[HOME]

Ptolemaic Dynasty: Sources

For a visual summary of the contribution each of the main genealogical sources, select the source name from the drop down menu in the left hand frame.

The principal sources for the Ptolemaic dynasty are the classical literary sources passed into the modern European tradition by direct transmission through Byzantine and medieval manuscripts. These sources are not completely straightforward. None of them are focussed on the history of the Ptolemies, but at best give us particular episodes. Often, as in Pausanias, the references are entirely incidental. Also, most of these sources are incomplete. New discoveries, although unlikely, remain possible. Book 15 of Polybius, for example, our main source for the remarkable events surrounding the accession of Ptolemy V, was only discovered, in an incomplete MS, in the Prado in the mid 19th century. De rege Alexandrino, a lost speech by Cicero which would, if discovered, give us important insights into the accession of Ptolemy XII, was almost certainly available in an Italian monastery in the 9th century.

Only three of the literary authors can be considered as truly primary sources: Caesar and Cicero, and to some degree Polybius. Ptolemy I and Ptolemy VIII are both known to have written memoirs, but both are now lost. The remaining authors were scholars or retired officials or statesmen drawing on earlier sources or primary material now lost. Polybius is a near-contemporary source for many of the events he describes, while Dio Cassius did not write until the third century AD. Some authors -- e.g. Plutarch, Appian, Dio Cassius -- exist substantially intact, while others -- e.g. Diodorus, Polybius, Livy -- are complete in parts and almost entirely lost in others. One of the most important sources -- Justin -- is actually a fourth century epitome of the much more substantial Hellenistic history of Pompeius Trogus, which is now entirely lost except for Justin and a redaction of the prologues of the original work.

Since the Ptolemies are not the main focus of any of the sources, the material is not always entirely accurate. For example, Livy names Arsinoe III, the wife and sister of Ptolemy IV, as "Cleopatra" and Justin, less explicably, as "Eurydice", while Strabo names his mother, Berenice II, as "Agathoclea", confusing her with his mistress of that name, and Appian, confusing him with his son Ptolemy V, has him marrying the daughter of Antiochus III. In most cases, however, we can correct such errors by comparison to other authors whose treatment of the period is more reliable, and often through confirmation by contemporary material.

The literary material must therefore be reassembled into a genealogical whole. The linkages are not always transparent. It is quite common for one author to identify a member of the family without naming him, e.g. as a son of a king, while another author supplies the name but not the relationship. For example, Justin tells us that a son of Ptolemy VIII by a concubine was made king of Cyrene, while Livy tells us that Ptolemy Apion, king of Cyrene, left his kingdom to Rome. The obvious inference, that Ptolemy Apion was the son of Ptolemy VIII identified but not named by Justin, is universally accepted, but is nowhere explicitly stated.

Nevertheless, sufficient material exists for a genealogical and chronological framework to be reconstructed that is remarkably coherent, and has, to date, generally proved to be accurate. Some gaps exist around the minor children of Ptolemy I, and in the female lines amongst the descendants of Ptolemy VIII. The identities of and distinctions between the various minor sons of Ptolemy II, Ptolemy VI and Ptolemy VIII are not very clear. However, the framework supplied by the literary sources remains the basis of Ptolemaic genealogy, and other material is generally used to illuminate or expand on this framework, rather than to overturn it. The one major attempt to do so that I am aware of, to prove that Ptolemy IX was the son of Cleopatra II rather than Cleopatra III on the basis of titulary analyses of the Cleopatras named in inscriptions at the Temple of Edfu, can be regarded as a failure.

Inscriptional, papyrological and numismatic material has been used to some extent to confirm the literary sources. However, the main value of the contemporary material has been to augment the literary sources, particularly on chronological matters. On purely genealogical issues, this material has provided us with:

• The maternity of Philotera, a daughter of Ptolemy I
  

• Ptolemy "the Son", a son of Ptolemy II, actual or adopted, who acted as his coregent for a decade
  
• The name of Antiochus, the son of Berenice Phernophorus, daughter of Ptolemy II, by Antiochus II
  
• Two sons (Alexander and ?Lysimachus) and a daughter (Berenice) of Ptolemy III completely unknown to the literary sources
  
• The probable paternities of Bilistiche and Agathoclea, mistresses of Ptolemy II and Ptolemy IV
  
• Two sons of Ptolemy VI, Ptolemy Eupator and a younger Ptolemy, first heir to Ptolemy VIII
  
• Proof that Cleopatra Thea, daughter of Ptolemy VI, acted as ruling queen of Syria
  
• Berenice, a probable daughter of Ptolemy VIII, married to Psherenptah II, High Priest of Ptah at Memphis
  
• Laodice Thea, a daughter of Tryphaena, daughter of Ptolemy VIII, by Antiochus VIII, married to a king of Commagene
  
• Proof that Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Ptolemy VIII, acted as ruling queen of Syria
  
• Possibly, the name of Seleucus, the second son of Cleopatra Selene by Antiochus X
  
• The name, though not the ancestry, of Cleopatra V, the wife of Ptolemy XII
  
• Possibly, the existence of an elder son of Cleopatra Selene, daughter of Cleopatra VII

It is also apparent by comparing the information taken from contemporary sources against the literary information that a "son", "daughter" or "sister" are not always what they seem, particularly in Egyptian material. According to contemporary sources, or some readings of them:

• Ptolemy III was the son of Arsinoe II; his real mother was Arsinoe I
  

• Berenice II was the daughter of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II; her real parents were Magas of Cyrene and Apama
  
• Cleopatra I was a sister of Ptolemy V; in reality she was his third cousin
  
• Cleopatra III was a daughter of Ptolemy VIII; her real father was Ptolemy VI
  
• Berenice III was a sister of Ptolemy X; in fact she was his hiece
  
• Ptolemy XI was a son of Berenice III; his real mother is unknown but was probably Cleopatra Selene

The same ambiguity occasionally appears in literary souces:

• Most authors call Ptolemy I the son of Lagus, who appears to have been his stepfather
  

• Hyginus calls Berenice II daughter of Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II

Since the ancients did not always clearly distinguish between biological children, stepchildren and adopted children, certain statements appearing in either the literary or the contemporary sources are legitimately open to doubt:

• Ptolemy "the Son", coregent of Ptolemy II, may have been his adopted son
  

• Ptolemy, eldest son of Ptolemy IX, was probably not the son of Cleopatra Selene and may therefore be identified with the later Ptolemy XII
  
• Cleopatra V, wife of Ptolemy XII, may not in fact have been his sister

The main sources used for this genealogy are listed below, highlighting the most important contributions of each one, starting with the backbione genealogy and filling out details roughly in a chronological order. A visual summary of how the source contributes to the reconstruction given at this site can be seen by selecting the source identifier. This list is not exhaustive, but does cover all the material presented here.

Website © Chris Bennett, 2001-2011 -- All rights reserved