Berenice II Euergetis: Essays in Early Hellenistic Queenship

Berenice II Euergetis (ca. 267-6-221 BCE), one of the better known Ptolemaic queens, remains fairly unknown outside specialist circles. Berenice was queen at an important juncture in Hellenistic history. She was both the daughter of King Magas of Cyrene (modern day Libya) and wife to King Ptolemy III of Egypt. This collection of essays focuses on aspects of chronology, genealogy, and marital practices, as well as issues of royal ideology. The essays rely especially on literary evidence and art works in order to illuminate Berenice's status and position at the courts of Cyrene and Egypt. It offers new interpretations of the few known events of Berenice's life until the early reign of Ptolemy III, as well her influence and authority in Cyrene and Egypt.