Table Of ContentA r s i n o ë o f E g y p t a n d
M ac e d o n
WOMEN IN ANTIQUITY
Series Editors: Ronnie Ancona and Sarah B. Pomeroy
Th is book series provides compact and accessible introductions to the life and
historical times of women from the ancient world. Approaching ancient history
and culture broadly, the series selects fi gures from the earliest of times to late
antiquity.
Cleopatra
A Biography
Duane W. Roller
Clodia Metelli
Th e Tribune’s Sister
Marilyn B. Skinner
Galla Placidia
Th e Last Roman Empress
Hagith Sivan
Arsinoë of Egypt and Macedon
A Royal Life
Elizabeth Donnelly Carney
A R S I N O Ë O F
E G Y P T A N D
M A C E D O N
A R O Y A L L I F E
Elizabeth Donnelly Carney
1
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Carney, Elizabeth Donnelly, 1947–
Arsinoë of Egypt and Macedon : a royal life / Elizabeth Donnelly Carney.
p. cm.—(Women in antiquity)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-19-536551-1—ISBN 978-0-19-536552-8—ISBN 978-0-19-971101-7
1. Arsinoe II, Queen, consort of Ptolemy II, King of Egypt, ca. 316–270 b.c.
2. Egypt—History—332–30 b.c. 3. Egypt—Kings and rulers—Biography.
4. Greece—History—Macedonian Hegemony, 323–281 b.c.
5. Macedonia—History—Diadochi, 323–276 b.c.
6. Th race—Kings and rulers—Biography.
I. Title. II. Series: Women in antiquity.
DT92.C37 2013
932.021092—dc23 2012023599
1 3 5 7 9 2 4 6 8
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper
In Memoriam
John Francis Oates
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xi
Timeline xiii
Genealogical Tables xv
Map of eastern Mediterranean xvii
Introduction 1
one Arsinoë’s Background and Youth: 318/14–300 1 1
two Arsinoë as the Wife of Lysimachus: ca . 300–281 3 1
three A rsinoë and Ptolemy Ceraunus: 281–279–76 4 9
four Arsinoë’s Return to Egypt and Marriage to Ptolemy II: 279–275 6 5
five A rsinoë II as Wife of Ptolemy II: ca . 275–270 (268) 8 3
six Arsinoë’s Aft erlife 1 06
Important People in the Life of Arsinoë II 135
Appendix: Sources and Assessment of Arsinoë II’s Career 137
Notes 147
Glossary 179
Bibliography 181
Index 203
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Acknowledgments
I owe special thanks to the editors of the Women in Antiquity series, Ronnie Ancona
and Sarah Pomeroy, for encouraging me to return to the topic of Arsinoë II. Stefan
Vranka, Oxford University Press’s editor for Classics, Ancient History, and Archaeology
was a close reader of the original manuscript and made many helpful suggestions, and
his editorial assistant, Sarah Pirovitz, proved invaluable time and again.
Since I spend most of my scholarly time in ancient Macedonia, embracing a project
that involved Ptolemaic Egypt as well put new demands on my knowledge and under-
standing of people and events, and I owe a debt to many people who helped me. Let me
start with the man to whom this volume is dedicated, John Francis Oates, my beloved
teacher (and dissertation director) who fi rst acquainted me with Arsinoë II. My last
conversation with him was about her since, at the time, I had just refocused on her and
was writing a paper that dealt with her and other royal women for the fi rst Edinburgh
Hellenistic conference in 2006. Indeed, I owe a special debt to the conveners of that
conference, Andrew Erskine and Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones, for their helpful comments (as
well as those of Stephanie Winder). Th e second (2011) Edinburgh conference on Helle-
nistic Courts helped me to understand Arsinoë’s court life better than before and also
enabled me to meet many scholars I had previously known only from their work. Sylvia
Barbantani has been immensely helpful in acquainting me with scholarship dealing with
Alexandrian poetry, as has Kathryn Gutzwiller. Sabine Müller and Branko von Oppen-
heim saved me from chronological confusion and illuminated many aspects of Ptole-
maic Egypt. My visit to the University of Waterloo, as part of the program for its Institute
for Hellenistic Studies, enabled me to pick the brains of all there, but Craig Hardiman
and Sheila Ager were particularly helpful. Daniel Ogden listened to numerous com-
plaints about the problem of Ptolemy the Son and helped me to come up with a title for
the present volume. Conversations with Stan Burstein, Jenny Roberts, and Olga Palagia
contributed to the completion of this work.
As always, I am indebted to my colleagues and especially to my husband, Bill Aarnes,
and my daughter, Emma Aarnes, both of whom have listened to my numerous rants
about Ptolemaic chronology and, writers both, tried to keep me centered on the story of
this particular royal woman.
