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Ptolemy VIII

 

Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon¹, also known as Ptolemy the Younger², and Ptolemy Kakergetes³ and Ptolemy Physcon⁴, king of Egypt, son of Ptolemy V by Cleopatra I⁵, date of birth unknown, here estimated to be c. 184/3⁶, became coruler with his siblings Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II probably on 1 Thoth year 12 = year 1 = 5 October 170⁷, remained in Alexandria with Cleopatra II after the flight of Ptolemy VI in 169⁸, expelled Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II in c. November 164⁹, expelled in turn by the Alexandrian mob in summer 163¹⁰, made king of Cyrene by settlement imposed by the Roman senate¹¹, recalled to Alexandria to become king with Cleopatra II on the death of Ptolemy VI in 145¹², incorporated in the dynastic cult with Cleopatra II in 145/4 as the Beneficient Gods, Qeoi Euergetai¹³, crowned in Memphis 144/2¹⁴, associated his stepdaughter Cleopatra III in the rulership and the dynastic cult between 14 Pharmouthi year 29 = 8 May 141 and and either 20 Choiak year 30 = 14 January 140 or 10-19 Tybi year 31 = 3-12 February 139¹⁵, suppressed the rebellion of Harsiesi in Middle and Upper Egypt after 27 Mesore year 40 = 16 September 130¹⁶, expelled from Alexandria with Cleopatra III by the rebellion of Cleopatra II in 130¹⁷, probably did not briefly rule in Cyprus with his son Ptolemy Memphites as coregent¹⁸, returned to Egypt shortly thereafter and ruled in civil war against Cleopatra II till she fled to Syria c.127¹⁹, restored Cleopatra II as joint ruler c. 124²⁰, died 11 Payni year 54 = 28 June 116²¹, and was succeeded by Cleopatra II ruling jointly with Cleopatra III and Ptolemy IX²².

Ptolemy VIII's titles as king of Egypt were²³:

Horus               Hwnw Hkn.tw-m-anx.f-Hr-nst-jt.f mar-zpw Dsr-msxaw.f-Hna-@pw-AnX²⁴
Two Ladies        shrw-jb-tAwj²⁵
Golden Horus      wr-pHtj nb-HAbw-sd-mj-jt.f-PtH-&ATnn-jt-nTrw jty-mj-Ra²⁶
Throne Name      jwa-n-nTrwj-prwj stp-n-PtH jrj-MAat-Ra sxm-anx-(n)-Jmn²⁷
Son of Re          ptwlmjs anx-Dt mrj-PtH²⁸

Ptolemy VIII had two marriages and at least one known liaison. In addition in about 154 he was engaged to a daughter of Ptolemy VI, probably Cleopatra Thea, and proposed to Cornelia, daughter of P. Cornelius Scipio Africanus, widow of Ti. Sempronius Gracchus, who rejected him²⁹.

Ptolemy VIII first married as her second husband his sister Cleopatra II³⁰, by whom he had at least one son³¹, Ptolemy Memphites.³²

Ptolemy VIII second married his niece and stepdaughter Cleopatra III³³, daughter of Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II³⁴, by whom he had at least five children³⁵: Ptolemy IX³⁶, Ptolemy X³⁷, Tryphaena³⁸, Cleopatra IV³⁹ and Cleopatra Selene⁴⁰.

Ptolemy VIII conducted liaisons with Eirene⁴¹ and probably with Ithaca⁴². No children are known from either liaison.

Additionally, Ptolemy VIII had at least one child of completely unknown maternity⁴³: Ptolemy Apion⁴⁴. There is no evidence that he was father of Berenice⁴⁵.

[1] PP VI 14551. Gr: PtoleamioV EuergethV. The numbering as Ptolemy VIII follows the convention of RE and is maintained even by most scholars who do not accept Ptolemy VII Neos Philopator as a separate king in order to reduce confusion. He is also sometimes numbered as "Ptolemy VII" and "Ptolemy IX", depending on the convention used to number Ptolemy Eupator and Ptolemy Neos Philopator. He is commonly distinguished today as "Euergetes II" or as "Physcon". The epithet Euergetes ("Benefactor"), which he shared with and probably modelled on Ptolemy III, is first attested from pdem Munich 4, dated 6 Hathyr year 7 = 7 December 164, in his first attempt at sole rule (E. Lanciers, Proc. 18th Congress of Papyrology 405, 410). The epithet Tryphon ("Magnificient"), which he also probably shared with Ptolemy III, is attested from Thebes in CCG 3110 dated to 7? Hathyr year 39 = 30 November 132 and references to "king Tryphon" in pdem Berlin 3113 dated 8 Thoth year 39 = 2 October 132 and 19 Epheiph year 40 = 10 August 130. The year numbers in these dates assure that the king in question is Ptolemy VIII not Ptolemy III -- see W. Otto & H. Bengtson, Zur Geschichte des Niederganges des Ptolemäerreiches 47f. n. 5, A. Bouché-Leclercq, Histore des Lagides IV 322ff. Ý

[2] Ptolemy NewteroV: Polybius 31.10.6, SEG IX 7.1, his will dated to year 15 = 156/5 bequeathing Cyrene to Rome. This epithet assures us that Ptolemy was his name at birth. Despite the frequency of the name this is the first clearly attested case of it being given to a second son. The reason for this departure from previous practice is unclear. Ý

[3] Athenaeus 12.549d: KakergethV = "Malefactor", a pun on Euergetes. Ý

[4] Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 12.4.11: Fuskwn = "Pot-belly" or "Fatso", a pun on Tryphon. He is frequently called by this title today. Ý

[5] Paternity: Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 12.4.11. Maternity: Jerome, Commentary on Daniel 11.29-30. Ý

[6] All we know (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 12.4.11; SEG IX 7.1) is that he was younger than Ptolemy VI. Given the estimated birth date of Ptolemy VI as September 186 and the guesstimated birthdate of Cleopatra II as 185/4, 184/3 is the next available opportunity (barring twinhood). Ý

[7] See discussion under Ptolemy VI. Ý

[8] See discussion under Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II. Ý

[9] See discussion under Ptolemy VI and Cleopatra II. Ý

[10] See discussion under Ptolemy VI. Ý

[11] Polybius 31.10.5. Ý

[12] See discussion under Ptolemy VI. Ý

[13] See discussion under Cleopatra II. Ý

[14] His coronation took place just after the birth of Ptolemy Memphites. See discussion under Ptolemy Memphites. Ý

[15] See discussion under Cleopatra III. Ý

[16] See discussion under Harsiesi. Ý

[17] See discussion under Cleopatra II. Ý

[18] See discussions under Ptolemy Memphites here and here. Ý

[19] See discussion under Cleopatra II. Ý

[20] See discussion under Cleopatra II. Ý

[21] M. Rochemonteix & E. Chassinat, Le temple d'Edfou VII 9.3-4. Posthumous datings are found up to oLouvre 8128, dated 5 Epeiph year 54 = 22 July 116. The Canon of Ptolemy gives Ptolemy VIII 29 years after Ptolemy VI, from which the year of his death is 117/6. Porphyry, in Eusebius Chronicorum I (ed. Schoene) 161, gives the equation that Ptolemy VI year 12 = Ptolemy VIII year 1 due to the establishment of a joint regime in that year (170/69), hence he succeeded Ptolemy VI in his year 25 and died in his year 54, which agrees with the contemporary records. Ý

[22] See discussion under Cleopatra II. Ý

[23] Transliterations from J. von Beckerath, Handbuch der ägyptischen Königsnamen (2nd edition) 240 (8). The full titulary appears in several places. The throne name limits the holder of the titulary to Ptolemy VI or Ptolemy VIII. At the entry of the second pylon at Philae (C. R. Lepsius, Denkmäler aus Aegypten und Aethiopien IV 36a = H. Gauthier, Livre des Rois d'Égypte IV 323 (LVII)) it is followed by an enumeration of the ancestral gods. This ensures that the titulary is that of Ptolemy VIII, not Ptolemy VI. Ý

[24] "The youth about whose life on the throne of his father is pleasing, who succeeds in his acts, who is distinguished by birth because he appears with the living Apis". For the reasoning associating this name with Ptolemy VIII, see discussion above.

The obelisk at Kingston Lacy (E. A. W. Budge, History of Egypt VIII 51ff. = H. Gauthier, Livre des Rois d'Égypte IV 323 (LVIII)) gives the full titulary, but has two additional Horus names, introduced in Gauthier's transciptions by the Horus-with-flail glyph rather than the crowned Horus glyph. The first, Hwnw Hkn.tw-[m-anx.f]-Hr-nst-jt.f tjt-Dsr(t)-nt-nsw-nTrw stp-n-Jmn-Ds.f ("The youth about whose life on the throne of his father is pleasing, the holy image of the King of the Gods, the living image of Amun himself"), precedes an instance of the throne name followed by the epithet "the beneficient gods" (sic?). The second, Hwnw Hrj-tp-pDt-9 zA-Wsjrj msj-n-Ast Szp-n.f-nsyt-Ra-m-a-jt.f ("The youth, overlord of the 9 peoples, son of Osiris, born of Isis, who has received the kingdom of Re from the hand of his father"), precedes an instance of the Son of Re name followed by the epithet "the beneficient god" (sic?). It is not clear that these names were part of Ptolemy VIII's formal titulary. Ý

[25] "Who pleases the heart of the two Lands". For the reasoning associating this name with Ptolemy VIII, see discussion above. Ý

[26] "Whose might is great, Lord of the years of Jubilee like Ptah-Tennen, King like Re". For the reasoning associating this name with Ptolemy VIII, see discussion above. Ý

[27] "The son of the Manifest Gods, whom Ptah has chosen, who brings forth the order of Re, the living image of Amun". For the reasoning associating this name with Ptolemy VIII, see discussion above. Ý

[28] "Ptolemy, living forever, beloved of Ptah". For the reasoning associating this name with Ptolemy VIII, see discussion above. Ý

[29] For the first, see discussion under Cleopatra Thea. For Cornelia, see Plutarch, Tiberius Gracchus 1.4. Plutarch does not explicitly identify which king Ptolemy made the offer. Both Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII had visited Rome to plead for help but only Ptolemy VIII was unmarried at the time. The date is likely to have been the date of his second visit to Rome, which was about the time of the death of her husband. The story has been dismissed as apochryphal (L. Günther, Historia 39 (1990) 124), and certainly she is said to have been the mother of 12 children; but it is also possible that the offer was a piece of gallantry not intended to be taken seriously. Ý

[30] Justin 38.8. Ý

[31] See discussion under Cleopatra II. Ý

[32] Diodorus 34/5.14, Justin 38.8. Ý

[33] See discussion under Cleopatra III. Ý

[34] Justin 38.8. Ý

[35] See discussion under Cleopatra III. Ý

[36] Justin 39.3, Pausanias 1.9.1. See discussion under Ptolemy IX. Ý

[37] Justin 39.3, 39.4. Ý

[38] Justin 39.3. Ý

[39] Justin 39.3. Ý

[40] Justin 39.3. Ý

[41] Diodorus 33.13. Ý

[42] Josephus, Contra Apionem 2.5. Ý

[43] If Justin 38.8 is interpreted as naming two sons of Ptolemy VIII who were killed in Cyprus, Ptolemy Memphites and another son summoned there from Cyrene, then the Cyrenean son would be a third. However, it seems more likely that Justin's text refers to Ptolemy the youngest son of Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy VIII's initial heir.

For Strack's suggestion that Ptolemy Neos Philopator was a younger brother of Ptolemy Memphites by Cleopatra II, or the eldest son of Cleopatra III, see discussion under Ptolemy Memphites.

For the suggestion that he had a daughter Berenice who was the fiancee of Attalus III of Pergamon, see discussion under Berenice. Ý

[44] Justin 39.5. Ý

[45] Stele Vienna 82. See discussion under Berenice. Ý

Update Notes:

10 Feb 2002: Added individual trees
23 Feb 2002: Split into separate entry
19 May 2002: Corrected Egyptian date equations as necessary
18 May 2003: Changed Plutarch Xrefs to the Lacus Curtius edition; added Xrefs to LacusCurius edn of Polybius
23 Aug 2003: Added Xrefs to online Justin
13 Sep 2004: Add Xref to online Eusebius
15 Oct 2004: Added mention here of the engagement to Cleopatra Thea(?)
13 Jan 2005: Added links to discussion of Strack's proposal that Neos Philopator was a younger son by Cleopatra II.
11 Mar 2005: Added Greek transcription
14 Sep 2006: Added link to Canon at Attalus
4 Dec 2010: Fix broken Perseus link
7 August 2012: Note that there is now no evidence that Berenice wife of HPM Psherenptah III is his daughter.

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