Background
She was the first daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter (Greek: Πτολεμαίος Σωτήρ, which means "Ptolemy the Savior"), the founder of the Hellenistic state of Egypt, and his second wife Berenice I of Egypt.
She was the first daughter of Pharaoh Ptolemy I Soter (Greek: Πτολεμαίος Σωτήρ, which means "Ptolemy the Savior"), the founder of the Hellenistic state of Egypt, and his second wife Berenice I of Egypt.
Arsinoe II at about the age of 15, married Lysimachus, when he was around the age of 60 years old, to whom she bore three sons: Ptolemy I Epigone, Lysimachus and Philip. The marriage was for political reasons as they both claimed the throne of Macedonia and Thrace (by the time of his death Lysimachus was ruler of both regions, and his power extended to Southern Greece and Asia Minor). Their relationship was never good.
Arsinoe II shared all of her brother"s titles and apparently was quite influential, having towns dedicated to her, her own cult (as was Egyptian custom), and appearing on coinage.
Apparently, she contributed greatly to foreign policy, including Ptolemy II"s victory in the First Syrian War (274-271 British Columbia) between Egypt and the Seleucid Empire in the Middle East. After her death, Ptolemy II continued to refer to her on official documents, as well as supporting her coinage and cult.
He also established her worship as a Goddess, a clever move, because by doing this he established also his own worship as a god.
H. Bengtson, Griechische Geschichte von den Anfängen bis in die römische Kaiserzeit, C.H.Beck, 1977R.A. Billows, Kings and colonists: aspects of Macedonian imperialism, BRILL, 1995Elizabeth Donnelly Carney (2013). Arsinoe of Egypt and Macedon: A Royal Life. Oxford University Press.
. Milan Papyrus, P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309.
