Ptolemy II
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus, Wikipedia.
Ptolemy II
(Ptolemy Philadelphus) (tŏl`əmē fĭlədĕl`fəs), c.308–246 B.C., king of ancient Egypt (285–246 B.C.), of the Macedonian dynasty, son of Ptolemy IPtolemy I(Ptolemy Soter) , d. 284 B.C., king of ancient Egypt, the first ruler of the Macedonian dynasty (or Lagid dynasty), son of a Macedonian named Lagus. He was one of the leading generals of Alexander the Great, and after Alexander's death (323 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. and BereniceBerenice
, b. c.340 B.C., d. 281 or 271 B.C., consort and half-sister of Ptolemy I, king of ancient Egypt. A Macedonian, she was the widow of Philip, one of the officers of Alexander the Great, and was by this marriage the mother of Magas, king of Cyrene; Antigone, wife of
..... Click the link for more information. (c.340–281 B.C.). He continued his father's efforts to make Alexandria the cultural center of the Greek world. He completed the Pharos and encouraged the translation of the PentateuchPentateuch
[Gr.,=five books], first five books of the Old Testament. In the Hebrew Bible these books are called the Torah.
..... Click the link for more information. into the Greek SeptuagintSeptuagint
[Lat.,=70], oldest extant Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible made by Hellenistic Jews, possibly from Alexandria, c.250 B.C. Legend, according to the fictional letter of Aristeas, records that it was done in 72 days by 72 translators for Ptolemy Philadelphus, which
..... Click the link for more information. . Finances were reformed, and a canal was built from the Nile to the Red Sea. He warred against Syria until he married his daughter BereniceBerenice,
c.280–46 B.C., queen-consort of ancient Syria; wife of Antiochus II. She was called Berenice Syra. She was the daughter of Ptolemy II, and her marriage (252) to Antiochus II marked a temporary cessation in the wars between the Egyptian monarchs and the Seleucids.
..... Click the link for more information. to the Syrian Antiochus IIAntiochus II
(Antiochus Theos) , d. 247 B.C., king of Syria (261?–247 B.C.), son and successor of Antiochus I. In warfare with Ptolemy II he had sporadic successes, but his marriage to Ptolemy's daughter Berenice sealed the peace, and most of the Syrian possessions his
..... Click the link for more information. . Ptolemy repudiated his wife Arsinoë to marry his sister, also named Arsinoë. ManethoManetho
, fl. 300 B.C., Egyptian historian, a priest at Heliopolis, under Ptolemy I and Ptolemy II. His work, covering the history of Egypt from legendary times to 323 B.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , the Egyptian historian, compiled his history.
Bibliography
See P. M. Fraser, Ptolemaic Alexandria (3 vol., 1972).
Ptolemy II
called Philadelphus. 309--246 bc, the son of Ptolemy I; king of Egypt (285--246). Under his rule the power, prosperity, and culture of Egypt was at its height