Theoxena ( el, Θεόξενα; born before 317 BC; died after 289 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 marriage was a queen of
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
, population_note =
, population_blank1_title =
, population_blank1 =
, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
, demographics1_footnotes =
, demographi ...
.
Family
Theoxena was the second daughter and third child of the noblewoman
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. ...
and her first husband
Philip. She had two older siblings: a 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 sister called
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...
.
Her father, Philip, was the son of Amyntas by an unnamed mother. Based on the implying of
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 born to him. He served as a military officer in the service of the Greek 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 was known in commanding one division 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 ...
in Alexander's wars.
Her mother Berenice was a noblewoman from
Eordeaea. She was the daughter of local obscure nobleman
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 noblewoman
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone ( ; Ancient Greek: Ἀντιγόνη) is the daughter of Oedipus and either his mother Jocasta or, in another variation of the myth, Euryganeia. She is a sister of Polynices, Eteocles, and Ismene.Roman, L., & R ...
. 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 a distant collateral relative to the
Argead dynasty. Her name was either chosen by her parents or she was probably named in honour of a relative either from her mother's or father's family.
Biography
About 318 BC, her father died of natural causes. After the death of Theoxena's father, Theoxena'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 second maternal 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 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 of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Through her mother's marriage to Ptolemy I, Theoxena 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
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.
Around the year 300 BC, Ptolemy I was in engaged in a round of diplomatic marriages involving his children. Theoxena was a part of his strategy by marrying
Agathocles of Syracuse
Agathocles ( grc-gre, Ἀγαθοκλῆς, ''Agathoklḗs''; 361–289 BC) was a Greek tyrant of Syracuse (317–289 BC) and self-styled king of Sicily (304–289 BC).
Biography
Agathocles was born at Thermae Himeraeae (modern na ...
, a Syracusan Greek ruler of
Syracuse and later king of Sicily. Theoxena married Agathocles as his third and final wife. From her marriage to Agathocles, reveals and indicates that Theoxena was a noblewoman of high status, in particular when she lived in Sicily. Little is known on her relationship with her husband and her life in Sicily. Agathocles became tyrant of Syracuse in 317 BC and declared himself Sicilian King in 304 BC.
She was a stepmother to Agathocles’ daughter,
Lanassa who was the second wife of King
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 ...
. Pyrrhus was previously married to Theoxena's first sister, Antigone. Theoxena had with Agathocles a son,
Archagathus and a daughter,
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 ...
. Her children with Agathocles are only known through surviving archaeological evidence.
When Agathocles felt his death was approaching, he sent Theoxena and their children to Egypt. Agathocles died in 289 BC and declared his kingdom a democracy on his death.
Ptolemaic Dynasty - Affiliated Lines: Agathocles
/ref> Theoxena spent her remaining years living in Egypt with her family. Theoxena and Agathocles’ children and their descendants rose to very high prominence in the reigns of Theoxena's half-brother Ptolemy II; her nephew Ptolemy III Euergetes
, predecessor = Ptolemy II
, successor = Ptolemy IV
, nebty = ''ḳn nḏtj-nṯrw jnb-mnḫ-n-tꜢmrj'Qen nedjtinetjeru inebmenekhentamery''The brave one who has protected the gods, a potent wall for The Beloved Land
, nebty_hiero ...
and her great-nephew Ptolemy IV Philopator
egy, Iwaennetjerwymenkhwy Setepptah Userkare Sekhemankhamun Clayton (2006) p. 208.
, predecessor = Ptolemy III
, successor = Ptolemy V
, horus = ''ḥnw-ḳni sḫꜤi.n-sw-it.f'Khunuqeni sekhaensuitef'' The strong youth whose f ...
.
References
{{reflist
Sources
Ancient Library article: Theoxena no. 1
* ttp://www.tyndalehouse.com/egypt/ptolemies/berenice_i_fr.htm Ptolemaic Genealogy: Berenice I
Ptolemaic Genealogy: Theoxena
* W. Heckel, Who's who in the age of Alexander the Great: prosopography of Alexander's empire, Wiley-Blackwell, 2006
Ancient Macedonian women
Hellenistic-era people
Ptolemaic dynasty
Ancient Syracusans
4th-century BC Greek people
3rd-century BC Greek people