Seleukos ( grc, Σέλευκος; died ), son of Bithys, was a Ptolemaic governor of Cyprus and admiral in the second century BC.

Life

Seleucus had citizenship of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

and

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...

(the latter was probably the result of an honorary grant of citizenship). In 157/6 BC, he was honoured at Delphi for his diplomatic intervention with King

Ptolemy VI Ptolemy VI Philometor ( gr, Πτολεμαῖος Φιλομήτωρ, ''Ptolemaĩos Philomḗtōr'';"Ptolemy, lover of his Mother". 186–145 BC) was a Greek king of Ptolemaic Egypt who reigned from 180 to 164 BC and from 163 to 145 BC. Ptolemy ...

on behalf of the city. Probably immediately after the coronation of

Ptolemy VIII Ptolemy VIII Euergetes II Tryphon ( gr, Πτολεμαῖος Εὐεργέτης Τρύφων, ''Ptolemaĩos Euergétēs Tryphon'' "Ptolemy the Benefactor; c. 184 BC – 28 June 116 BC), nicknamed Physcon ( "Fatty"), was a king of the Ptolema ...

in 145 BC, Seleucus was appointed governor ('' strategos'') of Cyprus and ''ex officio'' High Priest of the island. In honour of him, the priests of

Aphrodite Aphrodite ( ; grc-gre, Ἀφροδίτη, Aphrodítē; , , ) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, and procreation. She was syncretized with the Roman goddess . Aphrodite's major symbols inclu ...

Paphos Paphos ( el, Πάφος ; tr, Baf) is a coastal city in southwest Cyprus and the capital of Paphos District. In classical antiquity, two locations were called Paphos: Old Paphos, today known as Kouklia, and New Paphos. The current city of Pap ...

dedicated a statue of him and a second statue was probably dedicated to him by the officers of the

Cilician Cilicia (); el, Κιλικία, ''Kilikía''; Middle Persian: ''klkyʾy'' (''Klikiyā''); Parthian: ''kylkyʾ'' (''Kilikiyā''); tr, Kilikya). is a geographical region in southern Anatolia in Turkey, extending inland from the northeastern coa ...

regiment of the Ptolemaic garrison on the island. By 141/0 BC at the latest, Seleucus had acquired the rank of admiral (''

nauarchos Navarch ( el, ναύαρχος, ) is an Anglicisation of a Greek word meaning "leader of the ships", which in some states became the title of an office equivalent to that of a modern admiral. Historical usage Not all states gave their naval ...

'') in the Ptolemaic navy – as stated by at least three inscriptions. He retained the governorship and the admiralty until around 130 BC when he must have died at an advanced age. His successor was

Crocus ''Crocus'' (; plural: crocuses or croci) is a genus of seasonal flowering plants in the family Iridaceae (iris family) comprising about 100 species of perennials growing from corms. They are low growing plants, whose flower stems remain under ...

Family

Seleucus was married to Artemo I, daughter of Theodorus, who had the priestly role of 'basket-bearer' (''

kanephoros The Kanephoros (, , pl. Kanephoroi (Greek: ); latinate plural form Canephorae; lit. "Basket Bearers") was an honorific office given to unmarried young women in ancient Greece, which involved the privilege of leading the procession to sacrifice at ...

'') of the deified

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 ...

in Alexandria in 177/6 BC. She had a son and two daughters: * Theodorus, who later also served as governor of Cyprus. * Olympias I, priestess of Arsinoe III in Alexandria in 107/6 BC. * Artemo II, priestess of Arsinoe III in Alexandria some time between 141–115 BC and priestess of

Cleopatra III Cleopatra III ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα; c.160–101 BC) was a queen of Egypt. She ruled at first with her mother Cleopatra II and husband Ptolemy VIII from 142 to 131 BC and again from 127 to 116 BC. She then ruled with her sons Ptolem ...

between 142 and 131 BC.See Glanville & Skeat, pp. 54–56; ''Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum'
13.587
= ''OGIS'' 159; ''Supplementum Epigraphicum Graecum'
13, 557
= ''OGIS'' 160; PP III/IX 5039.

References

Bibliography

* Roger S. Bagnall: ''The Administration of the Ptolemaic possessions outside Egypt.'' (1976) pp. 258–259. * Willy Clarysse, E. van’t Dack: ''Prosopographia Ptolemaica III: Le clergé, le notariat, les tribunaux, no. 4984–8040'' (PP III) (1956). * Willy Clarysse: ''Prosopographia Ptolemaica.'' Vol. IX: ''Addenda et Corrigenda au volume III.'' (PP III/IX) (1981). *

Wilhelm Dittenberger Wilhelm (William) Dittenberger (August 31, 1840 in Heidelberg – December 29, 1906 in Halle (Saale)) was a German philologist in classical epigraphy. Life Wilhelm Dittenberger was the son of the Protestant theologian Wilhelm Theophor Dittenberge ...

: ''Orientis Graeci inscriptiones selectae.'' (OGIS) Vol. 1 (1903), No. 150–161, pp. 229–237. * S. R. K. Glanville and T. C. Skeat: "Eponymous Priesthoods of Alexandria from 211 B.C." ''The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology.'' 40 (1954) pp. 45–58. * Ludwig Koenen: "Kleopatra III. als Priesterin des Alexanderkultes (P. Colon. inv. nr. 5063)." ''

Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik The ''Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik'' (commonly abbreviated ZPE; "Journal of Papyrology and Epigraphy") is a peer-reviewed academic journal which contains articles that pertain to papyrology and epigraphy. It has been described as " ...

.'' 5 (1970) pp. 61–84. * T. B. Mitford: "Seleucus and Theodorus." ''Opuscula Atheniensia.'' Vol. 1, 1953, pp. 130–171. * T. B. Mitford: "The Hellenistic Inscriptions of Old Paphos." ''The Annual of the British School at Athens'' Vol. 56 (1961), pp. 1–41. * Felix Staehelin "Seleukos 13" in '' Pauly–Wissowa'' II A.1 col. 1247. {{s-end Ptolemaic admirals 2nd-century BC Greek people 2nd-century BC deaths Ptolemaic governors of Cyprus