Ptolemaic Period
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II (Physcon)
Ptolemaic kings · 305-30 BCE
Open full-size illustration →Source: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Background
Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II, nicknamed Physcon ("pot-belly") by his own subjects, took the throne by removing his young nephew and spent decades in an on-and-off civil war with his sister and niece, a conflict ancient writers claimed reached its lowest point when he had his own son by Cleopatra II dismembered and sent to her as a birthday gift. Supporting detail: UCL Digital Egypt.
Dates from: Shaw, Oxford History of Ancient Egypt (2000)
Full profile
A throne won by eliminating a child
Ptolemy VIII secured sole rule of Egypt around 145 BCE after his young nephew Ptolemy VII was removed from power, then married his own sister, Cleopatra II, the boy's mother, to cement his claim. His long, unpopular reign, marked by heavy taxation and repeated clashes with the Alexandrian population, later saw him also marry his niece, Cleopatra III, while still married to her mother, entangling the dynasty in a family rivalry that would flare into open war.
A birthday present ancient writers found monstrous
When Cleopatra II led a rebellion against Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra III in 131 BCE and set up her own young son by Ptolemy, known as Memphites, as a rival king, ancient historians including Diodorus Siculus and Justin claimed that Ptolemy had the twelve-year-old boy killed and dismembered, then had the pieces delivered to his mother as a birthday present. Modern historians treat this lurid story with real caution, since it fits a pattern of hostile propaganda common in ancient accounts of unpopular rulers, but whatever the exact truth, Memphites did not survive the conflict, and after Ptolemy VIII and Cleopatra II eventually reconciled in 124 BCE, the boy was posthumously deified as part of the dynastic cult.
Sources for this profile
- Shaw, I. (Ed.). (2000). The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt. Oxford University Press.
- Dodson, A., & Hilton, D. (2004). The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson.
- University College London. Kings of Ptolemaic Egypt.
- UCLA Encyclopedia of Egyptology. Chronology. UCLA.
The complete, APA-formatted reference list is on the Academic Sources & Bibliography page.