Antigone of Epirus
Encyclopedia
Antigone was a Greek
Macedonian
noblewoman. Through her mother’s second marriage was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty
and through marriage was a Queen of Epirus
.
Antigone was the daughter and the second child of the noblewoman Berenice
and her first husband Philip
. She had an elder brother called Magas
and an younger sister called Theoxena
.
Her father, Philip was the son Amyntas by an unnamed mother. Based on the implying of Plutarch
(Pyrrhus 4.4), her father was previously married and had children, including daughters born to him. He served as a military officer in the service of the Greek King Alexander the Great and was known in commanding one division of the Phalanx
in Alexander’s wars.
Her mother Berenice was a noblewoman from Eordeaea. She was the daughter of local obscure nobleman Magas
and noblewoman Antigone. Berenice’s mother was the niece of the powerful Regent
Antipater
and was a distant collateral relative to the Argead dynasty
.
About 318 BC, her father died of natural causes. After the death of Antigone’s father, Antigone's mother took her and her siblings to Egypt
where they were a part of the entourage of her mother’s second maternal cousin Eurydice
. Eurydice was then the wife of Ptolemy I Soter
, the first Greek Pharaoh and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
By 317 BC, Ptolemy I fell in love with Berenice and divorced Eurydice to marry her. Her mother through her marriage to Ptolemy I, was an Egyptian Queen and the Queen mother of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Through her mother’s marriage to Ptolemy I, Antigone was a stepdaughter to Ptolemy I; became an Egyptian Princess living in her stepfather’s court and was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Her mother bore Ptolemy I three children: two daughters, Arsinoe II, Philotera
and the future Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus
.
In the year 300 BC or 299 BC, Pyrrhus of Epirus
was sent as a hostage to Egypt for Demetrius I of Macedon
during part of a short-lived rapprochement between Demetrius I and Ptolemy I. In the time Pyrrhus was in Alexandria
, it appears that Ptolemy I really liked Pyrrhus who was a valiant man, who gave proof of his strength and courage during hunting parties and other exercises. In 299 BC/298 BC, Ptolemy I arranged for Pyrrhus to marry Antigone, as this was for the both of them their first marriage.
With the help of Antigone, Pyrrhus obtained a fleet of ships and money from Ptolemy I and set sail with Antigone for his kingdom in Epirus. Pyrrhus came into an agreement with his relative Neoptolemus II of Epirus
, who had usurped the kingdom to hold it jointly with him.
Through her marriage to Pyrrhus, Antigone became a Queen of Epirus. Little is known on her relationship with Pyrrhus and her reign as Queen. She had borne Pyrrhus two children: a daughter called Olympias
and a son called Ptolemy. Antigone possibly died in childbirth as her son died in the same year as her.
As a posthumous honor to his first wife, Pyrrhus founded a colony called Antigonia
, whom he named after her. In the colony named after her, gained a reputation of medals that bore her name. The Medal
s were distinguished by an Obelisk
within a crown of ivy leaves and bunches of grapes, which had the inscription ΑΝΤΙΓΟΝΕΩΝ.
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
Macedonian
Macedonia (Greece)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of Greece in Southern Europe. Macedonia is the largest and second most populous Greek region...
noblewoman. Through her mother’s second marriage was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty
Ptolemaic dynasty
The Ptolemaic dynasty, was a Macedonian Greek royal family which ruled the Ptolemaic Empire in Egypt during the Hellenistic period. Their rule lasted for 275 years, from 305 BC to 30 BC...
and through marriage was a Queen of Epirus
Epirus
The name Epirus, from the Greek "Ήπειρος" meaning continent may refer to:-Geographical:* Epirus - a historical and geographical region of the southwestern Balkans, straddling modern Greece and Albania...
.
Antigone was the daughter and the second child of the noblewoman Berenice
Berenice I of Egypt
Berenice I was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and through her marriage to Ptolemy I Soter, became the first Queen of the Ptolemaic dynasty of Egypt.-Family:...
and her first husband Philip
Philip (first husband of Berenice I of Egypt)
Philip was a Greek Macedonian nobleman that lived in the 4th century BC.Philip was the son of Amyntas by an unnamed mother. He served as a military officer in the service of the Greek King Alexander the Great. Philip was known in commanding one division of the Phalanx in Alexander’s wars and...
. She had an elder brother called Magas
Magas of Cyrene
Magas of Cyrene was a Greek Macedonian nobleman. Through his mother’s second marriage he was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. He became King of Cyrenaica and he managed to wrestle independence for Cyrenaica from the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty of Ancient Egypt.-Family Background & Early Life:Magas...
and an younger sister called Theoxena
Theoxena of Syracuse
For others of this name see Theoxena Theoxena was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman. Through her mother’s second marriage, she was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and through marriage was a Queen of Sicily....
.
Her father, Philip was the son Amyntas by an unnamed mother. Based on the implying of Plutarch
Plutarch
Plutarch then named, on his becoming a Roman citizen, Lucius Mestrius Plutarchus , c. 46 – 120 AD, was a Greek historian, biographer, essayist, and Middle Platonist known primarily for his Parallel Lives and Moralia...
(Pyrrhus 4.4), her father was previously married and had children, including daughters born to him. He served as a military officer in the service of the Greek King Alexander the Great and was known in commanding one division of the Phalanx
Phalanx formation
The phalanx is a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar weapons...
in Alexander’s wars.
Her mother Berenice was a noblewoman from Eordeaea. She was the daughter of local obscure nobleman Magas
Magas of Macedon
Magas was a Greek Macedonian nobleman that lived in the 4th century BC.Magas was a local nobleman from obscure origins and was from Eordeaea. Little is known on his life....
and noblewoman Antigone. Berenice’s mother was the niece of the powerful Regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
Antipater
Antipater
Antipater was a Macedonian general and a supporter of kings Philip II of Macedon and Alexander the Great. In 320 BC, he became Regent of all of Alexander's Empire. Antipater was one of the sons of a Macedonian nobleman called Iollas or Iolaus and his family were distant collateral relatives to the...
and was a distant collateral relative to the Argead dynasty
Argead dynasty
The Argead dynasty was an ancient Greek royal house. They were the ruling dynasty of Macedonia from about 700 to 310 BC. Their tradition, as described in ancient Greek historiography, traced their origins to Argos, in southern Greece...
.
About 318 BC, her father died of natural causes. After the death of Antigone’s father, Antigone's mother took her and her siblings to Egypt
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Egypt was an ancient civilization of Northeastern Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now the modern country of Egypt. Egyptian civilization coalesced around 3150 BC with the political unification of Upper and Lower Egypt under the first pharaoh...
where they were a part of the entourage of her mother’s second maternal cousin Eurydice
Eurydice of Egypt
Eurydice was daughter of Antipater and wife of Ptolemy, the son of Lagus. The period of her marriage is not mentioned by any ancient writer, but it is probable that it took place shortly after the partition of Triparadisus, and the appointment of Antipater to the regency, 321 BC. She was the...
. Eurydice was then the wife of Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter
Ptolemy I Soter I , also known as Ptolemy Lagides, c. 367 BC – c. 283 BC, was a Macedonian general under Alexander the Great, who became ruler of Egypt and founder of both the Ptolemaic Kingdom and the Ptolemaic Dynasty...
, the first Greek Pharaoh and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty.
By 317 BC, Ptolemy I fell in love with Berenice and divorced Eurydice to marry her. Her mother through her marriage to Ptolemy I, was an Egyptian Queen and the Queen mother of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Through her mother’s marriage to Ptolemy I, Antigone was a stepdaughter to Ptolemy I; became an Egyptian Princess living in her stepfather’s court and was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Her mother bore Ptolemy I three children: two daughters, Arsinoe II, Philotera
Philotera
Philotera was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and a Greek Egyptian Princess of the Ptolemaic dynasty.Philotera was a daughter born to Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice I of Egypt. She had one older sister: Arsinoe II and a younger brother the future Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus...
and the future Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Ptolemy II Philadelphus
Ptolemy II Philadelphus was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt from 283 BCE to 246 BCE. He was the son of the founder of the Ptolemaic kingdom Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice, and was educated by Philitas of Cos...
.
In the year 300 BC or 299 BC, Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus of Epirus
Pyrrhus or Pyrrhos was a Greek general and statesman of the Hellenistic era. He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house , and later he became king of Epirus and Macedon . He was one of the strongest opponents of early Rome...
was sent as a hostage to Egypt for Demetrius I of Macedon
Demetrius I of Macedon
Demetrius I , called Poliorcetes , son of Antigonus I Monophthalmus and Stratonice, was a king of Macedon...
during part of a short-lived rapprochement between Demetrius I and Ptolemy I. In the time Pyrrhus was in Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, it appears that Ptolemy I really liked Pyrrhus who was a valiant man, who gave proof of his strength and courage during hunting parties and other exercises. In 299 BC/298 BC, Ptolemy I arranged for Pyrrhus to marry Antigone, as this was for the both of them their first marriage.
With the help of Antigone, Pyrrhus obtained a fleet of ships and money from Ptolemy I and set sail with Antigone for his kingdom in Epirus. Pyrrhus came into an agreement with his relative Neoptolemus II of Epirus
Neoptolemus II of Epirus
Neoptolemus II of Epirus was a son of Alexander I of Epirus and Cleopatra of Macedonia....
, who had usurped the kingdom to hold it jointly with him.
Through her marriage to Pyrrhus, Antigone became a Queen of Epirus. Little is known on her relationship with Pyrrhus and her reign as Queen. She had borne Pyrrhus two children: a daughter called Olympias
Olympias II of Epirus
Olympias was daughter of Pyrrhus, king of Epirus from his first wife Antigone. She was the wife of her own paternal half-brother Alexander II...
and a son called Ptolemy. Antigone possibly died in childbirth as her son died in the same year as her.
As a posthumous honor to his first wife, Pyrrhus founded a colony called Antigonia
Antigonia (Chaonia)
Antigonea , also transliterated as Antigonia and Antigoneia, was an ancient Greek city in Epirus and the chief inland city of the ancient Chaonians...
, whom he named after her. In the colony named after her, gained a reputation of medals that bore her name. The Medal
Medal
A medal, or medallion, is generally a circular object that has been sculpted, molded, cast, struck, stamped, or some way rendered with an insignia, portrait, or other artistic rendering. A medal may be awarded to a person or organization as a form of recognition for athletic, military, scientific,...
s were distinguished by an Obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
within a crown of ivy leaves and bunches of grapes, which had the inscription ΑΝΤΙΓΟΝΕΩΝ.
Sources
- G. Crabb, Universal historical dictionary: or explanation of the names of persons and places in the departments of biblical, political and eccles. history, mythology, heraldry, biography, bibliography, geography, and numismatics, Volume 1 (Google eBook), Baldwin and Cradock, 1833
- W. Heckel, Who’s who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander’s empire, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006
- J. Ussher, The Annals of the World, New Leaf Publishing Group, 2007
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Antigone
- Ptolemaic Genealogy: Berenice I
- Ptolemaic Dynasty - Affiliated Lines: The Antipatrids
- Ancient Library article: Magas no.1
- Ancient Library article: Philippus no. 5
- Berenice I article at Livius.org
- Pyrrhus of Epirus Part 1 at Livius.org