Berenice (, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the

Attic Greek Attic Greek is the Greek language, Greek dialect of the regions of ancient Greece, ancient region of Attica, including the ''polis'' of classical Athens, Athens. Often called Classical Greek, it was the prestige (sociolinguistics), prestige diale ...

name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. The Latin variant Veronica is a direct transliteration. The name also has the form Bernice. Many historical figures bear the name Berenice:

Ancient world

Ptolemaic and Seleucid queens and royal daughters in Cyrenaica and Egypt

Berenice I of Egypt Berenice I (; c. 340 BC – between 279 and 268 BC) was Queen of Egypt by marriage to Ptolemy I Soter. She became the second queen, after Eurydice of Egypt, Eurydice, of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt, Egypt. Life Family Berenice was orig ...

( – between 279 and 268 BC), mother of Magas of Cyrene and wife of Ptolemy I of Egypt *

Berenice Syra Berenice () (275 BC–246 BC), also called Berenice Phernophorus ("Dowry Bearer") or Berenice Syra, was an Egyptian princess and a Seleucid queen regent. She was a Seleucid queen by marriage to Antiochus II Theos, and regent during the minori ...

( – 246 BC), daughter of Ptolemy II of Egypt and wife of Seleucid monarch

Antiochus II Theos Antiochus II Theos (, , meaning "Antiochus the God"; 286 – July 246 BC) was a Greek king of the Hellenistic Seleucid Empire who reigned from 261 to 246 BC. He succeeded his father Antiochus I Soter in the winter of 262–61 BC. He was th ...

Berenice II of Egypt Berenice II Euergetis (267 or 266 – 221 BCE; , ''Berenikē Euergetis'', "Berenice the Benefactress") was queen regnant of Cyrenaica from 258 to 246 BCE and queen of Ptolemaic Egypt from 246 to 222 BCE as the wife of Ptolemy III Euergetes, Ptolem ...

(267 or 266 BC – 221 BC), daughter of Magas of Cyrene, wife of Ptolemy III of Egypt and traditional namesake of the constellation

Coma Berenices Coma Berenices is an ancient asterism in the northern sky, which has been defined as one of the 88 modern constellations. It is in the direction of the fourth galactic quadrant, between Leo and Boötes, and it is visible in both hemispher ...

Berenice III of Egypt Berenice III (Greek: Βερενίκη; 120–80 BC), also known as Cleopatra, ruled between 101 and 80 BC. Modern scholars studying Berenice III refer to her sometimes as Cleopatra Berenice. She was co-ruling queen of Ptolemaic Egypt with her ...

(120–80 BC), daughter of Ptolemy IX of Egypt; she first married Ptolemy X of Egypt, and later Ptolemy XI of Egypt *

Berenice IV of Egypt Berenice IV Epiphaneia (; 77–55 BC, born and died in Alexandria, Egypt) was ruling Ptolemaic queen and Hellenistic pharaoh of the Ptolemaic kingdom. From 58 to 55 BC, Berenice IV ruled Egypt during the political exile of her father Ptolemy XII ...

(77–55 BC), daughter of Ptolemy XII of Egypt and elder sister of Cleopatra VII *

Berenice Berenice (, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. The Latin variant Veron ...

(3rd to 2nd century BC), Greek princess and chief priestess of the Carian Satrapy, great-granddaughter of Ptolemy Epigonos and daughter of the third and final Ptolemaic Client King of Telmessos.

Judean princesses

Berenice (daughter of Salome) Berenice was the daughter of Costobarus and Salome I, the sister of Herod the Great. First marriage She married her cousin Aristobulus in order to reduce discord within her family caused by Herod's favoritism towards his wife Mariamne I. Her ...

(1st century BC), daughter of

Salome I Salome I () was the sister of Herod the Great and the mother of Berenice by her husband Costobarus, governor of Idumea. She was a nominal queen regnant of the toparchy of Iamnia, Azotus, Phasaelis from 4 BCE. Life Salome first marr ...

, a sister of

Herod the Great Herod I or Herod the Great () was a History of the Jews in the Roman Empire, Roman Jewish client king of the Herodian kingdom of Judea. He is known for his colossal building projects throughout Judea. Among these works are the rebuilding of the ...

and mother of

Herod Agrippa Herod Agrippa I ( Roman name: Marcus Julius Agrippa; ), also simply known as Herod Agrippa, Agrippa I, () or Agrippa the Great, was the last king of Judea. He was a grandson of Herod the Great and the father of Herod Agrippa II, the last known k ...

(28–?), a daughter of

Herod Agrippa I Herod Agrippa I ( Roman name: Marcus Julius Agrippa; ), also simply known as Herod Agrippa, Agrippa I, () or Agrippa the Great, was the last king of Judea. He was a grandson of Herod the Great and the father of Herod Agrippa II, the last known ...

, wife of

Herod of Chalcis Herod of Chalcis (died 48 CE), also known as Herod Pollio King of Chalcis, Herod V, and listed by the ''Jewish Encyclopedia'' as Herod II, was a son of Aristobulus IV, and the grandson of Herod the Great, Roman client king of Judaea. He was the ...

until 48, then spent much of her life at the court of her brother,

Herod Agrippa II Herod Agrippa II ( Roman name: Marcus Julius Agrippa, ; AD 27/28 – or 100), sometimes shortened to Agrippa II or Agrippa, was the last ruler from the Herodian dynasty, reigning over territories outside of Judea as a Roman client. Agrippa ...

. She is chiefly known for her love affair with the Roman general (later emperor)

Titus Titus Caesar Vespasianus ( ; 30 December 39 – 13 September AD 81) was Roman emperor from 79 to 81. A member of the Flavian dynasty, Titus succeeded his father Vespasian upon his death, becoming the first Roman emperor ever to succeed h ...

(after 50–?), a granddaughter of Herod Agrippa I

Saints

* Berenice, also known as

Saint Veronica Saint Veronica, also known as ''Berenike'', was a widow from Jerusalem who lived in the 1st century AD, according to extra-biblical Christian traditions. Apocryphal texts relate how Veronica was moved with sympathy seeing Jesus carrying the cr ...

, 1st-century saint from Jerusalem *

Domnina, Berenice, and Prosdoce Saint Domnina and her daughters Berenice (Bernice, Veronica, Verine, Vernike) and Prosdoce are venerated as Christian martyrs by the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches. St. Domnina is not to be confused with Domnina of Syria, a 5th centu ...

, 4th-century Christian martyrs

Others

Berenice (Oxyrhynchus) Berenice (1st century – 2nd century AD) was a wine merchant in Roman Egypt. She is one of the people attested in the famous Oxyrhynchus Papyri The Oxyrhynchus Papyri are a group of manuscripts discovered during the late nineteenth and earl ...

, Roman Egyptian wine merchant *

Berenice of Chios Berenice of Chios ( ''Bereníke''; died about 72/71 BC) was an obscure Greek noblewoman from the Greek island of Chios who became the third wife of King Mithridates VI of Pontus. Biography In 86 BC, Mithridates VI, through the agency of one of h ...

(died 72/71 BC), third wife of

Mithridates VI of Pontus Mithridates or Mithradates VI Eupator (; 135–63 BC) was the 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 effective, ambitious, and r ...

* The daughter in the

exorcism of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter The exorcism of the Syrophoenician woman's daughter is one of the miracles of Jesus and is recounted in the Gospel of Mark in Mark 7, chapter 7 (Mark 7:24–30) and in the Gospel of Matthew in Matthew 15, chapter 15 (Matthew 15:21–28). In Matthe ...

, one of the miracles of Jesus recounted in the Christian Gospels

Modern era

Berenice Abbott Berenice Alice Abbott (July 17, 1898 – December 9, 1991) was an American photographer best known for her portraits of cultural figures of the interwar period, New York City photographs of architecture and urban design of the 1930s, and science ...

(1898–1991), American photographer *

Bérénice Bejo Bérénice Bejo (; born 7 July 1976) is a French-Argentine actress best known for playing Christiana in '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001) and Peppy Miller in '' The Artist'' (2011). Her work in the latter earned her a nomination for the Academy Award ...

(born 1976), French-Argentine actress * Berenice Celeyta, Colombian human rights activist *

Berenice Mallory Berenice Mallory (November 2, 1901 – February 2, 1997) was an American home economist and educator. She was chief of the Home Economics Education Service in the United States Office of Education. Early life and education Mallory was born in Gl ...

(1901–1997), American home economist *

Bérénice Marlohe Bérénice Lim Marlohe (born 19 May 1979) is a French actress. She played anti-heroine Bond girl Sévérine in the twenty-third ''James Bond'' film ''Skyfall''. Her television credits include ''Père et Maire'', ''Femmes de loi'', and ''Equi ...

(born 1979), French actress * Bernice Slote (1913–1983), poet and Willa Cather scholar *

Berenice Sydney Berenice Sydney (1944–1983), born Berenice Frieze, and professionally known as 'Berenice', was a British artist who produced a substantial body of work from 1964 onwards. Her oeuvre consists of paintings on canvas and paper, drawings, printma ...

(1944–1983), English artist *

Berenice Wicki Berenice Wicki (born 24 September 2002) is a Swiss snowboarder who competes in the halfpipe discipline. She represented Switzerland at the 2022 Winter Olympics. Career At the 2015–16 FIS Snowboard Europa Cup #13 in Davos, Wicki won in the ...

(born 2002), Swiss snowboarder * Bernice Williams, American blues singer

References

Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology The ''Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology'' is a biographical dictionary of classical antiquity, edited by William Smith (lexicographer), William Smith and originally published in London by John Taylor (English publisher), Tayl ...

* {{given name, cat1=French feminine given names, cat2=English feminine given names Feminine given names