesman under the successive kingships of Philip II of Macedon and his son, Alexander the Great. In the wake of the collapse of the Argead house, his son Cassander ...

. Arsinoe I shared a name with her grandmother, though it is unknown whether it was the mother of Lysimachus or of Nicaea as both women remain unnamed in ancient sources. Little is known of her life prior to her marriage.

Queen

Between 289/88 and 281 BC, Arsinoe I married her distant maternal cousin, Ptolemy II Philadelphus,

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

of the

Ptolemaic Kingdom The Ptolemaic Kingdom (; , ) or Ptolemaic Empire was an ancient Greek polity based in Ancient Egypt, Egypt during the Hellenistic period. It was founded in 305 BC by the Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general Ptolemy I Soter, a Diadochi, ...

. The marriage was part of Ptolemy's alliance with her father against

Seleucus I Nicator Seleucus I Nicator (; Ancient Greek, Greek: Σέλευκος Νικάτωρ, ''Séleukos Nikátōr'', "Seleucus the Victorious"; ) was a Ancient Macedonians, Macedonian Greek general, officer and successor of Alexander the Great who went on to fo ...

. Through her marriage, she became queen of the Ptolemaic kingdom. Together, she and Ptolemy had three children:

Ptolemy III Euergetes Ptolemy III Euergetes (, "Ptolemy the Euergetes, Benefactor"; c. 280 – November/December 222 BC) was the third pharaoh of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Egypt from 246 to 222 BC. The Ptolemaic Kingdom reached the height of its military and economic ...

, Lysimachus of Egypt, and Berenice. Between after 279-274/3 BC Ptolemy's sister, Arsinoe II Philadelphos, arrived in Egypt. Arsinoe II had married Lysimachus and was therefore both step-mother and sister-in-law to Arsinoe I. Following the death of Lysimachus, Arsinoe II had married her half-brother,

Ptolemy Keraunos Ptolemy Ceraunus ( ; c. 319 BC – January/February 279 BC) was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and briefly king of Macedon. As the son of Ptolemy I Soter, he was originally heir to the throne of Ptolemaic Egypt, but he was displaced in fa ...

, but fled to Egypt following a dispute. Soon after Arsinoe II's arrival, charges of conspiracy to assassinate Ptolemy II were brought against Arsinoe I. As a result of the charges, Ptolemy II convicted Arsinoe I of plotting against him. He repudiated her then exiled her to Coptos in

Upper Egypt Upper Egypt ( ', shortened to , , locally: ) is the southern portion of Egypt and is composed of the Nile River valley south of the delta and the 30th parallel North. It thus consists of the entire Nile River valley from Cairo south to Lake N ...

. It is chronologically plausible that these events were also connected to the banishment of Ptolemy II's niece Theoxena, as Theoxena was sent to the

Thebaid The Thebaid or Thebais (, ''Thēbaïs'') was a region in ancient Egypt, comprising the 13 southernmost nome (Egypt), nomes of Upper Egypt, from Abydos, Egypt, Abydos to Aswan. Pharaonic history The Thebaid acquired its name from its proximit ...

, perhaps to Coptos as well. Afterwards, Ptolemy II married his sister, Arsinoe II, and after her death, his children with Arsinoe I were officially regarded as the children of Arsinoe II.

Later life

Arsinoe I lived in exile for twenty years. During her exile, she lived in great splendour and enjoyed considerable privilege, since she was the former wife of a pharaoh. Her first son with Ptolemy II succeeded his father after his death. A surviving

stele A stele ( ) or stela ( )The plural in English is sometimes stelai ( ) based on direct transliteration of the Greek, sometimes stelae or stelæ ( ) based on the inflection of Greek nouns in Latin, and sometimes anglicized to steles ( ) or stela ...

has been found at Coptos which refers to Arsinoe I. The Stele is of Senu-sher, a steward of Arsinoe I and the Stele is assigned to Arsinoe I's exile. The stele calls Arsinoe I the "king’s wife", but her name is not enclosed in the royal

cartouche upalt=A stone face carved with coloured hieroglyphics. Two cartouches - ovoid shapes with hieroglyphics inside - are visible at the bottom., Birth and throne cartouches of Pharaoh KV17.html" ;"title="Seti I, from KV17">Seti I, from KV17 at the ...

as was customary for an Egyptian queen. Another piece of surviving evidence connected to Arsinoe I is a Phoenician inscription found at Masub inscription, considered to originate from Umm al-Amad, which counts the year by the reign of "

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; , ; ; – 160s/170s AD) was a Greco-Roman mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were important to later Byzantine science, Byzant ...

, lord of kings, (the) great, (the) beneficent, son of

and Arsinoë, the gods-brothers". Larnakas tis Lapithou pedestal inscription, the Phoenician inscription found at Lapithos,

Cyprus Cyprus (), officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Situated in West Asia, its cultural identity and geopolitical orientation are overwhelmingly Southeast European. Cyprus is the List of isl ...

,, Footnote 9 which is dated in the 11th or 12th year in the reign of Ptolemy II, may refer to a sacrifice instituted by Yatonba’al on behalf of "the legitimate scion and his wife", hence refers to Arsinoe I. As Arsinoe I was disgraced as a traitor, the fact the person who did the sacrifice on her behalf strongly suggests that the news of her disgrace had not yet reached him.

Issue

. *

* Berenice Phernophorus, married Antiochus II Theos, king of Syria.

References

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arsinoe 01 Of Egypt Queens consort of the Ptolemaic dynasty 3rd-century BC Egyptian women 3rd-century BC Greek people 3rd-century BC Macedonians Ancient Thessalians 3rd-century BC Egyptian people 305 BC births 240s BC deaths Daughters of kings Mothers of monarchs