Antigone ( el, Ἀντιγόνη, born before 317 BC-295 BC) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

Macedonian noblewoman. Through her mother's second marriage she was a member of the Ptolemaic dynasty and through her marriage to Pyrrhus she was queen of

Epirus sq, Epiri rup, Epiru , native_name_lang = , settlement_type = Historical region , image_map = Epirus antiquus tabula.jpg , map_alt = , map_caption = Map of ancient Epirus by Heinri ...

. Antigone was the daughter and the second child of

Berenice Berenice ( grc, Βερενίκη, ''Bereníkē'') is the Ancient Macedonian form of the Attic Greek name ''Pherenikē'', which means "bearer of victory" . Berenika, priestess of Demeter in Lete ca. 350 BC, is the oldest epigraphical evidence. ...

, a noblewoman from Eordeaea, and her first husband Philip. She had an elder brother called

Magas Magas (russian: Мага́с) is the capital town of the Republic of Ingushetia, Russia. It was founded in 1995 and replaced Nazran as the capital of the republic in 2002. Due to this distinction, Magas is the smallest capital of a federal subje ...

and a younger sister called

Theoxena Theoxena may refer to: * Theoxena of Syracuse (born before 317 BC; died after 289 BC), a Greek Macedonian noblewoman * Theoxena of Egypt ( 4th/3rd century BC), a Syracusan princess, daughter of Theoxena of Syracuse * Theoxena of Thessaly (fl. 3rd/2 ...

. Antigone's father, Philip was the son of Amyntas by an unnamed mother. Based on

Plutarch Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for hi ...

(Pyrrhus 4.4), her father was previously married and had children, including daughters. He served as a military officer in the service of the Macedonian King

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

and commanded one of the

Phalanx The phalanx ( grc, φάλαγξ; plural phalanxes or phalanges, , ) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar pole weapons. The term is particularly ...

divisions in Alexander's wars. Berenice's mother was the niece of the powerful

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Antipater and was related to members of the Argead dynasty. About 318 BC, Antigone's father died of natural causes. After Philip's death, Antigone's mother took her and her siblings to

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

where they were a part of the entourage of her mother's cousin

Eurydice Eurydice (; Ancient Greek: Εὐρυδίκη 'wide justice') was a character in Greek mythology and the Auloniad wife of Orpheus, who tried to bring her back from the dead with his enchanting music. Etymology Several meanings for the name ...

. Eurydice was then the wife of

Ptolemy I Soter Ptolemy I Soter (; gr, Πτολεμαῖος Σωτήρ, ''Ptolemaîos Sōtḗr'' "Ptolemy the Savior"; c. 367 BC – January 282 BC) was a Macedonian Greek general, historian and companion of Alexander the Great from the Kingdom of Macedo ...

, the first ruler and founder of the Ptolemaic dynasty. By 317 BC, Ptolemy I had fallen in love with Berenice and divorced Eurydice to marry her. Through her mother's marriage to Ptolemy I, Antigone was a stepdaughter to Ptolemy I and lived in her stepfather's court. Her mother bore Ptolemy I three children: two daughters,

Arsinoe II Arsinoë II ( grc-koi, Ἀρσινόη, 316 BC – unknown date between July 270 and 260 BC) was a Ptolemaic queen and co-regent of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of ancient Egypt. She was given the Egyptian title "King of Upper and Lower Egypt", makin ...

Philotera Philotera ( el, Φιλωτέρα, born 315/309 BC-probably after 282 BC and before 268 BC) was a Greek Macedonian noblewoman and a Greek Egyptian princess of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Philotera was the daughter of Ptolemy I Soter and Berenice I of ...

and the future Pharaoh Ptolemy II Philadelphus. In 300 BC or 299 BC,

Pyrrhus of Epirus Pyrrhus (; grc-gre, Πύρρος ; 319/318–272 BC) was a Greek king and statesman of the Hellenistic period.Plutarch. '' Parallel Lives'',Pyrrhus... He was king of the Greek tribe of Molossians, of the royal Aeacid house, and later he be ...

was sent as a hostage to Egypt by

Demetrius I of Macedon Demetrius I (; grc, Δημήτριος; 337–283 BC), also called Poliorcetes (; el, Πολιορκητής, "The Besieger"), was a Macedonian nobleman, military leader, and king of Macedon (294–288 BC). He belonged to the Antigonid dynas ...

as part of a short-lived rapprochement between Demetrius I and Ptolemy I. In 299 BC/298 BC, Ptolemy I arranged for Pyrrhus to marry Antigone. Pyrrhus obtained a fleet of ships and funding from Ptolemy I and set sail with Antigone for his kingdom in Epirus.Ussher, ''The Annals of the World'', p.344 Pyrrhus came into an agreement with his relative Neoptolemus II of Epirus, who had usurped the kingdom, to jointly rule Epirus. Antigone bore Pyrrhus two children: a daughter called Olympias and a son called

Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importance ...

. Antigone possibly died in childbirth, as she seems to have died the same year as her son was born. As a posthumous honour to his first wife, Pyrrhus founded a colony called Antigonia, which he named after her.

References

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

{{authority control Ancient Macedonian women Ancient Epirote queens consort Hellenistic-era people Pyrrhus of Epirus Ptolemaic dynasty 3rd-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC Greek people 4th-century BC Greek women 3rd-century BC Greek women Deaths in childbirth