Coma Berenices
- sulla80
- 11 hours ago
- 5 min read
Today's post, inspired by a coin from Ptolemaic Egypt and the reign of Ptolemy III, takes us to 246 BC. The story starts with Ptolemy III headed off to the Third Syrian War to avenge his sister, Berenice Syra.
The Settings
This is a tale of three courts that span the regions that are today known as Libya, Egypt and Syria.
The royal court at Kyrene in Cyrenaica (ancient Libya) was a crossroads of Hellenistic wealth and the rugged frontier, sitting on the lush “green mountain” of North Africa. The court at Kyrene was predominantly Greek in language and civic culture and periodically rebellious, enriched in part by the silphium trade, a plant closely associated with Cyrene’s prosperity.
In contrast, the Ptolemaic court at Alexandria (ancient Egypt) was one of the glittering centers of the Mediterranean. Under Ptolemy II and III, the palace complex combined scholarly patronage with royal display. This was the world of the Mouseion and the Great Library, where later tradition claimed that books entering the harbor might be copied for the royal collection, and where poets like Callimachus turned dynastic occasions into polished court poetry. (Lock of Bernice by Callimachus)
The Seleucid court, centered on Syria, under Antiochus II was a peripatetic, war-hardened monarchy, moving among royal residences such as Antioch and Seleucia-on-the-Tigris and, at times, western centers such as Ephesus. Unlike the more settled court at Alexandria, this was an empire often held together by the king’s presence in the field, where the court functioned as a traveling political and military headquarters filled with Macedonian courtiers and soldiers alongside satraps and local elites. It was an atmosphere of fragile grandeur and deadly family rivalry, shaped by the pressure of ruling a large and unstable empire and by the succession crisis that followed Antiochus II’s death.
A Ptolemaic Game of Thrones
To make peace with Ptolemy II (father of Ptolemy III) in an earlier war, Antiochus divorce his wife Laodice, kicked her out of the capital, and promised that any children born to the new Egyptian princess, Berenice Syra, would inherit the Seleucid throne.
Antiochus II also cashed in: Berenice Syra is also known as Phernophoros ("The Dowry-Bringer") because of piles of gold that came with her. Her father also sent bottled Nile water with her so that she wouldn't have to drink "foreign" water. This wedding shows up in the Bible
"And at the end of some years they shall join forces, for the daughter of the king of the South (Ptolemy II) shall go to the king of the North (Antiochus II) to make an agreement; but she shall not retain the power of her authority, and neither he (Antiochus II) nor his authority shall stand; but she (Berenice Syra) shall be given up (murdered), with those who brought her, and with him who begot her (Ptolemy II), and with him who strengthened her in those times (her husband or her infant son)."
-Daniel 11:6As noted in Daniel 11:6, when Ptolemy II died in 246 BC (and Ptolemy III came to power) Antiochus II ditched Berenice Syra and returned to Laodice. Laodice came back with a vengeance - she either poisoned Antiochus or perhaps, heavy drinker that he was, he just conveniently died. Loadice wasted no time naming her son Seleucus II Callinicus (Beautifully Victorious) as king and then made sure Bernice Syra and her infant son didn't get in the way (the baby was kidnapped and murdered, his mother murdered soon afterward).
The Constellation "Coma Berenices"
All of that brings us back to Ptolemy III headed off the the Third Syrian War to avenge his sister (Berenice Syra). When he left his wife, also named Bernice (II) & the daughter of Ptolemy III's half brother Magas, made a vow: if Ptolemy returned safely, she would cut off her legendary long hair and sacrifice it to the temple of Aphrodite.
Ptolemy returned (victorious), and her hair was cut. But the next morning, the hair was gone. Before the guards were executed, the court astronomer, Conon, saved the day with good news: he pointed to a fuzzy cluster of stars and claimed the gods were so impressed by Berenice's hair that they had snatched it and placed it in the heavens. Thus, the constellation Coma Berenices was born.
An AE Tritartémorion (3/4 obol)
This coin was issued at an uncertain mint in Syria by Ptolemy III, featuring Bernice II, wife of Ptolemy III:
Greek, Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt; uncertain mint on the north Syrian coast (Heracleia Pontica?, Seleuceia Pieria?); Berenike II, wife of Ptolemy III 244-221 BC; Bronze Æ 22 mm, 9.09g
Obv: ΒΑΣΙΛΙΣΣΑ ΒΕΡΕΝΙΚΗΣ, diademed and draped bust right of Berenike II
Rev: ΠΤΟΛΕΜΑΙΟΥ / ΒΑΣΙΛΕΩΣ, eagle with closed wings standing left on thunderbolt
Ref: PCO B460, Svoronos 1055; Weiser 84-6; SNG Copenhagen 460
Berenike as Libya
In Cyrenaica (the region around Kyrene), the goddess Libya was the personification of the land itself. She was traditionally depicted with a draped bust wearing a tainia (headband). Berenice II was the first queen from Cyrene. To the locals, Berenice was Libya. Depicting "Libya" on the coin with features that look like Queen blends the two.
Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt, Ptolemy III Euergetes Æ Obol (7.52g, 22mm, 12h). Kyrene, 246-222 BC. Obv: Diademed head of Ptolemy I to right, wearing aegis around neck
Rev: BAΣIΛEΩΣ [ΠTOΛEMAIOY], draped bust of Libya (looking a lot like Berenike - with cornucopia) to right, wearing tainia; cornucopiae below chin.
Ref: CPE B487; Svoronos 871 (Ptolemy II); SNG Copenhagen 442-4 (Ptolemy IV-VIII); Asolati 68A (Ptolemy III). Good Very Fine. Rare.
Berenike's Coup
I glossed over the earlier story of how Berenike II took the throne of Cyrene. Magas, the King of Cyrene, had spent his life trying to keep Cyrene independent from Egypt. Before he died in 250 BC, he made a deal with Egypt: Berenice would marry the Egyptian heir (Ptolemy III) to unite the two kingdoms. When her father Magas died, Berenice’s mother, Apamea, a Seleucid princess, and wanted to stay loyal to her own family. So she broke the deal with Ptolemy and planned a wedding between Berenice and Demetrius the Fair (a prince from Macedonia).
Demetrius arrived and was reportedly so handsome that Apamea decided she wanted him for herself. While technically engaged to the teenage Berenice, Demetrius was sooin in a very public affair with his mother-in-law. Berenice had other plans, and led a palace revolt. According to the legend: She burst into her mother’s bedroom with a group of assassins, found Demetrius in bed with her mother, and ordered Demetrius killed in her mother's arms.
A cruel twist: Berenike specifically told the guards not to hurt her mother as she wanted Apame to live with the shame and the sight of her lover’s blood. With Demetrius dead and her mother neutralized, Berenice was the undisputed ruler of Cyrene. She then went back to her father's plan. She traveled to Alexandria in 246 BC, just as Ptolemy III was becoming King, married him, and united Cyrene and Egypt. Because she brought her own kingdom with her she became a Queen Regnant and one of the most respected and feared women in the royal court.
References:
PtolemyBronze.Com by Daniel Wolf, updated June 11, 2024
Dickinson College Commentaries: Callimachus of Cyrene
Susan Stephens, Callimachus: Aetia. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2015. ISBN: 978-1-947822-07-8.
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